Parallel-Twin
1969 BSA A65
1969 BSA A65 1969 BSA A65 Lightning 1969 BSA A65 LIGHTNING The 650 Lightning was BSA’s top-line bike, and meant to do battle with the market-dominating Triumph Bonneville and had twin carbs just like the Bonnie. The ’69 Lightning was certainly fast enough and handled well. It just never had the styling to compete with …
1939 Triumph T100
1939 Triumph T100 1939 TRIUMPH T100 – THE LAST PRE-WAR TIGER The Tiger T100 was launched in 1938. Performance was boosted by the use of high-compression forged pistons and polished ports and internals, the result being a machine that could touch 100mph in road trim and exceed it with the silencer end-caps removed. The 1939 …
1960 Triumph Thunderbird
1960 Triumph Thunderbird The 1960 Triumph Thunderbird was similar in appearance to this 1960 Triumph T110 Tiger. Both had ‘bathtub’ bodywork, full fenders and the trademark headlight nacelle. But the Tiger was the higher-performance version, with bigger carb, higher compression & wilder cams. Note that this bike has a 1968-70 TLS from brake. 1960 TRIUMPH …
1950 Triumph Thunderbird
1950 Triumph Thunderbird 1950 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD – BIRTH OF THE THUNDERBIRD The 1950 Triumph Thunderbird was not only the first Thunderbird, it was the first Triumph 650 & it began a long legacy that lasted until the demise of Triumph Motorcycles in 1983. It is said that Edward Turner got the idea for the name …
1952 BSA A7
1952 BSA A7 Pre-Unit 500 Twin 1952 BSA A7 BACKGROUND Like everyone else in the British motorcycle industry, BSA was caught flat-footed when Triumph introduced its game-changing 500 Speed Twin in 1938. And like virtually everyone else, BSA was relying heavily on single-cylinder designs for its bread and butter. But the new twins had arrived …
1958 Triumph T110 Tiger
1958 Triumph T110 Tiger 1958 TRIUMPH T110 TIGER – WHAT’S IN A NAME? Triumph’s naming convention followed a couple paths. But the one the Tiger was on always starts with a “T” for Triumph, then the next set of digits were supposed to reflect the bike’s top speed. The first in the Tiger lineup was …
1970 Rickman-Triumph
1970 Rickman-Triumph 1970 Rickman-Triumph Background This 1970 Rickman-Triumph is typical of many of the Rickman desert racers of the era, and represents years of development of an excellent design. After years of racing motocross in the 1950s in England and Europe, brothers Don and Derek Rickman decided to design their own frame. At the time, …
1962 Norton Navigator
1962 Norton Navigator 1962 NORTON NAVIGATOR BACKGROUND Norton has always been known for big powerful bikes like the Manx and the Commando. But they also had a very ambitious line of smaller bikes that they originally built to respond to a change in British motoring law that was announced in 1958. Starting in 1960, first-time …
2010 Triumph Bonneville
2010 Triumph Bonneville 2010 TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE BACKGROUND Of course, the original Triumph Bonneville was introduced to the world in 1959, and had a good run until the old Triumph company went belly-up in 1983. The name was revived by British billionaire-developer John Bloor, who reintroduced a new line of thoroughly modern Triumphs starting in 1990. …
1958 Ariel Cyclone
1958 Ariel Cyclone 650 OHV Vertical Twin 1958 ARIEL CYCLONE A VERY RARE BIRD Ariel was early to the vertical twin party started by Triumph with the 1938 500cc Speed Twin. Their first entry was the model KH 500cc parallel twin launched in the first year of civilian production following World War 2, 1945. The …
1962 Norton Jubilee
1962 Norton Jubilee 250 twin 1962 NORTON JUBILEE – WHAT’S IN A NAME? The name Norton Jubilee paid homage to the 60th anniversary of Norton Motorcycle production at the time of its launch in 1958 at the Earls Court Motorcycle Show in London. It was a clear break from Norton tradition, but was built specifically …
1962 Norton Dominator 88
1962 Norton Dominator 88 1962 Norton Dominator 88 Engine A WORK IN PROGRESS In our efforts to complete our online index, and make this the world’s greatest website about classic British motorcycles, we’re building pages as fast as we can. The first thing we add are the pictures. Then come the specifications and then the …
1971 Norton Commando
1971 Norton Commando 1971 Norton Commando ROADSTER 4 NEW MODELS The 1971 Norton Commando line grew from 2 models in 1968 (Fastback & S), to 3 models at the beginning of the 1969 model year (Fastback, S & R), then dropped back down to 2 models by the end of 1969 (Fastback & R). Now …
2014 Norton Commando 961
