At Total Motorcycle, our tagline is By Riders for Riders and Triumph thinks so too. Welcome to this week’s Inspiration Friday: Triumph 120-Years Celebration! 120 Years of Triumph from the first Triumph motorcycle that went on sale in 1902 ago to a complete range of cutting edge modern bikes today, Triumph has a rich history. A History TMW will ride into below with wonderful photos and we hope you enjoy the wonderful ride.
120 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE, 120 YEARS OF INNOVATION, 120 YEARS OF PERFORMANCE and 120 YEARS OF PASSION. Triumph 120-Years Celebration. We got it all covered.
So much inspiration in a 10 minute read. You’ll learn a lot you may never have known about Triumph and you’ll be inspired to get out there and ride.
Check out all the current 2022 Triumph and new 2023 Triumph motorcycle models (as they arrive) right here on Total Motorcycle. TMW Built by Riders for Riders!
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THE MOST ICONIC BRITISH MOTORCYCLE BRAND
The very first production Triumph motorcycle went on sale in April 1902, starting one of the world’s most exciting motorcycling stories. It’s a story that has shaped the motorcycle world we enjoy today and one that has touched millions of passionate fans who share our obsession for motorcycling. In 2022 we celebrate this landmark 120-year anniversary.
Building on generations of passion, performance, innovation and excellence, Triumph’s modern era began in 1990 with a completely original range of motorcycles designed and built in a brand new, state-of-the-art factory at Hinckley.
- 120 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE – Triumph’s design and engineering teams have produced some of the most characterful and successful motorcycles of all time
- 120 YEARS OF INNOVATION – Across generations Triumph has played a fundamental part in the creation of the motorcycle world we know today.
- 120 YEARS OF PERFORMANCE
- 120 YEARS OF PASSION – Igniting the passion of generations of riders.
In the last three decades, Triumph has built and sold more motorcycles than at any previous time in its history, through an international network of more than 700 dealers in 57 countries.
The passion for Triumph, shared worldwide by owners, riders, fans and dealers, has made the last 12 months the most successful ever, with more than 75,000 bikes registered bringing even more riders into the global Triumph family.
Everyone at Triumph is proud to be part of an iconic brand that represents the very pinnacle of Great British design and engineering, with a line-up of world-beating bikes spanning adventure to roadsters to modern classics, each delivering Triumph’s renowned reputation for class-leading handling, finish, detailing and original, authentic design.
Today Triumph operates across five manufacturing facilities, all managed and led by the global headquarters in Hinckley, Leicestershire, where every Triumph is conceived, prototyped and tested in Triumph’s Centre of Design Excellence. The most recent addition to Hinckley’s impressive infrastructure is an all-new UK assembly plant, built to enhance Triumph’s global manufacturing flexibility and complement the existing multi-million-pound paint shop and rapid prototyping facilities.
With the launch of Triumph’s all new competition MX and Enduro motorcycles, and a new family of smaller capacity bikes created in partnership with Bajaj, the future has never looked more exciting.
JOIN THE CELEBRATION
120 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE – Triumph 120-Years Celebration
BY RIDERS FOR RIDERS
For every motorcyclist their bike is not just a vehicle to be ridden, it reflects their attitudes, ambitions and choice of pleasure, and provides their access to freedom, excitement, togetherness and simple, joyful fun.
To riders everywhere a Triumph has always been much more than the sum of its parts, encapsulating beauty, style and emotion, with a personality that transcends a physical object – in simple terms, it has soul.
Across the generations, Triumph’s design and engineering teams have produced some of the most characterful and successful motorcycles of all time, all created through a shared ethos for continuous, integrated development that encompasses every aspect of the ride.
In our unique development process Triumph’s engine, chassis and styling teams work together to deliver the complete motorcycle, with continuous influence and input from customers and our expert dealers around the world on what riders want, value and need.
BRITISH ICONS
Following an ethos and commitment to completely in-house design, development and manufacturing, as befitting the stature of such an iconic motorcycle brand, Triumph has maintained over the last three decades sustained and significant investment in constantly developing our people, our expert partners and our in-house capabilities. This investment in home grown talent both in the UK and across the Triumph world, matched by a shared passion for the perfect ride, has seen the brand go from strength to strength.
Triumph’s modern era began in 1990 with a completely original range of motorcycles designed and built in a brand new, state-of-the-art factory at Hinckley. Since then Triumph has gone on to represent the very pinnacle of Great British design and engineering, with a line-up of world-beating bikes spanning multiple genres from adventure to roadsters to modern classics, each delivering Triumph’s renowned reputation for class-leading handling, finish and detailing and original, authentic design.
Today Triumph operates across five manufacturing facilities, all managed and led by the global headquarters in Hinckley, Leicestershire, where every Triumph is conceived, prototyped and tested in our centre of design excellence by an in-house team, supported by the world’s leading suspension, braking and tyre specialists.
