Timeline
– 1902 to today
The roots of Triumph motorcycles go way back to the late 19th century when founding entrepreneur, Siegfried Bettmann, settled in Coventry, England and capitalised on a ripe English bicycle market. Bicycles soon became motorcycles and the evolution of one of the most famous names in motorcycling had begun.
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1940'S
The outbreak of WWII put a different complexion on Triumph’s commercial aspirations, as all production was geared up for the armed services. A prototype 350cc twin – the 3TW – was on the blocks and approved as the standard service bike when, on the night of the 14th November 1940, the Triumph factory was completely demolished in the blitz of Coventry. Undaunted, motorcycle production was resumed in temporary facilities in Warwick, while a brand new factory was built in Meriden. The new plant opened its doors in 1942.
In the late ‘30s the Speed Twin (T100) had impressed the American flat track racing community, and when hostilities ceased Turner sensed the potential for strong US growth. Shrewdly he’d maintained correspondence with Bill Johnson, Triumph’s west coast distributor, throughout the war years and 1945 visited the US to cement the relationship.
Post war the range on sale consisted of three models - the Tiger 100 and Speed Twin plus the smaller ‘touring’ 349cc 3T – and in 1946 Irishman Ernie Lyons won the Manx Grand Prix on a Tiger 100, beating a host of Nortons. By the end of the decade the styling of these bikes had evolved to enclose the headlight and clocks in a nacelle – a unique (and instantly recognisable) feature at the time and two new models had been added: The off road 500cc Trophy, and the big bore (649cc!) Thunderbird, built in response to an American plea for more power.