Triumph Motorcycles
Triumph Motorcycles is an
English motorcycle manufacturer, originally based in Coventry. A new company in
Hinckley took over the name rights after the collapse of the company in the 1980s.
The company began in
1883 when
Siegfried Bettmann emigrated to
Coventry in
England from
Nuremberg, part of the
German Empire. In
1884 aged 20, Bettmann founded his own company, the S. Bettmann & Co. Import Export Agency, in
London. Bettmann's original products were bicycles, which the company bought and then sold under its own brand name. Bettmann also distributed sewing machines imported from
Germany.
 |
Triumph Thruxton 900, named after the racing circuit in Hampshire, England |
In
1886, Bettmann sought a more universal name, and the company became known as the Triumph Cycle Company. A year later, the company registered as the
New Triumph Co. Ltd., now with financial backing from the
Dunlop Tyre Co. In that year, Bettmann was joined by another Nuremberg native, Mauritz Schulte.
Schulte encouraged Bettmann to transform Triumph into a manufacturing company, and in 1888 Bettmann purchased a site in Coventry using money lent by his and Schulte's families. The company began producing the first Triumph-branded bicycles in
1889. In
1896, Triumph opened a subsidiary, Orial TWN (Triumph Werke Nuremberg) a
German subsidiary for cycle production in his native city.
In
1898, Triumph decided to extend its own production to include motorcycles and by
1902, the company had produced its first motorcycle - a bicycle fitted with a Belgian-built engine. In
1903, as its motorcycle sales topped 500, Triumph opened motorcycle production at its unit in Germany. During its first few years producing motorcycles, the company based its designs on those of other manufacturers. In
1904, Triumph began building motorcycles based on its own designs and in
1905 produced its first completely in-house designed motorcycle. By the end of that year, the company had produced more than 250 of that design.
In 1907, after the company opened a larger plant, production reached 1,000 bikes. Triumph had also launched a second, lower-end brand, Gloria, produced in the company's original plant.
The outbreak of World War I proved a boost for the company as production was switched to support the Allied war effort. More than 30,000 motorcycles - among them the Model H Roadster aka the "Trusty Triumph," often cited as the first modern motorcycle - were supplied to the Allies.
Bettmann and Schulte fell out after the war, with Schulte wishing to replace bicycle production with automobiles. Schulte left the company, but in the
1920's Triumph purchased the former
Hillman car factory in
Coventry and produced a saloon car in
1923 under the name of the
Triumph Motor Company.
Harry Ricardo produced an engine for their latest motorbike.
By the mid-1920s Triumph had grown into one of Britain's leading motorcycle makers, with a 500,000 square feet plant capable of producing up to 30,000 motorcycles each year. Triumph also found its bikes in high demand overseas, and export sales became a primary source of the company's revenues, although for the United States, Triumph models were manufactured under license. The company found its first automotive success with the debut of the Super Seven car in 1928.
1930's
When the
Great Depression hit in
1929, Triumph spun off its German subsidiary as a separate, independently owned company, which became part of the
Triumph-Adler Company. The Nuremberg firm continued to manufacture motorcycles under the Triumph brand until
1957. In 1932, Triumph sold off another part of the company, its bicycle manufacturing facility to
Raleigh. By then, Triumph had been struggling financially, and Bettmann had been forced out of the chairman's spot. He retired completely in
1933 |
The 955 cc Triumph Sprint RS |
In
1936, the company's two components became separate companies. Triumph always struggled to make a profit from cars, and after going bankrupt in
1939 was acquired by the
Standard Motor Company. The motorcycle operations fared better, having been acquired in
1936 by John Sangster, who also owned the rival
Ariel motorcycle company. That same year, the company began its first imports into the United States, which quickly grew into the company's single most important market. Sangster's formed the
Triumph Engineering Co Ltd largely led by ex-Ariel employees, including
Edward Turner who designed the
Speedtwin - the basis for all Triumph's until the 1990's.
Motorcycles were produced at Coventry until
World War II. The town of Coventry was virtually destroyed in
The Blitz (
September 7,
1940 to May, 1941). Tooling and machinery was recovered from the site of the devastation and production restarted at the new plant at
Meriden, West Midlands in 1942.
Post war
The Triumph brand received considerable publicity in the
United States when
Marlon Brando rode a 1950 Thunderbird 6T in the 1953
motion picture,
The Wild One.
Triumph were sold to their rivals
BSA by Sangster in 1951. Sangster was to return as chairman of the BSA Group in 1956.
