Triumph News

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Patrick Harrison bought his 1977 Triumph 2500 TC (for twin carburettors) for just $1500 and now uses it as his daily driver.Patrick was originally looking for a late seventies Valiant. "I drove a few of them but they seemed heavy and I was not impressed." he says. Then, as always seems to happen with classic cars, he saw an advertisement for the Triumph and discovered it was just in the next suburb."It was a three owner car and was originally delivered in South Australia. It was in average condition for its age. The basics were ok , the engine had no issues  and the red exterior paint work was good , however the owner had done a number of  minor repairs and liked to use blutack as a bonding material ", Patrick reflects.During the next three months, Patrick and his father gave it a complete going over, which also saw the suspension and interior replaced. "I bought a complete interior for only $100 and added the venetian blinds to the rear window "Patrick says proudly." I could not have done it without my father's help " he adds.The Triumph Club of Victoria provided plenty of advice and encouragement during the restoration, particularly in sourcing parts and information. "I'm their youngest member," says Patrick.Initially released in the UK in late 1963 in two litre form, the Triumph 2000 was a prestige six cylinder car  aimed right at the mid-level manager market. Boasting independent rear suspension, power front disc brakes, a wood panelled dashboard, high quality seat trim and styling by Italian Giovanni Michelotti the Triumph was an immediate success. Later upgrades included the 75kW 2.5 litre six and refreshed front and rear styling.Patrick's car has a four speed manual transmission and the rare power steering option. "It drives just like a 21st century car" says Patrick. "I've never had any mechanical problems with it".Back in the day, Australian assembly of Triumphs was undertaken by Australian Motor Industries (AMI) in Melbourne. AMI also produced Toyotas, Mercedes Benz and the American Ramblers. Patrick's car is likely to be one of the last 2500TCs to have gone down the line, as production ceased in 1978.With its look-at-me red livery the car draws attention. "I've had numerous amounts of people stop and talk to me. Some have even offer me cash on the spot for the car", Patrick told Carsguide. He's not selling but he is considering his next classic. "I've been thinking about getting a Stag," he says.David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

The bad news is that resale values are expected to be affected. Triumph Australia has announced a raft of price reductions on some naked bikes, cruisers and adventure machines for a limited time. Peter Stevens Importers spokesman Mal Jarrett says they have not had a price rise on Triumphs in the six years he has been working for the Melbourne-based importer. "The models we've adjusted on price are where we are being hit the hardest," he says. "We had to do it to remain competitive in the marketplace." Triumph has been one of the few marques to keep sales in the black during the downturn over the past few years. However, the market is up 3 per cent in the first half of this year while Triumph is down 3.8 per cent to 3078. Jarrett said they rode through the downturn on their "heritage, good quality products and low prices". "We kept pushing forward with development of new models whereas others didn't, like the Japanese, so that kept up the interest," he says. Triumph will introduce the Trophy touring bike in February with the 1200cc engine from the new Explorer and several cosmetic upgrades on 2013 models. They are also rumoured to be introducing some single-cylinder adventure bikes next year. Jarrett said he was baffled by this year's slow sales. "I can't put my finger on why (sales are down); maybe it's people's uncertainty with the economy. It's hard to say." But sales of their sports bikes are still strong, so no discounts have been offered. "Basically we don't need to," Jarrett says. "The Daytona 675 is selling quite well and we are out of 675 Rs until an update comes along." The biggest discount in the Triumph range is on the largest capacity production bike in the world, the 2.3-litre three-cylinder Rocket III Roadster. While the $4500 discount is only available on 2011 models, there is still a substantial $2000 slashed off 2012 models. They have also wiped $2000 off the Thunderbird ABS while the slightly bigger capacity Thunderbird Storm with ABS has been discounted $1500. Other cruisers copping a chop are the America and Speedmaster which are priced at $14,490 ride away. Triumph dominates the naked category with four of its naked machines in the top 10 sellers yet the classic Bonneville T100 Black is down $500 to $11,990 while the modern Speed Triple and Speed Triple ABS are slashed $1150 and the "R" ABS with Ohlins forks, Brembo brakes, Pirelli Supercorsa SP tyres and PVR wheels, is reduced $1300. Triumph has recently moved into the adventure bike class with the Tiger 800 last year and the 1200cc Explorer this year. While there are no price discounts yet on the latest model, Triumph has announced free factory panniers with every alloy-wheeled Tiger Explorer sold, amounting to a saving of about $1100. This is ahead of a wire-wheeled option in March. There is no word yet on the price, but the wire wheels cannot be retro-fitted to alloy-wheeled models, says Jarrett. Meanwhile, the Tiger 800 is down by $900 and the ABS version by $1400, and the XC models are down $800 and $1300 for the ABS version.  

