Though not everyone is aware of it, there is another British
vehicle flying the Triumph 'banner', and this one is in production
today!. And believe it or not (Wikipedia can't be wrong),
the motorcycle came first in 1902 (a branch of the Triumph
Cycle Company Ltd., a bicycle company.) Then in 1919, the
Triumph Cycle Company Ltd. acquired the Dawson Car Company and
produced such vehicles as the Triumph 10/20 and the Super 7.
In 1930, the name was changed to Triumph Motor Company and the
Gloria and Southern Cross were born. In 1936, the
motorcycle and bicycle sides of the business were sold and in 1983,
Triumph motorcycle production closed as the company went bankrupt.
Then in 1990, the Triumph motorcycle made a comeback in
England. And in 1995, the Triumph motorcycle returned to the
American market where it has had great success. Built in
Hinkley instead of Meriden, the new models are still British
iron. The Bonneville, introduced in 1958 has been hailed as
the greatest motorcycle of all times. The one pictured here, a
2009 model, belongs to the Webmaster. It is patterned to some
extend after the early '60s bikes and to some after the '70s models
(cast wheels were stock on the last of the original Bonneville's, so
there!) The early bikes were 650cc machines and were thought
of as BIG bikes. The later ones were 750cc and this one is
856cc. The 2009 models, though appearing to have the dual carb
set-up familiar to all Bonnevilles, are actually fuel injected with
the injectors cleverly hidden under the caps on the 'carbs.'
And though the 2009 models are air cooled and remain pretty true to
their heritage, they don't leak oil like the vintage models and they
don't require the use of a leg to get them fired
up! Our resident expert, on all things automotive
and motorcycle related, may dispute much or all of this information
but that's ok. I read it on the Internet so it must be
true!