The Speed Twin designed by Edward Turner before the war was produced in large numbers after the war. Efforts to settle the
lend-lease debts caused nearly 70% of Triumphs post war production to be shipped to the United States. To satisfy the American appetite for motorcycles suited to long distance riding, Turner increased the capacity of the Speed Twin to 650 cc. The new bike was named the
Thunderbird (a name Triumph would later license to
Ford Motor Company for use on a car). Only one year after it was introduced a
hot rodder in
Southern California mated the 650 Thunderbird with a twin carb head originally intended for GP racing and named the new creation the Wonderbird. That 650 cc motor, designed in 1939, held the world's absolute speed record for motorcycles from 1955 until 1970.
In 1959, the T120, a tuned double carburettor T110, came to be called the
Bonneville. As Triumph and other marques gained market share, Harley became aware that their 1 litre-plus bikes were not as sporty as the modern rider would like, resulting in a shrinking share of the market. The Triumphs were models for a new, "small" Harley Davidson as a result: the now-fabled
Sportster, which started out as Harley's version of a Triumph Bonneville. With its anachronistic V-twin, the Sportster was no match for the Bonneville, but it proved a solid competitor in US sales and eventually also in longevity.
In the 1960s, despite internal opposition from those who felt that scooters would dilute the macho image of the brand, Triumph produced two machines to tap into what was seen as a large market segment for a convenient 'shopping basket'. The
Triumph Tina was a small and low performance 2 stroke scooter of around 100 cc with automatic clutch, and a handlebar carry basket for bringing the groceries back from a shopping trip. The
Triumph Tigress was a scooter designed to have good performance and handling for the enthusiast,
In the 1960s, 60% of all Triumph production was exported, which, along with the BSA's 80% exports, made the group susceptible to the
Japanese expansion. By 1969 fully 50% of the US market for bikes over 500 cc belonged to Triumph, but technological advances at Triumph had failed to keep pace with the rest of the world. Triumphs lacked electric start mechanisms, relied on pushrods rather than overhead cams, vibrated noticeably, often leaked oil, and had antiquated electrical systems; while Japanese marques such as Honda were building more advanced features into attractive new bikes that sold for less than their British competitors. Triumph motorcycles as a result were nearly obsolete even when they were new; further, Triumph's manufacturing processes were highly labour-intensive and largely inefficient. Also disastrous, in the early 1970's the US government arbitrarily mandated that all motorcycle imports must have their shift and brake pedals in the Japanese configuration, which required expensive retooling of all the bikes for US sale.
The British marques were poorly equipped to compete against the massive financial resources of Japanese heavy industries that targeted competitors for elimination via long-term plans heavily subsidized by the Japanese government. Triumph and BSA were aware of
Honda's ability to make quality motorcycles but while the Japanese were only making smaller engined models, the large engine market was considered safe. When the first Honda 750 cc four cylinder was released for sale to the public, Triumph and BSA were facing trouble. A 3 cylinder engined motorcycle was developed to compete against the Japanese fours: the
BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident.
NVT collapse
|
A slightly customized 1967 Triumph Tr6C 650 twin |
When the BSA group collapsed under its debts, government help led to a merger with the
Manganese Bronze subsidiary Norton-Villiers. The three remaining brands to be produced by the company were combined to create the new group name of
Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT). However, this restructuring would result in a number of closures and redundancies. Without warning, in September
1973 NVT Group chairman Denis Poore announced the closure of Meriden works effective February,
1974. Of 4,500 employees, 3,000 were made redundant. Faced with unemployment and having their products handed over to a rival firm, the workers at the
Meriden factory demonstrated against a move to
Small Heath, Birmingham, the BSA site and staged a sit in for two years.
Cooperative
As scheduled, Trident production moved to the BSA factory in Small Heath in
1974, but as BSA used non-craft labour in manufacturing, quality fell dramatically. In October
1974 the Labour Government announced the formation of the Meriden Cooperative under
Tony Benn, with a loan of £5million pounds - on the condition that NVT retained ownership of the name, and continued the sales and marketing of the machines. The cooperative resumed production in March
1975, but dropped production of the lightweight T120, to concentrate on the 750 cc twin machines, the Bonneville and the Tiger, primarily for the USA market. The cooperative needed additional cash, and agreed a deal with Lord Weinstock's
GEC company to sell 2,000 Bonneville's for £1,000,000 together with consultation on setting up a sales force.
Meanwhile, NVT stopped production of the Trident in
1975, and also killed off the development of the 1000 cc Quadrant due to cash flow difficulties. A number of key engineers left the company, including Henry Vale, Jack Wickes, Les Williams, Ivor Davies, Arthur Jakeman and Norman Hyde
In
1977, after fighting over who had rights to sell Triumph motorcycles for many years, NVT went bankrupt and the rights were sold to the Meriden Cooperative. The limited edition Silver Jubilee T140V was made to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's 25 years on the throne, a T140 Bonnie with cast alloy wheels and special finish. Nominally 1,000 were scheduled for the UK, 1,000 for the US, and about 400 more made for export later. The model sold well, and resultantly production crept up to 350 machines a week, 60 per cent going to the USA. After this it was all downhill, with no investment in new machines, merely makeovers of the 750 cc twin.
