1959 Triumph TR6 Trophy
(Page 4 of 5)
July/August 2006
By Roland Brown
In California in the late Fifties and Sixties, of course, no self-respecting TR6 rider would have contemplated riding far without plenty of skids and slides. The Trophy-bird’s suitability for offroad competition led not only to the very successful, heavily modified home-made desert sleds, but also to an official desert-racing version from Triumph, whose production was being increasingly directed by the U.S., its largest market.
RELATED CONTENT
At Daytona in 1952 a team from Janesville, Wis., consisted of (left to right) R.L. Patterson, crew ...
Dual-sport bikes are hardly new. By some accounts, BSA launched the category in 1965 with its offro...
When we learned we had a brand new (well, a left-over 2007, but who’s counting?) Triumph Scrambler ...
The T160 was launched in 1975, in a desperate attempt to make the Trident model a success following...
Meriden’s upgraded Trophy-bird was designated the TR6SC Trophy Special, and was built in small numbers for the West Coast market only. It combined a standard, single-carb 650cc engine with two long, straight, high-level exhausts, Dunlop Sports knobby tires, alloy fenders and taller gearing. It produced 45hp with a broader spread of power than the standard bike, and performed impressively when tested by Cycle World.
“It’s such fantastic fun to ride,” the magazine reported, “with more hair on its chest than King Kong.” No wonder. The Trophy Special was the ultimate expression of the TR6 Trophy-bird — which was one of the most successful models the old Triumph firm ever built. MC
Scrambling today
The TR6 Trophy was fresh in my mind when I set off to pick up Triumph’s remarkably similar-looking new Scrambler. But from the moment I accelerated away, not with a roar but with a whispery twitter through heavily silenced high-level pipes, it was clear that although the Scrambler has captured the style of the old Meriden factory’s offroad twins, it has little of their character or aggression.
To be fair to Triumph, that was never the firm’s intention. Having waited several years before producing a retro twin with the new-generation Bonneville in 2001, John Bloor’s firm has been successfully broadening the range. A little performance was added with the Thruxton, but most focus has been on softly-tuned, laid-back models such as the America and Speedmaster.
The Scrambler, despite its leaner and sportier look, is a continuation of that policy. Its engine is the DOHC, eight-valve twin used in the Speedmaster. That means it has the big-bore, 865cc engine (as opposed to the Bonnie’s 790cc), and also gets a 270-degree crankshaft arrangement instead of the other twins’ traditional 360-degree design — as well as a peak output of 54hp at 7,000rpm, lowest of the range.
Chassis spec is based on that of the Bonneville, incorporating new parts including gaitered front forks, longer Kayaba shocks and wire wheels wearing road-biased but slightly knobby Bridgestone tires. Cosmetic touches include a two-tone tank with period-style eyebrow Triumph badge, pull-back one-piece handlebar, small round headlight and a simple instrument panel incorporating speedometer and four warning lights.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 | 4 |
5 |
Next >>