The most recent addition to Hinckley’s infrastructure is an all-new UK assembly plant, built to enhance Triumph’s global manufacturing flexibility and complement the existing multi-million-pound paint shop and rapid prototyping facilities.
GLOBAL LEGENDS
A truly global operation Triumph has 13 sales and marketing offices around the world, manufacturing and production facilities in Thailand, where the company has its own casting, injection-moulding, machining and assembly facilities, as well as plants in India and Brazil, where bikes are assembled for local markets.
Every Triumph facility adheres to the same comprehensive processes and exacting standards which sees each stage of a motorcycle’s creation follow an exhaustive checking process, with more than 400 review steps throughout the build encompassing every single component.
120 YEARS OF PASSION – Triumph 120-Years Celebration
BY RIDERS FOR RIDERS
For 120 years Triumph has shared the same obsession for two wheels as our riders, growing together to become a global family united by a love of motorcycles and a burning passion for the perfect ride. It’s a passion that’s fueled the creation of some of the world’s most amazing motorcycles, inspired riders across the globe to follow their dreams and helped shape the world of motorcycling we know and love today.
Performed by professional riders under closed and controlled conditions. Do not imitate. Always wear appropriate protective safety equipment.
LIVING LEGENDS
As custodians of arguably one of the world’s most famous and well-loved brands we are privileged to bear the responsibility of protecting and nurturing such a powerful and passionately embraced icon of the motorcycling world.
Everyone at Triumph shares the same drive, commitment and all-encompassing passion for what makes THE perfect ride, from the look, to the sound, to the thrill you get every time you ride, and the simple joy of being part of the motorcycle community.
There’s nothing as satisfying as creating a bike that its rider will love, own and cherish, and which will make them many memories and moments of pure motorcycling joy.
MAKING MEMORIES
From humble beginnings in a small cycle factory in Coventry, England, Triumph has played a major part in defining motorcycling for more than a century, whether that’s taking victories on the track, setting land speed records, inspiring global adventures, or movie legends, and igniting the passion of generations of riders.
From the days of black and white to full colour HD; from the first ever Isle of Man TT to Moto2TM world champions, from carving through countryside corners, to tackling dusty mountain trails, to a Sunday afternoon on the seafront, to checking lap times on a track day, the thrill, satisfaction and sense of being part of something wonderful that every Triumph rider knows is the same today as it’s ever been.
FOREVER DEDICATED
Driven by a unique fusion of spirit and ingenuity, built on unparalleled experience and a passion for creating legends, we are committed to creating the motorcycle icons of the future that combine undeniable personality, character and Triumph DNA.
From our category defining Speed and Street Triples, to our triple-powered, all-terrain Tigers and our legendary Bonneville modern icons, every Triumph is designed and built with the same Triumph hallmarks of class-leading handling, perfect power delivery, beautiful design and benchmark build quality. It’s an ethos that connects generations of Triumph designers, all focused on creating the perfect motorcycle, all committed to delivering the maximum experience in every moment for our riders.
CREATING THE FUTURE
Forever chasing the horizon, together we share an unquenchable drive for the next experience, the next corner, the new and the better. Fueling an unparalleled past, rich with incredible motorcycles and moments, this drive and passion will take us to new heights, with new innovations and experiences.
From the hotly anticipated launch of Triumph’s all-new competition MX and Enduro motorcycles, a new family of smaller capacity bikes and the expansion of Triumph into new territories, the future for Triumph fans around the world has never looked brighter.
PERFORMANCE – Triumph 120-Years Celebration
CHASING PERFECTION IN EVERY MOMENT
Performance isn’t just about power, it’s about everything that adds up to the perfect ride – from the chassis and the way a bike handles, to the technology and the confidence it brings to let you go further, to the thrill you get in every single ride, to the way your motorcycle makes you feel every time you look at it.
Together we share the focus, ambition and commitment to always aim higher, challenging ourselves to go one step further and always seeking new and better ways to deliver the perfect ride, whether that’s discovering the roads less travelled, sharing a Sunday ride out with friends, hitting the perfect apex or chasing the top step on the podium.
CHASING THE WIN
That commitment and passion to always aim higher is shared with some of the world’s most famous racers. From Mike Hailwood, winner of the first ever Thruxton 500 to AMA superstars Gene Romero and Gary Nixon, Buddy Elmore, who roared from 46th place to 1st to take the most famous Daytona 200 win in history, to TT legends old and new, from Malcolm Uphill to Bruce Anstey, and Gary Johnson to Peter Hickman.
Starting with Jack Marshall’s first Isle of Man TT win in 1908, to AMA domination in the sixties, right up to today’s Moto2TM world championship record-breaking partnership, Triumph has raced – and won – in almost every field of motorcycle competition in history.
Every evolution and innovation born of competition and achievement drives better performance for Triumph owners – not just more powerful engines but also outstanding reliability, exceptional power delivery, better fuel economy and longer service intervals.