However, the Bonneville T140D won the "Machine of the Year" award in Motor Cycle News (MCN) - a questionable honour this late in the bikes life, owing more to the bike's reputation than its competency against the (mostly Japanese) competition. The T140D has cast alloy wheels, new cyclinder head, Amal MKIII carbs, Lucas Rita ignition system, and a lower 7.9:1 compression to reduce vibration.
In
1980, debt reached £2 million pounds - additionally above the earlier £5 million loan. In October, the British government wrote off £8.4 million pounds owed by Triumph, but still left the company owing £2 million to Britain's Export Credit Guarantee Dept. Triumph experimented with several designs in its last years, none able to stop the decline.
In
1981 the T140D
Bonneville Royal Wedding to celebrate marriage of
Prince Charles and
Princess Diana reached the sales rooms, with 250 each for the UK and America. It had electric start, chrome fuel tank and wheels, and a certificate - and after the original SpeedTwin, the launch Bonneville of
1959 and late 1960's derivatives, is one of the most prized models for a collector.
1982 was the last year of "full" production, with the 8-valve TSS model launched - although a porous cylinder head made by external contractors was its death knell. The company with no money briefly looked at buying the bankrupt Hesketh motorcycles, and even badged one as a marketing trial - but went bankrupt itself in late
1983Rebirth
In
1983 the company folded completely and was liquidated.
John Bloor, a 53-year-old plasterer turned wealthy English property developer and builder, who had little interest in motorcycles, had for some time wanted to start up a manufacturing business. Touring the Meriden plant, which was scheduled for demolition in
1984, Bloor became interested in Triumph, and particularly its still highly regarded brand name. Bloor bought the name and manufacturing rights - Enfield India lost, bidding £55,000 pounds to the Official Receiver.
A new company
"Triumph Motorcycles Ltd" (initially Bonneville Coventry Ltd), was formed. Because the company's manufacturing plant and its designs were not able to compete against the now-dominant Japanese makers, Bloor decided against relaunching Triumph immediately. Production of the old Bonneville was continued under licence by Les Harris of Racing Spares, in
Newton Abbott,
Devon, to bridge the gap between the end of the old company, and the birth of the new company. For five years from
1983, about 14 were built a week in peak production - excluding the USA, where due to problems with liability insurance, the Harris Bonnevilles were never imported
Philosophy
Bloor set to work assembling the new Triumph, hiring several of the group's former designers to begin work on new models. Bloor took his team to Japan on a tour of its competitors' facilities and became determined to adopt Japanese manufacturing techniques and especially new-generation computer controlled machinery. In
1985, Triumph purchased a first set of equipment to begin working, in secret, on its new prototype models. By
1987, the company had completed its first engine.
In
1988 Bloor funded the building of a new factory in
Hinkley,
Leicestershire. Bloor put between £70million and £100million into the company between purchase of the brand and break even in
2000.
A range of machines using famous model names from the past arrived in
1988. Brand new 750 cc and 900 cc triples and 1000 cc and 1200 cc fours all using a modular design (to keep production costs low) were built and proved successful. As sales built, big fours were phased out of the lineup - Triumph's heritage is tied to parallel twins and triples, and these are the marketing and development focus of Triumph's marketing strategy today. Triumph is now carving out a niche in the motorcycle market based on nostalgic looking engine technologies and design - its core customers are the "40something" males returning to their youth. The 790 and 865 cc iterations of the Bonneville and
Thruxton look like slightly revised versions of their 1960s counterparts - so although looking and sounding original, internally they include modern valves and counter balance shafts. Less overt is the use of the inline triple â€" an engine layout other manufacturers have mostly abandoned, save Benelli's Tornado.
In February
2002, as the company was preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary as a motorcycle maker, its main factory was hit by fire, destroying most of its manufacturing capacity. Nevertheless, the company, which by then numbered more than 300 employees, quickly rebuilt the facility and returned to production by September of that year. Furthermore, Triumph began plans to build a new, cutting-edge manufacturing facility, which opened in 2003.
Model range
Triumph is building several models based on the Bonneville engine. The base Bonneville comes with 790 cc parallel twin. The Bonneville Black is a version with a blacked-out engine that is the least expensive model in Triumph's lineup. The Bonneville T100 is an upscale version of the basic Bonneville, with an 865 cc parallel twin engine, two-tone paint schemes and a tachometer. The Thruxton uses the 865 cc engine with 2 mm larger carburetors and revised suspension for sharper handling. It features clip-on handlebars and rearset footrests. It was designed to recreate the look of cafe racers from the 1960s.
