Trusty Triumph

While we celebrate the resurgence of modern Triumph motorcycles, it’s easy to overlook the marque’s major contribution to motorcycling itself which took place over a hundred years ago. Had it not been for Triumph’s first ‘era of greatness’, argues Timothy Pickering, the powered two-wheeler could have vanished from Britain’s roads long before the classic bike was invented… Frank Melling’s otherwise…

Triumph Visitor Experience

Triumph has a long history of making motorcycles which stretches all the way back to 1902. The firm’s history falls into two distinct parts* – the classic bike side and the modern motorcycles – and these are reflected in the company’s new Visitor Experience. Frank Melling has visited, and is experienced… First, there is what is usually called ‘Meriden’ Triumph…

Triumph Thunderbird

Back in the early 1980s, Triumph built a budget 650; a short-stroke version of the 750 Bonneville. These days the TR65 Thunderbird is proving to be a rewarding practical classic bike for one regular rider… ‘As I age,’ says RC regular Mark Holyoake, ‘my taste in bikes has changed. Gone are the days of race-reps and the like; I have…

Classic Bike Auction

As usual, the autumn Stafford Show will host a Bonhams auction of classic motorcycles. Some 200 classic bikes will go under the hammer and we’ll be keeping an eye on our favourites. Some folks focus on the exclusive array of upmarket machines in these sales, and there are Gold Stars, Broughs, Vincents and Manx Nortons aplenty. There’s also a superb…

Dot Motorcycles

Famous after WW2 for their lightweight trials and scrambles machines, Dot Motorcycles adopted their ‘Devoid of Trouble’ marketing slogan back in the early 1920s, around five years before the 1928 350 pictured here was built. Exactly where the company’s name came from appears to have been lost down the back of the sofa of time. Brand name aside, Dot’s story…

Norton Commando

The S-type 750 Commando was introduced in 1969 alongside the Fastback, itself a tweaked version of the initial Commando, and the R-type Roadster. The S was intended to capture the hearts and wallets of the American market and it wedded Norton’s isolastic chassis to the street scrambler styling of the P11 desert sled which had been discontinued the previous year.…