Triumph Motorcycle Specifications

• Triumph is a venerated British motorcycle marque started in 1902. The Triumph stumbled financially in the early '70s through 1983 when it was taken over by John Bloor who secretly developed a new line of Triumphs. But instead of following the race-replica trend, Bloor paid homage to the classic Triumphs while adding modern reliability.

Singles

• Like most European makers, Triumph began with a single-cylinder, air-cooled, four-stroke engine. Early models were bicycles with small-displacement engines attached. Triumph soon became known for making mid-bore engines from 500 to 740 ccs. Eventually, Triumph would follow the Super Bike trend to larger engines, from 885s, 1,000s and even a 1,200, though, the medium and big-bore bikes were multi-cylinder machines.

Twins

• Single and v-twin, four-stroke motors were standard in the dawn of motorcycling. In 1937, Triumph released the Speed Twin: a 500-cc, in-line, twin four stroke.

Triples

• A sure way to build smooth power is to add cylinders. With the success of Triumph's in-line twins, in 1969, Triumph launched the the Trident T150 --- an in-line triple, displacing 740-cubic centimeters.

Notable Models

• Vintage Triumph Bonnevilles are among the most famous motorcycles ever made. Early Triumph triples, first conceived in 1961 and released in '68, were notable for their rare, in-line, three-cylinder engine layout. The second generation Triumph Speed Triple is notable as the bike that helped resurrect the Triumph marquee when Triumph began sponsoring the Speed Triple Challenge in 1994; while it's not competitive with the best of Japanese or Italian sport bikes, the Triumph Triple Challenge or "TTC" was a resoundingly popular racing series. Then, in 2001, Triumph released the Rocket III -- a cruiser-style bike and the first-ever production motorcycle in the world, with more than 2,000 ccs.

The Reputation

• Triumph is synonymous with the "English Motorcycle." Like all English motorcycles, earlier pre-1983 models had a reputation for leaking oil, but Triumph also had a reputation for making the best motors in England. Triumph made up half of the legendary custom, English motorcycle hybrids known as "Tritons" and "Norvils". Enthusiasts and racers would install Triumph motors into Norton Featherbed frames---thought to be the best of European motorcycle frames. Triumph-powered, Norton-framed bikes were thought to be the best of both worlds.