The Daytona has received a 'refresh' with a striking new Sulphur Yellow paint scheme, which is underlined with yellow pin stripes on the wheels. With weight reduction a constant preoccupation with performance riders, the bike's front mudguard, cockpit infills and exhaust heat shield all get the lightweight carbon fibre treatment. The new look Daytona also now comes with a quickshifter and billet levers to strike home the racing pedigree of the bike. This all adds up to $1850 worth of parts and accessories at no extra cost. The new look Daytona is available for order now at your authorised Triumph dealership at the same price of $13890 plus on road costs. First established in 1902 and now based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, Triumph Motorcycles is one of the most iconic motorcycle brands in the world. At the heart of Triumph's philosophy is a commitment to develop truly unique motorcycles that offer a blend of distinctive design, intuitive handling and performance.  

In a year when motorcycle sales rebounded, bike manufacturers have led with a host of new road-going models. Of the new bikes to hit our showrooms there have been some hi-tech machines with ABS, selectable engine modes and traction control while at the other end there are retro models that plunder the considerable heritage of manufacturers. The highest of hi-tech bikes is the BMW K 1600 GT and GT-L which not only feature all of the above but also the world's first adaptive motorcycle headlights which follow the curve of the corner as the rider tips in.  Ducati features in the tech stakes with the Multistrada and the Diavel which are bikes for opposite ends of the riding spectrum. The Diavel, in particular, won our vote for the most striking design of the year ... and then ripped our arms off with its sheer aggressive acceleration and exhilaration.  The retro models included the return of the Vespa PX150 in virtually unchanged styling including the spare wheel, plus two well-built Japanese models (Kawasaki W800 and Honda CB1100) that rekindle fond memories of the 1960s and '70s. Australia's vast continent and thousands of kilometres of dirt roads were also explored by an ever-increasing array of multi-road bikes, including Triumph, known over the past few decades for its road bikes.  The choice was wide, too, ranging from the value-packed Suzuki V-Strom 650 with ABS right thoroughly to the Multistrada with all its hi-tech gizmos. We also loved the clever diversity of the Harley-Davidson Dyna Switchback which goes from a cruiser to a tourer in seconds with the quick attachment of windscreen and panniers, while the Victory Vegas 8-Ball is simply a wolf-whistling beauty with superb build quality. Last year's winner was the BMW S 1000 RR sportsbike which introduced safety and performance in one technological tour de force that scorched our eyebrows. In 2012, the Bavarians have done it again. This time with the K 1600 GT and GTL which welds hi-tech safety and performance with a big, comfy tourer that defies the laws of physics by its handling and maneuverability. CARSGUIDE BIKE OF THE YEAR 1 - BMW K 1600 GT -  ($34,990-$36,990): Nothing has come close to matching the Honda Gold Wing luxury tourer for agility, power and features. Until now. BMW's new six-cylinder 1600 GTL has more power and torque, more features, less weight, better economy and a cheaper price tag. And it takes bike technology to the next level. 2 - Ducati Diavel - ($23,490-$36,990): Drool all you want, then throw a leg over if you dare, because this macho machine is not just a showroom showoff, but a genuine power cruiser. The AMG model is bound to cause marriage problems. 3 - Aprilia Tuono - ($21,990): All the go of the RSV4 sportsbike, but without the committed riding position. It also features Aprilia's finely-tuned version of traction control and engine management. 4 - Harley-Davidson Dyna Switchback - ($26,990 ride away): Clever marketing from Harley to take a good-handling, compact Dyna and fit it up with some natty touring gear to create a "convertible". The icing is the pricing. 5 - Triumph Tiger 800 - ($14,390-$17,290):T A value package, but still just a BMW F 800 rip-off without the sophisticated suspension and brakes. Imitation is the ultimate form of flattery. 6 - Kawasaki W800 - ($11,990): It out-classes the Bonneville. And at $500 less than the British bike, it comes with extras such as traditional chromed guards, rubber tank pads, fork gators, lockable petrol cap and a centre stand. The Honda CB1100 ($14,990-$15,490) and Vespa PX150 ($5990) are not far behind in the retro stakes. 7 - Suzuki V-Strom 650A - ($10,890): Still one of the best value propositions on the market with bulletproof performance that is tried and tested. Now it comes with better styling, more protection, upgraded fuel injection, improved economy and lighter weight. 8 - Victory Vegas 8-Ball - ($18,495): Watch this space. This American brand is starting to make in-roads with its well-price and well-made cruisers and tourers. This model is a shining example of quality workmanship from the States. 9 - Yamaha Super Tenere - ($19,990): This comes with Dakar credentials and a yearning for the Aussie outback. Unfortunately, it's a bit too heavy and the ABS is not switchable for off road. 10 - Honda Crossrunner - ($14,990): Sharp styling in a practical all-roads adventure bike with Honda build quality. We're still waiting for the more aggressively off-road Crosstourer coming early next year.

