Triumph Motorcycles
Steve Mcqueen’s Iconic Triumph R6 Trophy Recycled into a Moto-Inspired Watch
Racking your brain over what to get your loved one for Christmas? It’s hard; they already buy everything they need, and they’ve already got everything they want for bike upgrades in the proverbial shopping cart. So why don’t you get them a little piece of moto history? The report from Gear Patrol states that a …
Triumph Relives History With Newly Discovered 1901 Prototype
Recovered and Rebuilt for the Masses Triumph’s very first prototype has just been discovered, and it’s not often you find something this special in such mint condition. The first prototype from Triumph was, according to an article from Motoroids, “Long-rumored to exist and referenced within advertising and reviews that appeared in 1901…this first Triumph prototype …
Triumph Updates the Tiger 1200 Range for 2022
“Only The Best Will Do” Triumph has just updated their Tiger 1200 range for the new year. Perks include a whopping weight drop and a deliciously long-range potential, among other updates – so let’s get into it. The inline triple of the Triumph 1200 has been updated for increased efficiency, and despite dropping in power …
Industry Insider: Triumph and Thailand
Here at wBW, we strive to bring the very best of carefully-curated content to your day. We also love reading what you write us – and sometimes, we end up chasing a particular topic down a rabbit hole in commemoration of a really good question. Today, that really good question comes from a dedicated reader desirous …
1969 Triumph TR6
1969 TRIUMPH TR6 BY THE NUMBERS For the first time ever, a Triumph TR6 was called a “Tiger”. In fact the entire 1969 Triumph TR6 model lineup were all Triumph Tigers & would remain so for the rest of its life. Interestingly however, Triumph workers at the Meriden factory continued to refer to the TR6 …
1970 Triumph Daytona
1970 Triumph Daytona 500 1970 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. It was Triumph’s first-ever Daytona victory, with an average speed of 96.6 mph. By 1967, it …
1979 Triumph Bonneville Special
I’m 52 years old, and I’ve been riding since I was 16. I bought the Triumph Bonneville Special brand new in 1979 at Brooks Cyclery, in San Jose, CA. It has just a little over 24,000 original miles. It’s 99% original. I had to change the fuel petcocks because the originals were made of teflon …
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 …
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 …
1969 Triumph Trident
1969 Triumph Trident T150 1969 TRIUMPH TRIDENT: BRITAIN’S SUPERBIKE! At a time when Honda started building 50,000 750s a year, Triumph & BSA launched their star-crossed twins…er, triples, the BSA Rocket 3 and the Triumph Trident which combined would struggle to produce 5,000 in a good year. They were expensive to make, hard to build, …
1970 Triumph Trident
1970 Triumph Trident T150 1970 TRIUMPH TRIDENT – A NEW LOOK After the horrible styling experiment of the 1969 Triumph Trident in it’s introductory year, Triumph wisely decided to bring its big 750 Triple in line with the look people had come to expect from a Triumph, as typified by the Bonneville. Gone were the …
1972 Triumph Trident
1972 Triumph Trident T150 1972 TRIUMPH TRIDENT BACKGROUND The Trident benefitted majorly from the 1971-and-later redux of the Oil-in-Frame 650 twins. While the Trident didn’t get the oil-bearing frame, it got just about everything else. Most notably, these included the new front forks sans rubber ‘gators’, the new headlight, turn signals and gauge package, the …
1975 Triumph Trident
1975 Triumph Trident T160 1975 TRIUMPH TRIDENT AIMS HIGH It’s amazing to think about how much of a leap the ’75 T160 Trident was over the ’74 T150, especially considering that the newly-formed, worker-owned Meriden Co-op was also woefully underfunded. In other words, they had almost no money for R&D. And yet they produced this …
1963 Triumph Thunderbird
1963 Triumph Thunderbird 1963 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD GOES UNIT CONSTRUCTION Along with the rest of the Triumph 650 line, the 1963 6T Thunderbird converted over to Triumph’s incredible new unit-construction powerplant, frame and cycle gear. It was a major transition, with nearly every component replaced. But what a change! Unit Construction incorporated the engine, the primary …
