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1941 Matchless G3 1941 MATCHLESS G3 BACKGROUND Just prior to World War 2, Matchless was on a roll. Their middleweight singles were selling as fast as they could be built. In 1939, Matchless introduced the next evolution in their single-cylinder design, the 349cc Matchless G3. Just as production was ramping up, the British Army got …
1948 Triumph T100 Tiger 1948 TRIUMPH T100 TIGER BACKGROUND Immediately after the end of World War II, Triumph quickly reverted back to civilian production and hit the ground running. Prior to the war, their two top models were the 500cc 5T Speed Twin and its hotter cousin, the T100 Tiger, also a 500 twin, but …
1954 BSA A10 Pre-Unit 650 Twin 1954 BSA A10 Golden Flash 1954 BSA A10 BACKGROUND Like every other British motorcycle manufacturer at the time, BSA was following Triumph’s lead in the parallel twin race. Triumph introduced the first parallel twin, the 500 Speed Twin in 1938, but World War II intervened, curtailing all civilian production. …
1965 BSA A65 1965 BSA A65 LIGHTNING The Lightning was the high-performance roadster in the 1965 BSA A65 lineup, with twin Amal Monobloc carburetors and downswept pipes. In 1965, it was still running 6 volt electrics, its last year before converting over to 12 volts in ’66. The new-for-1962 unit-construction engine had started out rocky, …
1973 Triumph TR7 1973 TRIUMPH TR7 BY THE NUMBERS 1973 was the first year for the new 750 twins, in both the single-carb Triumph TR6 and Bonneville lines. When punched out to a 750 (724cc or 744cc), the 650 TR6 Tiger became the Triumph TR7; and the 650 (649cc) T120 Bonneville became the T140 Bonneville …
1939 Vincent Rapide Series A 1939 VINCENT RAPIDE BACKGROUND Vincent head engineer Phil Irving was working on some tracings of the firm’s 499cc single cylinder engine in 1936. As things got moved around, two of the tracings lined up roughly in the shape of a V-twin. With a little cajoling, he quickly lined it up …
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