TRAIL RIDING IN WIDE SCREEN ...................... 40
ROAD TEST: GREEVES 250 TRAIL...................... 42
ROAD TEST: KAWASAKI 175-F1TR...................... 46
A METISSE THE HARD WAY............................ 51
CLASSIC: 1912 POPE................................ 52
KING OF THE FLATTRACKS............................ 54
THE TURIN MUSEUM.................................. 57
SPEEDING TOO SLOWLY............................... 60
THE BUYER SHOULD STILL BEWARE..................... 65
HISTORY OF TRIUMPH ............................... 66
ANYONE WHO'D RIDE ONE OF THOSE.................... 70
BASIC MOTORCYCLE PHOTOGRAPHY..................... 72
THE ONE-TIMER..................................... 75
ROAD IMPRESSION: MATTEL BRONCO.................... 80
ENDURO MACHINERY.................................. 82
LIGHTWEIGHT TEST: YAMAHA 100...................... 84
LIGHTWEIGHT TEST: BRIDGESTONE 90 ................. 86
TRAIL TEST: GILERA 98 TOWN & COUNTRY ........... 88
ROUNDUP.......................................... 4
SERVICE DEPARTMENT................................. 8
TECHNICALITIES ................................... 18
LETTERS .......................................... 28
RACING REVIEW .................................... 94
NEW MODELS & PRODUCTS.............................106
REPORT FROM JAPAN ............................... 110
CONTINENTAL REPORT .............................. 113
REPORT FROM ITALY................................ 116
INDEX TO ADVERTISERS ............................ 117
DEALER DIRECTORY ............................
COVER: The 1912 Pope by Jesse Alexander.
The Triumph motorcycle, like many
of its other British brothers, had its
beginnings in the bicycle industry. Founded
in 1885 in London, the early history of
the Triumph Company is very nearly lost
in the mists of time.
The founder of the company was, sur-
prisingly, not an Englishman, but rather a
German by the name of Siegfried Bett-
mann. Bettmann’s small bicycle manufac-
turing business prospered, and in 1887 he
was joined by a fellow German, M. J.
Shulte, who was a young design engineer.
Together, these two Germans were later to
have a profound effect on the infant
motorcycle industry.
In 1888 the company moved to new
quarters in Coventry, and in 1897 the
brilliant Shulte was investigating the pos-
sibilities of a motor-powered bicycle. The
motor-bicycle under examination was the
Hildebrand and Wolfmuller, a German
machine which Shulte regarded as being
far too crude to ever be a workable design.
The seeds of a motor-powered bicycle were
sown in Shulte’s mind, though, and he was
convinced that the future held great things
for a motorbike.
It was in 1902 that the first motorcycle
was produced by the burgeoning com-
pany, when a Belgian Minerva single-cyl-
inder engine was mounted on one of their
bicycles. The original 66mm bore by
70mm stroke engine had an automatic in-
let valve, battery-coil ignition, and it was
mounted below the front downtube of the
bicycle. For 1903 the engine was modified
to standard side-valve design, and in 1904
the Triumph had a British J.A. Prestwich
engine which was similar to the Belgian
Minerva powerplant. The factory also pro-
duced a model that year with a larger
3 hp Belgian-made Fafnir engine mounted
centrally in the frame. All these early
Triumphs had belt drive and bicycle pedal-
gear with a single rim-brake.
Despite the early enthusiasm for the
motorbike, the public had found it lack-
ing in reliability and overall performance.
With this in mind, the brilliant Shulte de- |
signed the very first all-British motorcycle
in 1904 and production began the follow-
ing year. The engine was a 3 hp single-
cylinder side-valve, centrally mounted in a
properly designed motorcycle frame. Igni-
tion was by a' reliable magneto, and the
carburetor was of their own design.
To publicize this first all-British machine
the company staged a demonstration run
to prove its endurance. The goal was to
cover 200 miles per day for six days — a
really arduous test for machines of that
era. The run was a success, and the new
Triumph was on its way to tremendous
popularity.
Production in 1905 was at the astound-
ing rate of five machines per week, which
rose to a healthy 500 machines for 1906.
It was in 1906 that a front fork with a sus-
pension spring was introduced, which made
for a more comfortable ride. In 1907 the
engine dimensions were enlarged to 82mm
x 86mm and production increased to 1000
machines per year. In 1908 the engine
was again increased to 85mm x 88mm,
which made it a full 500cc; and in 1909
the production was up to 3000 units.
During those very early days Triumph
became renowned on the race courses,
and their trusty little singles achieved
many victories. In the very first Isle of
Man TT race, for instance, the marque
garnered second and third places in the
single-cylinder class. In 1908, Jack Mar-
shall copped first place at 40.4 mph with
a fastest lap at 42.48 mph. Other Triumphs
took third, fourth and fifth places. The
models featured direct belt drive at a
ratio of 4.5 to 1.
A clutch in the rear hub was introduced
in the 1911 models along with such niceties
as adjustable tappets to set valve clear-
ances. In 1913 a three-speed Sturmey-
Archer hub gear was available, and a
225cc two-stroke was also added to the
range. The company experimented with
a side-valve vertical-twin engine, too, but
it never did reach the production stage.
This last item was a hint of what was to
come in later years.
For 1914 the bore and stroke dimensions...