Siegfried Bettmann founded the Triumph Cycle Company in 1887 and
promptly acquired premises in Coventry in which he began manufacturing bicycles.
As technology advanced the company moved into the production of powered cycles
in 1902. By 1905 the factory output had reached 500 motorcycles per year, with
the machines being designed, manufactured and built at the Coventry site.
For the next 18 years Triumph enjoyed steady growth and in 1923 the company
added automobile production to their portfolio. By 1925 the motorcycle plant in
Coventry occupied 500,000-sq. ft. and employed 3000 people; with production at
around 25-30,000 units per year.
The motorcycle industry remained fairly stable throughout the early 1930s, and
in 1935 the decision was taken to separate the car and motorcycle divisions (the
bicycle business had been sold off in 1932). In due course the motorcycle arm
was sold and renamed Triumph Engineering Co.
During the Second World War, the Government requisitioned virtually all of the
machines manufactured and, despite the Coventry factory being destroyed in the
1942 Blitz of Coventry, production continued throughout the war years, firstly
at a temporary site in Warwick and then at a new factory in Meriden.
Civilian production began again in 1946 and with supply lines open again Triumph
set about re-establishing a dealer network in America. In 1951 the BSA group
bought Triumph, although the Triumph marque was retained and the company
remained a separate concern within the group.
Production and sales had grown steadily since the war and by 1965 the Meriden
plant was producing around 800 units per week, with 80% of these destined for
the USA. Production peaked in 1969 at around 46,800 units per year. In 1968 the
first triple - the Triumph Trident - was produced (prior to this the company had
concentrated on the manufacture of singles and twins).
By the early 70's the slow supply of parts, coupled with tooling problems led to
production delays and in 1972, in a Government sponsored move, the BSA Group
merged with Norton Villiers and Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT) was formed. In
1973 NVT announced that the Meriden plant was to close - which provoked a
workers' sit in. As a result production ground to a halt and in the following
year, 1974, virtually no motorcycles were built. In 1975, after much
negotiation, the Meriden Workers Co-operative was formed and, with capital
provided by way of a grant from the British government, production of 750cc
Bonnevilles and Tigers resumed at the plant. The co-operative subsequently
bought the rights to the Triumph marque from NVT and production gradually crept
up to 350 units per week. Despite further support from the government the
co-operative went into liquidation in 1983.
REBUILDING THE MARQUE
The intellectual property rights to the Triumph marque were subsequently bought
by John Bloor. Thus began the current era of Hinckley built Triumphs.
The new company needed a strong and stable platform from which a range of
competitive motorcycles could be developed, thus the concept of the modular
range was born. This concept enabled the range to share common components, thus
allowing a number of different types of machine to be constructed from the same
base which, crucially, could all be built on one assembly line at the same time.
Design of the new range commenced in 1984 and by 1988 the company was ready to
begin building a new factory (the old plant at Meriden had been demolished in
the early 80s). A 10-acre site was purchased in Hinckley, Leicestershire,
England and construction commenced. As soon as the first phase of the site was
complete, pre-production began and the first models were launched at the Cologne
show of 1990. Production of the first new model - the 4-cylinder 1200cc Trophy -
began in early 1991, with the factory initially building 8 - 10 new machines per
day.
As production capacity steadily grew, Triumph set about re-establishing a
network of export distributors. Two subsidiary companies had been established to
prior to production commencing; Triumph Deutschland GmbH and Triumph France SA
and over the next couple of years the network expanded to encompass most of the
World's major motorcycle markets, culminating in 1994 with the creation of
Triumph Motorcycles America Ltd.
By this time 20,000 new Triumphs had been built and in January 1995 the Triple
Connection clothing range and the accessories range of products were launched to
provide the Triumph customer with an all-round package of Triumph apparel and
equipment.
The model range evolved throughout the early nineties through a combination of
refinements to the existing range together with the introduction of new models
such as the Tiger, Trident Sprint, Speed Triple and Thunderbird.
