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Triumph TR 6SC Trophy Special (TT Special)

The Triumph Bonneville TT Special was released in 1963 and sold until 1967 as a motorsport special designed to race in the wildly popular TT Steeplechase events held at many flat track circuits around the country.
Numbers were very limited, with just a few hundred produced in total between 1963 and 1967.

As with many of the more interesting British motorcycles, America should be given credit for the Triumph TT Special and it single-carb stablemate, the TR6SC Trophy Special. The U.S. had long been Triumph's most important export market, so when Western states distributor Johnson Motors requested off-road only versions of Triumph's 650 twin, it was treated as more of a friendly demand.

The aptly named TT Special, with its stripped-down look, small fuel tank and short, open exhaust pipes, echoed the style of those racers. Where a maximum output of 52bhp was claimed for the Bonneville roadster, the TT produced 54bhp courtesy of its high-compression pistons and those trademark open pipes. Tachometer-only instrumentation, a larger-section front tire and absence of lighting further distinguished the TT, which came with lowered overall gearing reflecting its intended role primarily as a dirtbike.

Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s