Beschreibung:

Although Edward Turner’s Triumph Speed Twin caused a sensation when it appeared at the 1937 Motorcycle Show, few of its admirers can have guessed how influential the design would prove to be. True, there had been vertical twins before; indeed, Turner’s predecessor at Meriden - Val Page - had designed one a few years previously, but Triumph’s newcomer established a formula that would be adopted by all of Britain’s major motorcycle manufacturers in the succeeding decade. And whereas previous vertical twins had suffered from excess bulk, Turner’s was lighter and narrower across the crankcase than the contemporary single-cylinder Tiger 90, whose cycle parts it shared, and from certain angles looked just like a twin-port single. This was just what the conservatively minded motorcycling public wanted and the Speed Twin proved an enormous success for Triumph, lifting the company out of the economic doldrums and setting it on the road to future prosperity. Performance proved exemplary for a road-going 500, around 85mph being attainable by the Speed Twin while the Tiger 100 sports version could reach the ‘ton’ under favourable conditions. Originally registered ‘JMH 222’, this Speed Twin is presented in ‘barn find’ condition, having been owned by the vendor since 1972 and kept in storage for most of the time. Last run in 1994 and retaining good compression today, the machine is substantially original and complete, the only notified deviations from factory specification being the replacement instrument mounting panel, instruments and inspection lamp. Representing a rare opportunity to acquire a pre-war example of one of the most influential motorcycles of all time, ‘WYJ 818’ is offered with Swansea V5C registration document.