Just why the Germans were riding British bikes in The Great Escape has never been explained. But the movie -- and Steve McQueen's performance -- is firmly voted a classic. And now British motorcycle company Triumph has paid tribute to the 1963 movie with a limited-edition Steve McQueen T100 Bonneville available in Australia next year. The late actor played an escaped American prisoner of war riding a post-war Triumph TR6 bike in the movie while being chased by German soldiers on similar-era British bikes, rather than wartime BMWs. The reason for the later-model British bikes has never been fully explained, although it is believed McQueen demanded Truimphs be used because he owned and competed on them. At the end of the scene, McQueen's character, Captain Virgil Hilts, jumps a barbed wire fence trying to get to freedom in neutral Switzerland. While McQueen was a competent motorcycle rider and represented the US in the World Six Day Enduro titles in 1964, the jump was actually performed by stunt rider and good friend Bud Ekins. McQueen did the most of the riding in the scene, but the jump was considered too dangerous for the star of the silver screen. Only 1100 of the McQueen tribute Triumphs are being made in an agreement with the late actor's estate. The Bonnevilles have military-style matt khaki green paintwork, a period-style stencilled Triumph decal on the tank and the actor's signature on the side covers. It will be available in Australia in July 2012 but price has not yet been announced, although it is expected they will cost more than the standard T100 at $13,990. Each bike is individually numbered with a plaque on the handlebar clamp and owners will receive a certificate of authenticity. They look similar to the bikes used in the movie with a solo seat, skid plate, and a host of blacked-out components, including wheel rims and hubs, headlamp, handlebars, rear springs, luggage rack, mirrors and front mudguard supports.