2014 Norton Commando 961 2014 NORTON COMMANDO 961 BACKGROUND When the classic Commando went out of production in 1975, a battle over the rights to the name ensued. Ultimately UK business man Stuart Garner, who already owned Norton Racing Ltd acquired the rights to the Norton Commando brand. His new company, Norton Motorcycles Ltd, he …
1974 Norton Commando
1974 Norton Commando A 1974 NORTON COMMANDO FOR EVERY TASTE The Commando was available in a variety of configurations, all cosmetic packages, as they were all built on identical Commando engines, frames and running gear. While the first Commando was the Fastback, by 1974, the standard Norton Commando was the Roadster, which is the most …
1962 Norton Dominator 650SS
1962 Norton Dominator 650SS 1962 NORTON DOMINATOR 650SS BACKGROUND The story starts not with a Norton, but with the 1938 Triumph 500 Speed Twin, the world’s first “modern” vertical twin. The rest of the British motorcycle industry went nuts and rushed to field their own 500 twins. But WWII got in the way, putting things …
1965 Triumph Thunderbird
1965 Triumph Thunderbird 1965 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD AS A COMMUTER? When the 6T Thunderbird launched in 1950, it was the first Triumph 650 (up from the 500cc 5T Speed Twin, and was the largest British-made parallel twin at the time. As such, it was a true hot rod in its day. However, the rest of the …
1962 Triumph 650 Thunderbird
1962 Triumph 650 Thunderbird 1962 TRIUMPH 650 THUNDERBIRD-A COMMUTER BIKE The Thunderbird was introduced in 1950 it was Triumph’s first 650 twin, and instantly became its fastest bike and its best-seller. But the introduction of the T110 Tiger, a hotter version of the 650 twin, in 1954 the T-Bird lost it’s top-shelf status. It happened …
1970 BSA A65
1970 BSA A65 1970 BSA A65 Firebird Scrambler 1970 BSA A65 FIREBIRD SCRAMBLER The term “scrambler” was the word used back then for a bike that might be called a “dual-sport” bike today. In other words, on that can be ridden on the highway, and yet handle itself off-road. These bikes were great desert racing …
1967 Norton Atlas
1967 Norton Atlas 750 1967 NORTON ATLAS HISTORY The story starts not with a Norton at all, but with the 1938 Triumph 500 Speed Twin, the world’s first “modern” vertical twin. The rest of the British motorcycle industry went nuts and rushed to field their own 500 twins. But WWII got in the way, putting …
1962 BSA A10
1962 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1962 BSA A10 – NEARING END OF NON-UNIT CONSTRUCTION In 1962 BSA was in the middle of a major retooling to begin production of the new A50 (500) and A65 (650) unit-construction twins, that were meant to replace the highly successful non-unit twins the 500cc A7 and the 650cc …
1960 BSA A10
1960 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1960 BSA A10 Spitfire Scrambler 1960 BSA A10 SPITFIRE SCRAMBLER The Spitfire was indeed a ‘scrambler’ in the true sense of the word, with knobby tires, high pipes on the left side, one carb, and stripped of everything that wasn’t essential. These are gorgeous bikes, and actually make a …
1946 Triumph Speed Twin
1946 Triumph Speed Twin 1946 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN – IN WAR & PEACE World War II had been hard on England. British motorcycle manufacturers like Triumph and BSA, did well during the war selling side-valve singles to the Army and lots of other stuff. But, war is hell, right? In 1940, the Germans bombed the …
1967 Triumph Daytona
1967 Triumph Daytona 500 1967 TRIUMPH DAYTONA – WHAT’S IN A NAME? Triumph derived the name of this bike from Buddy Elmore’s win at the 1966 Daytona 200 at Daytona Beach FL riding a Triumph T100T Tiger 500 twin to Triumph’s first-ever Daytona victory, with an average speed of 96.6 mph. By 1967, it was …
1971 BSA A65
1971 BSA A65 BIG CHANGES FOR THE 1971 BSA A65 For the 1971 model year, BSA and Triumph changed virtually every item on their big 650 twins, with the exception of the engines. A new frame had been designed by BSA’s hopelessly misguided Umberslade Hall tech center. Instead of focusing their limited resources on fixing …
1965 Royal Enfield Interceptor
1965 Royal Enfield Interceptor 1965 ROYAL ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR BACKGROUND Royal Enfield hopped up its 692cc Constellation and created a new model, the 700 Interceptor in 1960, for sale in the US and Canada markets only (on England). They’d just lost their contract to rebadge Constellations with Indian Motorcycle regalia then selling them in the US …
1970 BSA A65
1970 BSA A65 1970 BSA A65 Firebird Scrambler 1970 BSA A65 FIREBIRD SCRAMBLER The term “scrambler” was the word used back then for a bike that might be called a “dual-sport” bike today. In other words, on that can be ridden on the highway, and yet handle itself off-road. These bikes were great desert racing …
