WORDS: Peter Elliott
PHOTOS: Geoff Osborne
STREET
SCRAMBLING
MAN…
here’s a new matt green and black
Triumph Street Scrambler, gleaming
at my front door. It just sits there
looking magnificent. Every time I pass it
by, it grabs my eye, forcing me to take
in the sinuous brushed-stainless pipes
snaking down the right hand side. That
green tank glows like it’s lit from within.
My hand passes over the Alcantara ribbed
seating involuntarily, like stroking a loved
one’s face. It is sad, this silly attraction I
have for motorcycles it’s lifelong, and it
comes from the appreciation of aesthetics
in design and the promise of excellence in
function. Oh, and noise, speed and a hint
of rebellion.
It wasn’t always like this though, but
for most of its 116 year continuous
production history, the longest of any
motorcycle manufacturer, Triumph
has held strong at the forefront of
motorcycling dreams and fantasies.
The fascination of the marque has been
welded to immortality with the likes
of Marlon Brando, James Dean, David
Beckham, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and,
of course, the pinnacle of them all, Steve
Mc ueen – the impossible king of cool.
Names that over the years have been
elevated by their association with
Triumph, but equally Triumph has been
the recipient of their coolness’.
To begin at the beginning. A Nuremberg
Triumph’s evocative
Street Scrambler and a
bout of man-flu coincided
to make us think about
Triumph’s long history.
native named Siegfried Bettmann came
to Coventry and began importing bicycles.
In 1886 he purchased the name Triumph
Cycle Company, and with assistance
from people and funds from the Dunlop
Pneumatic Tyre Company, they built a
factory producing their own Triumph
bikes.
By 1898 they were fired with the idea of
motor-bicycles, and produced their first
Belgian-engined versions in 1902. Success
was fast. In 1903 they sold 500 of them
and by 1905 they had re-designed the
bike entirely. By 190 they were selling
1000 a year, and had opened another
factory in Nuremberg - although they
marketed it under a different name, Orial.
A French company already owned that
name, so they were renamed again as
TWN” Triumph Werke N rnberg
In the 1914-18 World War, Triumph
contributed strongly to the allied war
effort, supplying some 30,000 of the
Model H, known widely as the Trusty
Triumph’.
By the 20s they had expanded to over
500,000 square feet of factory space with
the ability to deliver over 30,000 cars
and motorcycles a year. For the first time
export sales were the major financial
driver for the company, although they
were only made under license in the S.
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