Triumph Motorcycles: A History

Posted Date : Sun, Apr 15, 2012, 2 : 20 PM

Triumph Motorcycles: A History

 

The British is known not just for its colored history, which unfolds across continents, but also for its craftsmanship and style. These qualities are on exhibited in one uniquely British brand: Triumph motorcycles. This privately owned British corporation has supplied the most iconic models of motorcycles that enthusiasts across generations have embraced.

 

The name Triumph is indelible from the history of motorcycles.  Innovations and styles made by the Triumph brand influenced the entire industry. A few of its models have been immortalized in popular culture. In “The Wild One,” a Hollywood movie from the 1950s, Marlon Brando, near the peak of his character, is memorably photographed astride the 1950 Thunderbird, a Triumph creation.

 

The history of Triumph motorcycles is not all glamour and industrial success. Spanning more than a century, surviving two World Wars, waves of economic instability, several owners, union strikes, and destructive factory fires, this classic motorcycle has been through a lot, has fallen and risen from adversity to become what is known today as a leader in the motorcycle production industry.

 

Although Triumph was officially founded in 1887, its story began four years before, in 1883, when a German by the name of Siegfried Bettman moved to Coventry, England. By 1884, Bettman started selling bicycles, which were named after him. Bettman bicycles eventually transformed into a full-fledged business with its own warehouse and by 1887, a new name: New Triumph Co. Ltd. The “new” was dropped, and the company would be known as Triumph Cycle Co. Ltd.

 

Then came a Scottish veterinarian, John Dunlop, an unlikely contributor to the business of making bikes. The tires used for the first Triumph bikes were made from Dunlop’s patent, which turned out wasn’t really his original invention. A fellow Scot, R. W. Thompson invented the pneumatic tires, but it was Dunlop who was able to put them on the market.

 

A new business partner, Mauritz Schulte convinced Bettman that the company should come up with its original models, and by 1888, Triumph took over an old ribbon factory and started making its own unique bicycles.

 

Because of British laws regarding speed limits, Triumph did not go into producing motorcycles until the new century.

 

The company began its production of the first Triumph motorcycle—called No. 1—in 1902, after the act banning the vehicle from British roads was repealed. No. 1 was Triumph’s signature bicycle installed with a two horsepower-engine imported from Belgium.

 

In 1905, Triumph successfully managed production of its first in-house models using parts and frames developed in its factory. These motorcycles ran 45 mph and powered by three horsepower-engines. In two years, the company was able to add a new 450cc motor and assemble about 1,000 units.