By 1995 production stood at around 12,000 units a year and as both retail sales
and production capacity grew the company was able to develop more single-minded
machines that did not rely on the modular concept. The first of these, the
Daytona T595 and the T509 Speed Triple, were launched at the 1996 Cologne Show.
Since then the range has diversified further with the introduction of the Sprint
RS and ST, the Tiger and more recently with the launch of the TT600 and
Hinckley’s first twin, the Bonneville. Other models, such as the Daytona T595,
Speed Triple, Tiger and Thunderbird have also undergone significant
redevelopment in the intervening years.
Production has steadily increased each year and in anticipation of achieving the
maximum capacity capable at the original factory, planning permission for a new
factory was sought in the mid-’90s. The construction of Phase One of ‘Triumph 2’
was completed in the autumn of 1999 and the transfer of certain manufacturing
processes to the new plant ensued. Assembly however remained at the original
plant – now referred to as Factory 1 – and by the beginning of 2001 the
production line was building around 150 units per day – the maximum that could
be achieved from this facility.
Planned production for 2002 was approximately 37,000 motorcycles, however this
was halted in March 2002 by a fire that struck Factory 1. The fire, which took
five hours to bring under control, destroyed the chassis assembly line and
stores area and coated much of the rest of the site in a layer of soot. The
assembly and stores area were promptly demolished in preparation for rebuilding
whilst a huge clean-up operation of the rest of the plant, which included two
engine machining lines, the engine assembly line and the paint shop enabled the
factory to be swiftly operational again.
Triumph Factory 2, together with the buildings housing the design, development,
spares, clothing, accessories and bike storage functions were unaffected by the
fire and continued to operate as normal.
The rebuilding of Factory 1 took five months, during which time no motorcycles
were built. During this time, Triumph took the opportunity to relocate various
manufacturing processes within Factory 2. Not only did this help to minimise the
amount of production time lost but it also allowed Triumph to review the most
efficient layout for each process. Production recommenced in September 2002 and
the plant is now back to producing around 150 units per day.
Triumph now has at its disposal one of the most modern motorcycle manufacturing
facilities in the world. This, together with our diverse model range and
proactive model development programme, places Triumph firmly at the forefront of
motorcycling.
CHRONOLOGY
1984
The new company is founded and work commences on the new modular range.
1988
The 10 acre Hinckley site is purchased and construction commences.
1990
The first phase of the factory is complete and pre-production starts.
SEPTEMBER 1990
The world launch of the first 6 models takes place at the Cologne Motorcycle
Show in Germany.
FEBRUARY 1991
Production of the Triumph 4-cylinder 1200 Trophy commences.
MARCH 1991
The first motorcycles are shipped to Germany, followed by distribution in
Britain.
JUNE 1991
The first 3-cylinder models, the 750 Daytona and 900 Trophy, are manufactured.
OCTOBER 1991
Further export markets including Holland, Australia and France receive their
first bikes.
JANUARY-JUNE 1992
Distributors for many new export markets including Italy, Spain, Switzerland and
Japan are appointed.
OCTOBER 1992
Triumph UK take delivery of the 5,000th bike produced, a Trophy 900.
OCTOBER 1992
The Daytona 900, Tiger and Sprint models are launched at the Cologne Show,
Germany.
NOVEMBER 1992
The 147PS Daytona 1200 is launched at the Birmingham Show, England.
FEBRUARY 1993
Nearly 40 German dealers visit the Triumph factory to ride home the first
Daytona 900/1200 models, defying snow and ice to launch the new models.
MARCH-MAY 1993
Further export markets, including Sweden, receive their first bikes.
JULY 1993
Triumph UK take delivery of the 10,000th bike produced, a Sprint 900.
SEPTEMBER 1993
The Speed Triple and Super III are launched at the Paris Show, France bringing
the line-up to 10 models.
