DESIGN ARCHIVE: TRIUMPH
Design Archive: Triumph Motorcycles
Estd. 1886
Location: Hinckley, Leicestershire (UK)
Triumph have been manufacturing motorcycles since 1902 and have recently celebrated 110 years of motorcycle history. Their extensive design archives reach right back to the origins of the company, with further information, support and original models made available from both enthusiasts and the nearby National Motorcycle Museum (situated just 20 miles away from the current factory).
Producing distinctive motorcycles long associated for their very British sense of style, engineering and innovation, the company continues to go from strength to strength. Through the 1950s and 1960s, film stars such as Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando also helped establish the Triumph legend, along with the numerous land speed records and race track successes that gave bikes like the Thunderbird, Bonneville, Tiger and Trident the iconic status they continue to enjoy today.
Triumph logos 1902 to present day
In 1884 Siegfried Bettmann moved from Nuremberg, Germany to London to sell bicycles badged with his own name. Two years later Bettmann set up the Triumph cycle company and encouraged by the engineer Mauritz Schulte began to design and produce his own machines.
Three years later in 1889 production was moved to Coventry, where Britain's thriving bicycle industry was situated, and soon after in 1902, Triumph's first motorcycle was produced. Known as the 'No.1' it was essentially a strengthened safety bicycle with a 2.25bhp Belgium Minerva engine driving the back wheel (used in addition to/instead of the pedal cranks).
The company went on to produce many classic machines, win championship races and relocate to new factory premises.
Jack Marshall winning the Isle of Man TT in 1908 with an average speed of 45mph.
30,000 Type H motorcycles were sold to the military during the First World War.
The 1923 Triumph Ricardo was capable of delivering 20bhp - drum brakes were soon fitted to cope with the increased power demands.
Triumph's Coventry factory - framebuilders (1935).
The 1937 Speed Twin T100 (498cc), having a top speed of over 90 mph, it was the definitive British motorcycle and established a pattern for Triumph bikes that lasted more than 40 years.
After the Coventry factory was demolished in the 1940 blitz on the city, a new plant was built at nearby Meridan in 1942 - the company was literally located in the very centre of England.
Buddy Elmore wins the Daytona 200 in 1966 on a factory prepared 500cc Tiger, follwed by Gary Nixon the following year (above).
Countless film stars have also appeared on classic Triumph machines (and continue to do so), reinforcing to cinema audiences around the world the company's enviable heritage.
The Bonneville is Triumph's most iconic motorcycle and was introduced in 1959, with the last machine built at Meridan in 1983. The T120 Bonneville 650 was an evolution of the Tiger, built with American market in mind by fitting twin carburettors. 
In 1964 Triumph set a new world record of 224mph at the Bonneville salt flats (USA), followed by many other race track wins.
Bob Wilkinson banks on his Triumph T120
Escapism, from the daily grind, was always an attractive and successful marketing tool for a machine that was truly liberating, both in terms of speed and distance. The working classes could finally (afford to) get away from it all. These examples from the late 1960s reaffirm a growing youth movement (and market) keen to leave the 'old world' behind.
During the late 1960s and 1970s Japanese competition began to impact seriously on the British motorcycle market with more affordable bikes such as the Honda 750 now being offered. As a precursor to the same fate that would hit the UK automotive industry, the opening up of freer trade links and global markets was to have a significant impact on the company. Triumph, along with the rest of the British motorcycle industry, suffered greatly and ultimately the company went out of business during the early 1980s. However the property developer John Bloor came to the rescue a few years later, by purchasing the Triumph factory, along with the license to build a small number of Bonneville machines.
After buying the old factory in 1983 and after sub-licensing the brand for a short period, he then invested over £80 million into rebuilding the marque, opening a new factory in Hinkley, Leicestershire in 1991. Triumph was back again and remaining true to the company's heritage Bloor combined the very latest design, engineering and manufacturing facilities with the character and design flair that has always been associated with the famous swooping badge.
The Daytona 1000 Four, launched at Cologne 1990, helped signal Triumph's return to the motorcycling world's stage, closely followed by the 1994 Tiger...
In 1995 John Bloor was awarded the OBE for services to the motorcycle industry as a mark of respect to his great achievement in such a competitive marketplace.
In 2000 the Bonneville was revived in the new Hinkley factory and since then over 65,000 have been sold.
Two years later a tragic factory fire halted production, but luckily not the design and engineering departments. Undeterred the factory was soon rebuilt again, becoming one of the most efficient motorcycle factories in the world.
Triumph continues to build upon its incredibly rich design heritage in the motorcycle industry, with modern bikes like the Speed Triple, Rocket III, Daytona 675 and the Tiger Explorer. Indeed the company is going from strength to strength, even in these more difficult economic times, proving that the spirit of design, engineering and innovation are still very much alive and kicking in the UK motorcycle industry.
Obsessionistas would like to thank Stuart Wood - Chief Engineer and Simon Carter - International Dealer Marketing Coordinator at Triumph, for facilitating access to the company's historical archive material.
Visit the Triumph website here
All images © Triumph motorcycles and published with their with kind permission.