The Scrambler is another nod to the past, with its raised exhaust and knobby tires that recall the desert racers of the 1960s. It also uses the 865 cc engine. There are two cruisers in Triumph's lineup based on the Bonneville engine. The America is a straight-ahead custom with the 790 cc parallel-twin engine, forward-mounted foot controls, pulled-back handlebars and a low, dished-out seat. The Speedmaster uses the same formula as the America, but with the 865 cc engine and more sporting suspension and looks to make a sport cruiser.
Triumph has learned not to compete head to head with Japanese manufacturers in the sportbike world, with the flagship
Daytona 955 marketed as a "GT" sportsbike rather than a challenger to Yamaha's R1 or Suzuki's GSX-R1000.
In the hugely competitive 600 cc sportbike category, the four-cylinder Triumph
Daytona 600, and before that, the
Triumph TT, have lagged in performance compared to offerings from the Japanese makers. A bump to 650 cc for the smaller Daytona in 2005 illustrated Triumph's intention to not compete on the racetrack, where in many cases, displacement is limited to 600 cc, but on the street, where mid-range torque is often more important. For the 2006 model year, Triumph almost completely abandoned the four-cylinder engine (its sole remaining four-cylinder machine is the Speed 4). The current 600 cc class sportbike offering from Triumph is the Daytona 675, which uses an inline-triple engine displacing 675 cc, further differentiating it from typical motorcycles in this class.
Triumph's 1,050 cc
Speed Triple owns the street naked category, not in outright performance, but perception and image. And the
Rocket 3, Triumph's power cruiser, takes the triple concept to extremes in being the worlds largest capacity production bike: 2,294 cc, 140 horsepower (104 kW), and 0 to 60 mph acceleration of about 3 seconds
*1884: German immigrant Siegfried Bettmann sets up S. Bettmann Import Export Agency in London and begins distributing bicycles under Bettmann name.
*1886: The company changes its name to Triumph Cycle Company.
*1888: Triumph buys a factory in Coventry to begin producing bicycles.
*1889: The company moves its headquarters to Coventry.
*1902: The first Triumph motorcycles go into production using a Belgian engine.
*1903: A manufacturing subsidiary is created in Nuremberg, Germany, to produce Triumph motorcycles for the German market.
*1905: The first fully company-built motorcycle is produced.
*1915: Switching to wartime production, the company produces 30,000 "Trusty Triumph" motorcycles for the Allies during the World War I.
*1923: The first Triumph car model, the 10/20, is launched.
*1929: Triumph's German subsidiary is spun off as a separate company, which continues to make Triumph motorcycles until the 1950s.
*1936: Triumph car and motorcycle operations are broken up into two companies; Jack Sangster, who owns Ariel motorcycles, buys the motorcycle division.
*1939: Triumph Cars goes bankrupt and is acquired by Standard Motor Company.
*1940: The company switches to wartime production, building over 50,000 motorcycles for the Allies.
*1950: The Thunderbird model debuts.
*1951: Triumph is acquired by the BSA Group, which also makes BSA motorcycles.
*1954: Marlon Brando rides a Triumph Thunderbird in the film The Wild One.
*1958: The Bonneville, hailed as the greatest motorcycle of all time, is introduced.
*1969: Triumph production peaks at nearly 48,000 motorcycles.
*1972: Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT) is created in an effort to rescue the British motorcycle industry.
*1973: After NVT chairman announces the closure of the Triumph plant; its workers stage an 18-month sit-in, shutting down production.
*1974: Meriden Motorcycle Cooperative is created with government backing and production soon resumes at the Triumph plant.
*1983: Triumph goes bankrupt, and its brand and manufacturing rights are acquired by John Bloor.
*1990: Bloor opens a state-of-the-art plant in Hinckley and unveils new Triumph models.
*1991: The company begins full-scale production of new models.
*1995: Triumph returns to the U.S. market, distributing through Triumph USA subsidiary set up the year before.
*2000: The company relaunches the Bonneville and approaches the break-even mark
*
Tribsa*
Triton motorcycle*
Triumph Motor Company*
Triumph Triple*
Speed Triple Daytona 955i Rocket III Tiger*
BSA Rocket 3 and Triumph TridentTriumph, The Centenary Edition CD-ROM, Heidelberg Desktop Publishing, Australia,
Triumph The Legend, McDiarmid, Mac. Smithmark Publishers
*
Triumph website*
Triumph Owners' M.C.C. - The Original Owners' Club founded in 1949*
Independent Owners Site for all Triumphs*
T595net - Independent Owners Site*
Daytona 675 - Independent Owners Site*
Return of the Cafe Racers
