Classic ‘pea-shooter’ exhaust pipes were added there was a new, bespoke ‘teardrop’ fuel tank and matching bench seat while wheels were wires. Externally it was all new, too, with more curvaceous engine cases and cylinders which, while still water-cooled, were intended to resemble the air-cooled ‘Trumpets’ of yore. So, although the ‘T-bird’s basic frame and engine architecture were Trident, everything else was brand new: The 900 triple was not only detuned for more cruiser-style torque, it was given a lazier, five-not-six speed gearbox. It wasn’t a coincidence.Īnd although the Thunderbird would, like the Speed Triple, be based on Triumph’s already popular 900 triple, in this case the Trident 900, for this key model the Hinckley firm also went far, far further in terms of customising and getting the look ‘just right’. By 2000, with the launch of its second retro, the popular Bonneville 800, it broke even for the first time. By 1995, Triumph was making 12,000 bikes a year. Although Triumph’s relaunch was a success following John Bloor’s purchase of the name and manufacturing rights after Meriden’s collapse in 1983 and its subsequent relaunch with six all-new, modern, modular machines at the 1990 Cologne Show, in the early 1990s production numbers were still very small and its range of bikes conspicuously conservative – bland even.īy 1993 the Hinckley factory had yet to build its 10,000th bike (today it regularly makes 60,000 annually) and its Trophy, Daytona and Trident models, though worthy and robust, were considered fairly dreary – particularly in the vital overseas markets.īut a change in direction in 1992 plus important new facilities such as an in-house paint shop, would not only result in a series of more characterful models (first the Tiger 900 in 1993, then the Speed Triple in 1994 then, crucially, the Thunderbird in 1995) but would also help fuel a boost in sales and production that totally transformed the company.
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