1973 Triumph TR7: Return of the Yellow Bike
The Return of the Yellow Bike: THE RETURN OF THE YELLOW BIKE First off, what is the Yellow Bike? It’s my personal favorite motorcycle that I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned several. It started out life as a ’73 Triumph TR7 that I built from scratch, nearly down to the last nut-and-bolt. It’s the bike …
Classic British Rat Bikes
CLASSIC BRITISH RAT BIKES – BORN OF CHOPPERS When I was growing up and learning to ride, around 1970, people were chopping all kinds of things, not just Harleys. Lots of guys were chopping their Honda 350s, 450s & 750s. I even saw a Kawasaki Mach3 chopper once, with extended forks & no additional rake. …
Classic British Racing Motorcycles
CLASSIC BRITISH ROAD RACING MOTORCYCLES This 1969 Triumph Trident T150 Road Racer was campaigned by the legendary Gene Romero (above). The development of motorcycle racing has largely dominated many racing sports over time. The sport involves road racing, off road racing, both either on circuits or open courses and track racing. There is now a …
1951 Triumph Speed Twin
1951 Triumph Speed Twin 1951 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN BACKGROUND The Triumph Speed Twin was the world’s first ‘modern’ vertical twin, when it was introduced in 1937 as a 1938 model. Designed by Edward Turner (who also designed the Ariel Square Four), the 500cc 5T Speed Twin was a revelation at the time. Pretty much everyone …
1956 – 1962 Pre-Unit Triumph TR6
THE PRE-UNIT TRIUMPH TR6 The preceding page offers a complete history of the Triumph TR6 from beginning to end. For the purpose of breaking up the large number of model years for the Triumph TR6, we have broken them up into their two logical subsets: “Pre-Unit TR6”, spanning 1956 to 1962; and “Unit-Construction TR6”, from …
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. …
1955 Triumph Thunderbird
1955 Triumph Thunderbird ABOVE: The 1955 Triumph Thunderbird 6T is very similar to this 1956 Triumph Thunderbird. They share essentially the same frame, suspension, cycle gear and body work. Only paint colors & minor trim differences vary in the general appearance. Although many mechanical changes were made on an ongoing basis on all Triumph Motorcycles, …
1973 Triumph Trident
1973 Triumph Trident 1973 Triumph Trident T150V THE 1973 TRIUMPH TRIDENT IS A TURNING POINT 1973 was a very important year for Triumph, and in particular for its star player, the Bonneville. Because that year, the legendary 650 “Bonnie” got punched out to a 750, got a much-need and long-overdue 5-speed gearbox, and a front …
1953 Triumph TR5 Trophy
1953 Triumph TR5 Trophy 1953 TRIUMPH TR5 TROPHY BACKGROUND The Triumph TR5 Trophy was produced from 1949 through 1958. It was based on the 500cc 5T Speed Twin, but modified for off-road use. The TR5 Trophy was originally intended as a trials bike, with high side-exhaust, high ground clearance and excellent handling (for the day). …
1948 Triumph Speed Twin
1948 Triumph Speed Twin 1948 TRIUMPH SPEED TWIN BACKGROUND In a few short years, the 5T Speed Twin went from being one of the world’s premium performance motorcycles to be Triumph’s entry-level twin. It had been surpassed by the T100 Tiger with its higher compression and hotter cams. And soon it would be bumped down …
1957 Triumph Thunderbird T6 650cc
Thunderbird 6T, 649cc 4-speed gearbox, single Amal Monobloc carburettor, rated at 34hp ex-South Australian Police motorcycle was used for general traffic duties in Adelaide. The bike belongs to a friend who is an ex-police officer now living in Adelaide. I’m working on a book for New Holland Publishers in Sydney. While I was doing research …
1956 Triumph TR5R
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 history. So, if you see a page that just …
Clubmans All British Weekend 2012
CLUBMANS SHOW 2012 PICTURES WHAT A SHOW We’ve been talking about it for months now. The 25th Annual Clubman’s All-British Weekend took place on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San Jose CA. Sponsored by the BSA Owners Club of Northern California (BSAOCNC) sponsors this legendary show, which is the …
