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Triumph Motorcycle Factory

Nice one, Jim. :nicetopic:
That slice of epic engineering history should be commemorated. I recall my motorbike - petrol headed, mates raving about the Bonneville. Although they reckoned that was the best engine for some reason they preferred it mounted in a Norton frame, producing a Hybrid called a Triton.
motorcycle9.gifNice
 
The trouble with the Triumph frame was that it was made in two peices and it tended to flex at the joint which earned it the nickname of Instant Whip.
We don't seem to have much industry left now.
 
:georgecrossflag:my dad worked at the triumph and my step brother also worked there,he was a tester,blasting down the mad mile with percy tate,jack donno was another name that comes to mind.
he lived at the back of the shops away up the road but that side,
my dad used to ride a big triumph with a box on the side a como in affect they used to swop and change the engines and said give it a belting, he used to deliver parts to motorcycle shops and the like.
he also drove a van for the triumph and carried the bonnie twin engine thing that held the land speed record at daytona beach,i,ve got a picture of it with my dad standing by the side of it outside the factory..
as a matter of interest i sent you a reply to an email ,about whatever i,m not expecting an email off everyone but if you would,nt mind will you just say that you got this mail?? i don,t seem to be getting a reply off anybody,just wonder if it,s working persay..cheers mate dereklcg
 
Derek, if you meant it was me you sent an e-mail to, then I never received it, mate.:(
 
alex the pie man

postied said:
Derek, if you meant it was me you sent an e-mail to, then I never received it, mate.:(
Click to expand...
hi postied i could,nt remember the name of the hotel across from alex,s the pie man and you sent me it was the albany...it said i see you live in the centre of england and all tha jazz.. regards dereklcg.;)


EDIT BY ROD

Ive attached the contents of an email sent to me by Derek. I hope Ive done right attaching the picture.


yes i believe thats where it got it,s name,the said bonneville is or was when i took photos of it are in the national motorcycle museam.
my dad is the one on the left in the cowgown and peaked cap on.
happy days regards dereklcg.
 
Derek, I'd love to see that picture of the Bonnie. Any chance of posting it here? BTW, didn't the Bonnie get its name from the Bonneville Salt Flats where some of other the world record runs were made?

(p.s. If you want to test your email try sending one to yourself)
 
attached photo.(oisin)

dereklcg said:
hi postied i could,nt remember the name of the hotel across from alex,s the pie man and you sent me it was the albany...it said i see you live in the centre of england and all tha jazz.. regards dereklcg.;)


EDIT BY ROD

Ive attached the contents of an email sent to me by Derek. I hope Ive done right attaching the picture.


yes i believe thats where it got it,s name,the said bonneville is or was when i took photos of it are in the national motorcycle museam.
my dad is the one on the left in the cowgown and peaked cap on.
happy days regards dereklcg.
Click to expand...
yes thanks thats fine rod.
oisin asked me to post it and when i sent it i thought it would get to him i,m sure he will find it kind regards derek..
ps i don,t know my left from my right my dads the one on the right..
 
I know it could be looked upon as sacrilege to mentioned Yamaha on a thread about Triumph but I saw mention of the Triumph Trident.

When Yamaha had to change from two stroke engines to four stroke they wanted a beast to herald their entrance into the new market. They commissioned their RD department in Holland to produce a big bike and they came up with the XS 750. It was a hybrid of many current bikes. They took the Triumph Trident triple engine and sorted out it's inherent leaking problem by placing a Suzuki 'ram air cowl' over the cylinder head to deflect cooling air to the base of the cylinders which immediately cured the problem which Triumph had never been able to fix. They placed the engine into a Norton feather bed frame, used Honda electrics and the shaft drive from a BMW. It was the first production bike with triple disk brakes, alloy wheels and a blackened engine.
I bought one of the first batch that came into Britain from Percy Taites about 1976?

It's good to see the latest Triumph triple in the form of the Rocket an awesome beast
 
Triumphs on the straight mile.