1970 Norton Commando
1970 Norton Commando ABOVE: The 1970 Norton Commando came in a new guise: The Norton Commando Roadster, or Type R. A new tank & seat, conventional rear fender & those voluptuous upswept pipes! Establishes the ‘Commando look’ in the public mindset. NEW ROADSTER The 1970 Norton Commando line grew to three models, then shrunk back …
1973 Norton Commando
1973 Norton Commando ABOVE: 1973 Norton Commando 750 Roadster was more or less the “standard” Commando. BACK ON TRACK After the dismal finish of the 1972 model year, thanks to the Combat engine, 1973 was a good year for Norton Motorcycles. The entire model line had benefited from the engine fixes developed to counter the …
1968 Norton Commando
1968 Norton Commando ABOVE: The first 1968 Norton Commando was the Commando Fastback, pictured here in this British racing green, with silver side covers, which is correct for a 1968 Norton Commando. HOW IT ALL BEGAN The first Norton Commandos were all Fastbacks, designated Model 20M3, although they weren’t referred to as Commando Fastbacks, just …
1975 Norton Commando
1975 Norton Commando ABOVE: 1975 Norton Commando MkIII Roadster in Union Jack paint scheme. TROUBLE BEHIND THE SCENES While the Norton Commando was enjoying reasonable success in the marketplace, other problems, both inside & outside the company wreaked havoc with Norton Motorcycles finances. By 1975, the Meriden Triumph fiasco was dying down finally, but the …
1962 Norton Navigator Deluxe
1962 Norton Navigator Deluxe 1962 NORTON NAVIGATOR DELUXE BACKGROUND Norton has always been known for big powerful bikes like the Manx and the Commando. But they also had a very ambitious line of smaller bikes that they originally built to respond to a change in British motoring law that was announced in 1958. Starting in …
1972 Norton Commando
1972 Norton Commando 1972 NORTON COMMANDO MODEL DESIGNATIONS All four road models became MkIVs & one completely new model was added, the Commando Interstate, meant to be a long-distance touring bike, with a 5-gallon fuel tank. ENGINE CHANGES FOR ALL MODELS All models got reinforced crankcase castings with more internal webbing around the main bearings, …
1952 Triumph TR5 Trophy
1952 Triumph TR5 Trophy ABOVE: This 1952 Triumph TR5 has a chrome tank with a silver panel and blue pinstriping. BELOW: This version of the same bike came with a painted take, solid silver with black pinstripes. 1952 TRIUMPH TR5 TROPHY BACKGROUND The Triumph TR5 Trophy was produced from 1949 through 1958. It was based …
1953 Triumph Thunderbird
1953 Triumph Thunderbird Sitting in for the 1953 Triumph Thunderbird is this lovely 1951 T-Bird. Very similar to the 1953 model, they share in common the rigid frame with sprung rear hub, forks, brakes, bodywork & cycle gear. Paint colors & minor trim features vary. Unfortunately, no photo was available at this time of a …
1952 Norton Model 7
1952 Norton Model 7 1952 NORTON MODEL 7 BACKGROUND Following Triumph’s lead, Norton, along with nearly every other British motorcycle manufacturer, entered the parallel twin race with its own new 500 twin in 1949. Known as the Model 7, its basic layout followed the established norm of a 2-main bearing crankshaft (no center main bearing) …
1951 Norton Model 7
1951 Norton Model 7 Dominator 1951 NORTON MODEL 7 BACKGROUND Following Triumph’s lead, Norton, along with nearly every other British motorcycle manufacturer, entered the parallel twin race with its own new 500 twin in 1949. Known as the Model 7, its basic layout followed the established norm of a 2-main bearing crankshaft (no center main …
1952 Triumph Thunderbird
1952 Triumph Thunderbird This 1952 Triumph Thunderbird is similar to the 1950 T-Bird ridden by Marlon ABOVE: This lovely 1952 Triumph Thunderbird honors the 1953 film “The Wild One”, but Marlon Brando’s was black. This was a huge shot-in-the-arm for Triumph Motorcycles. To capitalize on it, they would come out with an all black 6T …
1956 Triumph TR5R
1956 Triumph TR5R 1956 TRIUMPH TR5R BACKGROUND Triumph offered the TR5/R in limited numbers in 1956 as a top-of-the-line 500 twin, and it was certainly one of the market’s finest. Factory records indicate that just 112 TR5/R engines were built in ’56 and just 104 were installed in complete bikes. The other 8 were presumably …
1970 Velocette LE Police Bike
1970 Velocette LE Police Bike 1970 VELOCETTE LE POLICE BIKE BACKGROUND Tiny Velocette didn’t have much capital to work with in the late 1940s, but they knew they needed to come up with something new. And they hoped to get a jump on the market and get some real bang-for-the-buck out of their meager resources. …