…at Lakeside flat out and went into a wild 360-degree spin in his 1965 Triumph Spitfire 4 Mk2. The British sportscar hit the wall under the bridge and ended Ezzy's club sprint day. "I had got it up to 101.01mph (162.6km/h) but I came unstuck and hit the wall. "But I could still drive it home." The 57-year-old Gold Coaster bought the car for just $50 from a local wrecking yard in 1978 for his sister. "She was about to get her licence and we needed a car for her to drive, so I bought it for her," he says. "Then she got married and didn't want it so I've kept it going all these years, building, building, building, spending and upgrading. "I once did a Harley custom show bike and I'd always wanted to do a car up." The Spitfire was a rusted wreck when Ezzy got it, so he bought another body from Melbourne and started cutting the rust and replacing panels until he had a complete car. He finally got it running and registered in 1982 and has been driving it ever since. The original Spitfire was painted white with red trim, had a four-speed gearbox and an 1147cc four-cylinder engine with about 47kW of power and a possible top speed of 96mph (155km/h). Ezzy painted the Spitfire his favourite blue, bored the engine out to almost 1300cc, reflowed and modified the heads, fitted a handmade stainless-steel straight-through exhaust system, bolted on South Australian Globe 13-inch wheels and converted to a five-speed gearbox after the original packed it in while competing in the Speed on Tweed timed sprints in 2009. "I do all my own work," he says. "It purs at 4000rpm, but I just want to take the diff down from 4.875 to 4.1." The paintwork is good, the badges aren't all original and he doesn't have all the Jaeger instruments. But, as Ezzy says, "all the money is underneath". Open up that massive one-piece front end and you discover an engine in gleaming chrome. "All the chrome looks good but it keeps the heat in so I have to get the cooling just right. I'll use more polished stainless steel parts rather than chrome in future," he says. "Chrome takes a lot to keep clean." There is also a massive air plate underneath that runs from front to back. "It's good for a show where they put it on a hoist as you don't see the gearbox and other mechanicals," he says. "It looks a lot cleaner." That hair-raising wild ride at Lakeside led to two other modifications after he fixed the dented panelwork; a fire extinguisher on the front floor and a roll bar. "It's about 99 per cent where I want it.," he says "I drive it as much as I can, weather permitting." When the weather does turn foul, he can deploy either a material tonneau cover or fibreglass hard top. "There have been a few times I've been tempted to sell it but where do I go to from here?" he asks. "I was offered $22,000 but I had already stopped keeping receipts at $30,0000." "It's a hobby and part of my life. I'm not married, I have no children, so it's my baby."

Multiple Ferrari owner Len Watson, 63, says low-mileage classic Ferraris have been left idle too long. "They are actually very reliable cars and don't give you any problems, so long as they are used on a regular basis," he says. "The problem is people store them in damp garages and the rubbers perish, the tyres get flat spots and they just become horrible. Very low mileage cars are not as good as some that have much higher mileage." "I did 70,000 miles in my 328 (1991 Ferrari 328 GTS) - very hard miles - and we only spent about 2000 (about $3875) on repairs in about 12 years." When he says hard miles, he means hard miles, having competed in track days, hillclimbs and classic races. He currently competes in various Queensland Racing Drivers Championship events in a 1980 Ferrari 308 GTB. Next year he intends to compete in the full season. The retired software company owner from the UK started his love affair with old cars with his first, a three-wheeled British Frisky with a bored-out 250cc Villiers two-stroke motorbike engine in the back. It cost him 18 (about $34) in 1966 and only about 100 were made. "It was quite unusual as it had a top speed of 70mph (112km/h) forwards and 70mph backwards as well," he says. "I got up to about 40mph (64km/h) in reverse. "The way it went backwards was you stopped it and started the engine in reverse. There were four speeds both ways." He swapped it for a Nash Metropolitan, "then had boring cars for a long time". The last new car he bought was a 1979 Triumph TR7, then he switched to a Porsche 924 Turbo and in 1983 he wanted to "upgrade" to a 911. "I hated them. Porsches didn't handle at all in the '80s," he said. "My wife said why don't you buy a Ferrari, so I bought a 2+2 Mondial 8 which was a couple of years old," Watson says. "I had it for a year and then bought a 3.2-litre Mondial QV (Quattrovalvole) as a company car. They were expensive but in those times you didn't lose any money on Ferraris." "However, the classic car bubble started in the late '80s and people were buying cars for silly money, so driving to customers in a classic Ferrari was a bit silly because they thought you were ripping them off. So I went to a Porsche 928 as a company car." However, the Ferrari bug returned in 1991 when he bought the Ferrari 328 GTS which he used and abused in track days, concours and hillclimbs. "After all, they are only a car," he says."Cars like that which were built conventionally on a chassis, you can replace bits. Today's cars crumple and cost a fortune to fix." About five years ago Watson migrated to Australia, sold the 328 and brought with him a left-hand-drive F40 which he drove in the Classic Adelaide rally. When he moved to Queensland he couldn't register the car without converting it to right-hand drive. "Being a carbon fibre car it is almost impossible to convert, so I got special permits for a couple of times," he says. "But if you can't drive a car I don't want it, so I sent it back to England and sold it." He was ‘Ferrari-less’ for about two years and then in 2007 returned to the UK to compete in the classic series and get his international race licence, so he bought a 1980 308 GTB "sight unseen. That was a mistake. The engine was knackered and needed a total rebuild," Watson says. "But I still have it. The reason I have an old Ferrari is that it is eligible for historics and there is more opportunity for historic racing here than conventional racing." His plan in obtaining an international licence was to race a friend's $15 million Ferrari 250 GTO at Le Mans. However, his friend decided the car was "just too expensive to risk in a race". That thought won't even enter Watson's head as he takes his 328 out on to Queensland Raceway in the inaugural Festival of Italian Motorsport on October 2-4.

