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Timeline

– 1902 to today

The roots of Triumph motorcycles go way back to the late 19th century when founding entrepreneur, Siegfried Bettmann, settled in Coventry, England and capitalised on a ripe English bicycle market. Bicycles soon became motorcycles and the evolution of one of the most famous names in motorcycling had begun.

1920'S

Deciding to diversify Triumph’s manufacturing base, early in the ‘20s Bettmann purchased a former car factory in Coventry and started producing a 1.4 litre saloon. Produced under the name of the Triumph Motor Co, this foray away from two wheels was to prove the eventual undoing of Bettmann’s empire.

On the motorcycle front, two years after the end of hostilities in Europe, Triumph unveiled another evolutionary motorcycle, the Type SD, the first Triumph to dispense with belt final drive in favour of a chain-driven rear wheel.

With a capacity of 550cc the Type SD was too big to enter the Senior TT so Triumph developed an all-new single cylinder engine of 500cc capacity. The ‘Riccy’, as it became known, went on to collect many world speed records, including the flying mile with a speed of 83.91mph.

Other models followed including the basic Model P, which sold 20,000 units, and the TT (or Two Valve, as it was called), which became the mainstay of Triumph’s range.