The 2013 Triumph Tiger Explorer XC is one of the relatively few modern motorcycles that I’d buy in a heartbeat. From a design perspective the Explorer has that angular, industrial look that I think will define many motorcycles from this period and ensure the bike’s place in history as a classic off-road tourer.
Ed Kretz was the top motorcycle racer in the 1930s and 1940s, he bought his first motorcycle when he was 20 years old out of sheer necessity, it was the Great Depression and an Indian Motorcycle was all Ed could afford as a mode of transportation.
It’s great to see the manufacturing methods employed during the 1940s (or 1950s) in this film, the total lack of automation and resulting man hours required to build a motorcycle is remarkable to see.
In some respects, Triumph is the Keith Richards of the motorcycle world, no matter how many times you think the company is a goner, they bounce back stronger than ever.
Triumph created the 1977 Triumph Silver Jubilee to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee, the model was highly popular and remains a collectors item with only 2,400 examples ever having been built.
This marketing poster from Triumph circa 1977 is a great example of how to turn your weakness into a product feature. Most if to all of the Japanese bikes of the era had electric starts, the Bonneville still used a kicker and this was the marketing departments play at selling it to the masses.