A
superb and rare photo of the 1967
Baja 1000 race.
Triumph Motorcycles was 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 1885 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. 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 Pneumatic Tyre Company. In that year, Bettmann was joined by another
Nuremberg native, Moritz 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
cars. Schulte left the company, but in the 1920s 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 and car makers, with a 500,000 square feet
(46,000 m2) plant capable of producing up to 30,000 motorcycles and cars
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. Shortly after, the Super Eight was born. 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. 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 Jack Sangster, who also owned the rival Ariel
motorcycle company. That same year, the company began its first exports to 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 500 cc 5T
Speed Twin - released in September 1937, and the basis for all Triumph twins until
the 1980s. Contrary to popular belief, however, this was not Triumph's first
parallel twin. This honour falls to the Val Page designed, but unpopular, 6/1.
After Turner arrived, in his usual brusque manner, the 6/1 was dropped, later
to be replaced with Turner's design. The 6/1 engine later resurfaced, somewhat
modified, as the BSA A10. In 1939 the 500 cc Tiger T100, capable of
100 miles per hour (160 km/h), was released, and then the war began. 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. (It was actually the
village of Allesley, which was difficult to find on a map!) One of Triumph's
wartime products is of particular interest: portable generators for the RAF,
using 500 cc Triumph engines with alloy barrels. 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. Post War, the Speed Twin and
Tiger 100 were available with a sprung rear hub, Triumph's first attempt at a
rear suspension. Privateers put wartime surplus alloy barrels on their Tiger
100 racers, and won races, inspiring the Triumph GP model. By 1950 the supply
of barrels was exhausted, and the GP model was dropped. The American market
applied considerable pressure to reverse this backward step, and a die cast
close finned alloy barrel was made available. The alloy head made the valve
noise more obvious, so ramp type cams were introduced for alloy head models to
reduce the noise. Another motorcycle based on the wartime generator engine was
the 499 cc TR5 Trophy Twin, also introduced at the 1948 Motor Cycle Show.
It used a single carburettor, low compression version of the Grand Prix engine.
Britain won the prestigious 1948 International Six Days Trial. The Triumph
works team had finished unpenalised. One team member, Allan Jefferies, had been
riding what amounted to a prototype version. To satisfy the American appetite
for motorcycles suited to long distance riding, Turner built a 650 cc
version of the Speed Twin design. The new bike was named the Thunderbird (A
name Triumph would later license to the Ford Motor Company for use on a car).
In 1950 Bobby Turner in Southern California set many speed records with a
highly tuned version of the 650 Thunderbird. Several other riders like Ed Kretz
and Blackie Blullock used the same machine, nicknamed “Wonderbird” also in
speed record events and racing. Amazingly, the Thunderbird engine, its design
origins from 1939, held the world's absolute speed record for motorcycles from
1955 until 1970. 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. The Triumph Motorcycle concern was sold to their rivals
BSA by Sangster in 1951. This sale included Sangster becoming a member of the
BSA board. Sangster was to rise to the position of Chairman of the BSA Group in
1956. The production 650 cc Thunderbird was a low compression tourer, and
the 500 cc Tiger 100 was the performance bike. That changed in 1954, with
the change to swing arm frames, and the release of the alloy head 650 cc
Tiger 110, eclipsing the 500 cc Tiger 100 as the performance model. In
1959, the T120, a tuned double carburettor version of the 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.
This is your rare chance to own this non periodphoto that
reflects a very interesting and historic piece of motorcycle history. Therefore
it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12” (ca. 20 x 30 cm).
Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy. For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!
(Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)
No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.
All items always sent well protected in PVC clear files and board backed envelopes.
We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.
After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!
First come - first served. And you can always contact us for your requests. Please ask any questions before the auction ends.