Clubmans All British Weekend 2011
The Clubmans Show 2011 DON’T MISS THIS SHOW!! The Clubmans Show 2011 promises, as do all Clubmans Shows, to be a Must-See event for anyone with a love of Classic British Motorcycles. This is the 24th year of this amazing event. Sponsored by the Northern California Chapter of the BSA Owners Club, or BSAOC, the …
Clubmans All British Weekend 2017
CLUBMANS ALL-BRITISH WEEKEND 2017 MAKES 30 YEARS Every year for the last 30 years, the BSA Owners Club of Northern California (BSAOCNC) has put on an all-British motorcycle show and ride that has been billed as the biggest in the West. This year’s Clubman’s All-British Weekend-2017, the 30th Annual, was on Saturday, March 25 this …
Clubmans All British Weekend 2014
The Clubmans All-British Weekend-2014 27th ANNUAL CLUBMANS ALL-BRITISH WEEKEND-2014 This year’s Clubmans Show was a little smaller than last year, but just a impressive as ever, with a stunning array of Classic British Motorcycles, customs, choppers, bobbers, cafe racers, track racers, street trackers, and on and on. Sponsored by the BSAOCNC (BSA Owners Club of …
Clubmans All British Weekend 2012
We not only covered the Clubmans All-British Weekend 2012, we set up a photo booth to take studio-grade pics of gorgeous classic British motoryclces. For more coverage of the show, and lots more eye-popping photos, go to our Clubmans Show 2012 Pictures page. CLUBMANS All-BRITISH WEEKEND 2012 – The 25th Annual CLUBMAN’S SHOW If …
Clubmans All British Weekend 2005
The Clubmans All-British Weekend 2005 had more than just gorgeous motorcycles. We had a celebrity. That’s racing legend Eddie Mulder on the left & BSAOC president Don Danmeier on the right, with the proud recipient of Best in Modified Class. THE BEST CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE SHOW AROUND I go to classic bike shows, auctions, rallies & …
Clubmans 2011 Photos
CLUBMANS 2011 PHOTOS: WHAT A SHOW!! As always, this year’s Clubman’s All-British Weekend Motorcycle Show was fantastic!! While it felt like there weren’t quite as many bikes as last year, it also felt like the quality of the bikes entered was even better. Put on by the BSAOCNC (BSA Owners Club of Northern California as …
Classic 1979 Triumph T140D Bonneville Special Restoration
My Classic Motorcycle Restoration Project: My next cheap Classic Motorcycle Restoration Project: This sweet 1979 Triumph T140D Bonneville Special, pictured here in our state-of-the-art Research & Development Center (my garage). CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE RESTORATION PROJECT: THESE BIKES ARE CHEAP! Obviously, ‘cheap’ is a relative thing. But, when you think of what it costs to get into …
Classic British Bobbers
More pages about Choppers and Bobbers TRIUMPH CHOPPERS BSA CHOPPERS RAT BIKES The line between Choppers and Bobbers is blurred. But, generally speaking, if it has an extended front end, it’s a Chopper. This unit-BSA has an extended custom springer front end. CHOPPERS AND BOBBERS, TOUGH TO DEFINE Unlike stock, original motorcycles like those …
Classic British Choppers
CLASSIC 70s CHOPPER This unit-construction Triumph started out life as a single-carb TR6 650, but now has an alloy 750 big bore kit & Sudco Mikuni carb. This beauty is decked out to the max in the classic style of 1970. Its rigid frame, Girder forks, no front brake, 5.00X16 rear wheel, banana seat, sissy …
Classic British Cafe Racers
BSA Cafe Racers are not as common as Triumphs & Nortons. This 1969 BSA Rocket 3-based custom is nothing short of amazing. Built right, very fast! As long as we’re eyeing triples, check out this 1971 Rickman-Triumph Trident. Rickman made killer off-road racing frames, but they also built a broad series of road racing chassis, …
1960 Triumph Twenty-One
1960 TRIUMPH TWENTY-ONE HAS BATHTUB STYLING. The British home market had been hungry for cheap transportation after WWII, and commuter motorcycles helped fill that role. But England being…well, England, was wet and rainy and to prevent rust an owner needed to wipe his bike down each night after getting home from work. This was a …