That's the case for Queenslander Graham Copeland, who is lining up for his 10th crack at Australia's ultimate tarmac rally next month.Copeland has won his Classic class at Targa once and has finished on the podium in the overall Classic category four times, driving a variety of vehicles.He has driven Triumph TR4s and TR8s, and more recently moved to Datsuns, but this year sees a different challenge emerging.“I was hoping to drive my 1938 Dodge Speedster but that will now have to wait until 2009,” he said.“I'll be co-driving this year in a rare Bizzarini GT America.”Copeland will be sitting beside successful circuit racing star, Wayne Park, who has won numerous Queensland and Australian championships, and has also driven at the Bathurst 1000 four times, with a fifth place his best result.“I find Targa is quite addictive,” Copeland said.“I'm really looking forward to teaming up with him Wayne this year. Targa is like no other event.“The roads are unbelievable, the organisers do a terrific job and the public are really supportive of the event. Targa is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”The 1967 Bizzarini is a valuable piece of machinery that is certain to create enormous spectator interest.With upgraded shock absorbers and a bit of sorting and tuning by Park's Brisbane automotive business, the car is now a real contender in the Classic class.“The Bizzarini GT America is a very rare car and it is even rarer to see one competing in full competition in events like Targa,” Copeland said.“But the car's owner, Rob Sherrard, believes in using them as they were meant to be used, not wrapped in cloth in some museum.”The 17th Targa Tasmania, featuring dozens of exotic cars, starts on April 15, taking the record-breaking field of 305 entries along some of the best rally roads in the country, before the grand finish at Wrest Point on April 20. 

The new Triumph 675cc Street Triple will be launched in Austria on June 30 and arrive in Australian showrooms in November, but there is no local release date yet for the touring version of the 2.3 litre Rocket III. Street Triple is architecturally and stylistically based on the 1050cc Speed Triple naked streetfighter with a detuned version of the Daytona 675 Supersport engine. It will cost $11,990, a substantial reduction in price from the Daytona ($14,890) and Speed Triple ($15,990). The touring version of its 2.3 litre Rocket III will feature new bodywork, suspension and chassis. It has fixed panniers, a front screen, reshaped fuel tank and a single headlight rather than the Rocket's twin lights. Suspension revisions include right-way-up forks, new rear shock springs to cope with the extra weight of the panniers and pillion passenger, and new wheels. The frame is lengthened at the front and features extra bracing to stiffen it to cope with the extra weight. The current Rocket III costs $24,990 and $25,990 for the Classic.