CHASING THE HORIZON
On a September morning in 1956, Texan racer Johnny Allen arrived at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA and lowered himself into the cockpit of a streamlined two-wheeled missile, with a star of Texas on its nose and a Triumph badge on its side. The cigar-shaped motorcycle tore across the salt at 214.7mph, setting the first of Triumph’s record-breaking four motorcycle land speed records and introducing an iconic name to the world of motorcycling: the Triumph Bonneville.
Seventeen years later, adventure-legend Ted Simon set off on a 500cc Triumph Tiger to ride around the world. Four years and 64,000 miles later, his book, Jupiter’s Travels, ignited a global movement and inspired thousands of riders to follow in his wheel tracks and seek their own adventure of a lifetime.
From Ted Simon to Rhys Lawrey – the record-breaking global circumnavigator – to today’s world travellers, the Triumph Tiger has played a pivotal role for generations in chasing the horizon… and discovering their perfect ride.
120 YEARS OF INNOVATION – Triumph 120-Years Celebration
INVENTING THE FUTURE
Renowned globally for precision, quality and style Triumph has been pivotal in shaping the evolution of the motorcycle, with a tireless commitment to pushing back the boundaries of technology, performance and design to deliver the perfect ride for every rider, every single day.
Across generations Triumph has played a fundamental part in the creation of the motorcycle world we know today, from originating engine platforms that have been adopted across the globe, to inventing and leading completely new categories and technologies, as well as inspiring a whole cultural movement that continues to share a passion for all things motorcycling to this day.
From the very first parallel twin to the highest capacity and highest torque production motorcycle in the world, Triumph’s rich history includes the first factory streetfighter, the first adventure-capable scrambler, the first bobber to ride as good as it looks, the first Moto2 TM edition street bike, the first fuel-injected sports bike, as well as being the only marque to have broken the fastest motorcycle land speed record four times.
INNOVATION IN PERFORMANCE
Engine performance is at the heart of Triumph’s technological innovation, across desert dunes and race tracks, on country roads and city streets. Whether riders want smoother, faster, more powerful or more economical, Triumph’s world-class engineers work tirelessly to improve the Triumph riding experience and give owners the freedom to access optimum performance on every ride.
When it comes to big numbers, nothing can match the world’s largest production motorcycle engine in the magnificent Triumph Rocket 3. Its 2.3-litre inline triple generates an incredible 221Nm peak torque, pushing the Rocket 3 from 0-60mph in an astonishing 2.73s – yet it still handles more like a performance sports bike than it does a cruiser.
Triumph’s pursuit of extreme engine performance also sets the pace on track, where the Street Triple 765-powered Moto2TM MotoGP series has set new lap records at more than twenty Grand Prix races and become the first Moto2 machine to record more than 300kph top speed.
INNOVATION IN STYLE
Triumph’s iconic style is synonymous with motorcycling. If you gave a child a pen and asked them to draw a bike, they would draw a Triumph.
From the timeless silhouette of a Bonneville to Steve McQueen’s wire-jumping, The Great Escape movie legend TR6, and from Marlon Brando’s Thunderbird and its infamous appearance in the first ever biker movie right up to today’s instantly recognisable Speed Triple, Bobber and Tiger, Triumph’s impact on the very fabric of motorcycling is like no other.
The list of Triumph icons includes some of the most famous names in motorcycling, including the Bonneville T120 named after Triumph’s twin-engined, methanol-fuelled, Bonneville salt flats record-smashing streamliner; the Hurricane X75, regarded as the world’s first factory custom; the legendary model H, the ‘Trusty Triumph’; the Speed Twin, Edward Turner’s masterpiece that transformed the motorcycle world; the Daytona 675, Triumph’s super sport race weapon of choice, and the game-changing Scrambler 1200 favoured by James Bond.
INNOVATION IN CONTROL
Triumph’s considered and integrated technology strategy, focused on delivering what the rider wants, needs and values, encapsulates an ethos centred on the complete motorcycle. This was as true of trailblazing designer Val Page’s engineering leadership in the 1930s as it is to today’s industry-leading team based at Triumph’s global HQ in Hinckley.
Triumph applies sophisticated electronic management systems and riding aids across all models, including features such as advanced traction control, switchable rider modes and multi-channel ABS, all to further enhance the ride and bring the benefits of increased safety and control.
New advances in technology include Blind Spot Radar, optimised-cornering traction control and ABS with inertial measurement unit, semi-active suspension, TFT instruments with integrated MyTriumph connectivity, dynamic riding modes, full keyless operation, full LED lighting, heated grips and seats, tyre pressure monitoring, hill hold, cruise control, illuminated switches and an isolatable immobiliser system.
INVENTING THE FUTURE
Never standing still, Triumph is constantly driving towards a better future, developing new technologies and applying new innovations – always focused on delivering the perfect ride.
With the launch of our brand new Tiger 1200, forthcoming new competition MX and Enduro motorcycles, and our strategic partnership with Bajaj to create smaller capacity bikes, the future for Triumph and its fans across the world will be just as exciting and rich as the last 120 years have been.
