history
Triumph Motorcycles is a manufacturing company founded by Siegfried Bettmann in 1884. Bettman was a German immigrant who travelled to England and, at the age of 20, founded his own company. The first name of the company was S. Bettmann & Co. Import Export Agency and his main activity was actually to buy motorcycles and sell them under its own brand.
Two years later, in 1886, Bettman renamed the company to Triumph Cycle Company but, thanks financial backing provided by Dunlop Tyre, he registered it as New Triumph Co. Ltd one year later.
Schulte, a Bettmann friend who joined the company, became a member of the management team of Triumph, supporting the evolution of the company in the manufacturing process.
The first Triumph motorcycle came in 1902 when the manufacturers installed a Belgian engine on one of their bikes. In 1903 they sold no less than 500 units of this model. One of the most important milestones in the company's history took place in 1905 when Triumph started producing completely in-house designed motorcycles.
Once the World War I started, most companies stopped the production of motorcycles except Triumph which struggled to roll out new bikes. Moreover, the company supported the Allied war effort and even supplied the alliance with more than 30,000 bikes, most of them being the model H Roadster.
After the war ended, Schulte and Bettman didn't see eye to eye anymore because Schulte wanted to go into automobiles manufacturing but he ended up leaving the company. It turned out that automobile manufacturing was not such a bad idea so the Triumph company bought the Former Hillman car factory in Coventry and even built a car saloon in the city.
Back in 1939, Triumph started experiencing financial problems and was bought by Standard Motor, which was owned by John Sangster. It's interesting to note that Sangster was also the owner of Ariel motorcycle, one of the main Triumph competitors.
Because their main production facility in Coventry was destroyed in the second World War, Triumph set up another plant at Meriden, West Midlands in 1942. After that, their biggest market, the US, required more Triumph long distance riding bikes so the 650cc version of the Speed Twin was officially launched.
In 1951, Triumph Motorcycle was sold by Sangster to BSA, one of their main rivals, so he could become a member of the BSA board and finally the Chairman of the BSA Group in 1956.
During the 1960s, Triumph came out with only a few notable bikes, including a small performance 100cc 2 stroke vehicle called Triumph Tina and a more powerful one called Triumph Tigress.
During the 1970s, Triumph struggled to become one of the leading motorcycle manufacturers, releasing two advanced motorcycles, namely the Triumph 350cc Bandit and the Trident. Due to some financial problems, the Trident production moved in the BSA factory in Small Heath in 1974.
Unfortunately, 2002 was quite a bad year for Triumph as a devastating fire destroyed the main factory just when the company was getting ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary. However, the manufacturer managed to revive the production line and set up a new factory in Thailand.
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