My late father-in-law was a motorcycle enthusiast to the end, at which point he severed his love with a Vincent, the one and only water-cooled Norton Classic, a big Triumph, a completely renovated Excelsior which he had bought brand new in a crate in bits, and another which I cannot recall. We kept the Vincent in the close family with the little Excelsior. He loved motor bikes.
He lived very close to the famous 'Straght Mile' just off the A45 at Bourton-on-Dunsmore, where I believe all new Triumphs were tested. A few years before he died he saw the telegraph pole at the one end of the mile, which carried a marker for the accurately measured mile for the test runs, was about to be replaced, having shown signs of rotting away. He had a word with the guys from BT and that historic marker was transfered to the new pole and is there to this day, thanks to his intervention.
 
Rod,
Thanks for that. :thumbsup:

Derek,
How Rod's done it is how I intended it, so thanks for passing on the picture to him - it's great! :)

Langy,
The Triton I mentioned was a hybrid. That Yamaha you had sounds more like a mongrel. :D

Silver,
Your father in law should be commended and remembered for preserving that piece of our history. Pity there's not a plaque on the post explaining what it's all about.
 
Triumph, Meridan

My father, John Young was a Toolmaker at the Triumph factory in Meridan during the fifties. I remember him talking about the specially strenghtened bikes they built for the Royal Corps. of Signals display team who appeared at the Royal Tournament. I especially remember attending the factory sports day when I was a kid.
 
triumph

:nicetopic:hi fliermike45 nice story mate.
my dad worked at the triumph also,we used to have a great time at triumph sports days,they used to have a train that wen,t around a track you could ride on it was great,we lived in a back to back in nechells with no garden :(so we used to run and play to our hearts content.
happy happy days.
i,ve a photo at a sports day of my mom and my step sister,my step brother was a tester after coming out of the raf,he often called at ours with some of the lads i remember percy tait well.
regards dereklcg.:)
 
mad mile

hi silver fox thats a great story,
my dad and stepbrother both worked at the triumph,there was another road they used and they called it the mad mile,it ran from meriden on the b4102 down to the a452 hampton in arden/ stonebridge to kenilworth road,
i,m sure they had lots of such roads they could hit the big 100 mph before they ran out of road.
i wish i,d have asked more questions when i was younger.
where would we find out or have our memmory jogged if it was,nt for sites like this?? happy days.
regards dereklcg:)
 
hi fliermike45

fliermike45 said:
My father, John Young was a Toolmaker at the Triumph factory in Meridan during the fifties. I remember him talking about the specially strenghtened bikes they built for the Royal Corps. of Signals display team who appeared at the Royal Tournament. I especially remember attending the factory sports day when I was a kid.
Click to expand...
;)don,t know if you have seen this? i sent to and i can,t remember who must be an agg thing.:redface:
i,ve sent this to a couple of people and they,ve loved it.
www.helmethairblob.com/entries/1957-triumph-factory-tour

you may not have to put it all in but it,s worth it if you do:)have to.
let me know what you think regards dereklcg
 
Link does not work

Dereklcg,
Sorry but your link doesn't work.
Mike
 
triumph motorcycle factory tour 1957

hi fliermike45,
sorry the link did,nt work you would have really
liked it,it shows guys working in the factory packing
them for export making and building engines testing french
police on triumphs also British police and the display team
the royal signals? i,ll ask my mate in Texas,because i sent it to
him can,t remember if he said he watched it,i,ll speak with him
over the weekend, we use skype he,s five hours behind they,ve just
put there clock back,have you?try again with the triumph thing
knock some of the address off it and it mite work.
happy days regards dereklcg.
 
triumph motor cycle rider.

hi Rupert.
it could be on the i.o.m the picture is of Percy Tait who was a tester
at the triumph and was also works rider for them he was a great
rider up against the top riders of the day, he rode at Mallory park
brands hatch all the British circuits,
i think he rode at daytona usa i used to follow his progress.
my dad and step brother worked at the triumph,
they used to be one of the best British bikes of the fast
and quite reliable i had two triumph a speedtwin and
a thunderbird,they never let me down.
happy days regards dereklcg.
ps this is the bonneville that held the
the land speed world record.
my dad is the one on the right of the
picture with the cap and cowgown on..:)
 
triumph motorcycle factory tour 1957

hi mike.
i,ve got it saved in a folder and could,nt send it wholesale
so i typed it in and got it wrong sorry mate,
we got there in the end glad you enjoyed it
a blast from the past. the old tramp did alright out of it?
happy days regards derek.:)
 
What a movie

Probably the best movie I have seen in a long time. The story (true) and the acting is superb.
 
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