JANUARY 1994
Triumph launch in Canada at the Toronto Show.
FEBRUARY 1994
Triumph's plans to expand their production capacity into the next century are
secured by the granting of planning permission for a new factory on a 40-acre
site.
MARCH 1994
Triumph Motorcycles America Ltd is established and planning proceeds towards a
1995 product launch.
JULY 1994
Triumph Motorcycles return to motorcycle sport with the inaugural 'Speed Triple
Challenge Race' at the British Grand Prix, Donington Park, England.
OCTOBER 1994
Triumph launch the long and eagerly awaited Thunderbird model at the Cologne
Show, Germany.
Triumph re-enters the USA, completing their return to all the world's major
motorcycle markets.
Triumph France take delivery of the 20,000th bike produced, a Sprint 900.
JANUARY 1995
Launch of the Triple Connection clothing and Triumph accessory ranges.
APRIL 1995
Triumph Motorcycles UK launch the Mobil One Speed Triple Race series.
JUNE 1995
Triumph Motorcycles USA launch the Transatlantic Speed Triple Challenge Race
series.
New distributors are appointed for South Africa and Singapore.
AUGUST 1995
Triumph Australia take delivery of the 30,000th bike produced, a Thunderbird.
SEPTEMBER 1995
The completely restyled and redesigned Trophy 900/1200 and the all new
Adventurer models are launched at the Paris Show, France.
A UK rider completes 250 000 miles on his Trident 900 - equivalent to one trip
to the moon.
APRIL 1996
Triumph Australia take delivery of the 40,000th bike produced, a Trophy 1200.
SEPTEMBER 1996
Triumph launch their own Hinckley based owner's club named 'Riders Association
of Triumph'.
Distributors for Malaysia and Thailand are appointed.
OCTOBER 1996
Launch of the stunning new supersports bikes, the T509 Speed Triple and T595
Daytona, at the Cologne Show, Germany.
JANUARY 1997
Production of the T500 series of models starts. They are the most eagerly
awaited Triumphs ever produced.
MARCH 1997
Triumph UK take delivery of the 50,000th bike produced, a Daytona T595.
MAY 1997
Nick Sanders completes the fastest ever journey around the world on a motorcycle
- 19,930 miles in
31 days 20 hours on a Daytona 900.
SEPTEMBER 1997
Thunderbird Sport and Sprint Executive launched at the Milan Show, Italy.
OCTOBER 1997
Triumph is awarded Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year by the Motor Cycle News.
NOVEMBER 1997
Triumph USA take delivery of the 60,000th bike produced, a Thunderbird Sport.
MARCH 1998
A T595 wins the Pro Thunder race at Daytona Race Week.
MAY 1998
Aimed at both novice and experienced riders, the new Legend TT is launched.
JUNE 1998
Triumph France take delivery of the 70,000th bike produced, a Trophy 1200.
SEPTEMBER 1998
At the Munich show, Triumph unveils the new Sprint ST and a completely
redesigned Tiger.
JANUARY 1999
Triumph America take delivery of the 80,000th bike produced, a Daytona 955i.
APRIL 1999
Construction of the first phase of Triumph's new factory begins.
JULY 1999
The 90,000th bike rolls of the production line - an Italian Speed Triple.
SEPTEMBER 1999
Launch of Triumph’s versatile new sports bike, the Sprint RS, at the Milan show.
OCTOBER 1999
Construction of phase one of the new factory is complete and the first
production team – the weld shop – moves to its new home.
NOVEMBER 1999
The eagerly awaited TT600 is unveiled at the International Motorcycle Show,
Birmingham
JANUARY 2000
The factory builds the 100,000th bike – an Lucifer Orange Sprint RS, destined
for Italy
NOTE:
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object to it, I can remove it altogether. If any copyright holder objects
to their articles being placed on Motorcycle Specs, it will be removed upon
request. Any correction or more info on these bikes will kindly be
appreciated.
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