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As it prepares to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the first Triumph production motorcycle, the company has announced that an even older one has been found: the prototype built in 1901 that preceded the first powered two-wheelers sold to the public by Triumph.
The first Triumph motorcycles were Triumph bicycles fitted with a 2.2-horsepower engine built by a Belgian company called Minerva and sold in 1902. Now, the company says that Triumph collector Dick Shepherd has located a prototype built in 1901, a machine rumored to exist and mentioned in accounts from that time. Shepherd said he was called by a friend of a collector who had died and was asked to examine the old bike.
"I was incredibly excited to discover that the bike they had featured unique details that were not present on the first production Triumphs," Shepher said. "Along with the bike, the collector had also received a letter from Triumph, dated in 1937, that outlined the bike's unique origins and provided key details.
"With an engine number that is consistent with references in Minerva's engine records of a 1901 first Triumph engagement, the historic significance of this motorcycle became incredibly clear."
The 1901 prototype has been restored and was unveiled at the Motorcycle Live show this weekend in Britain. It will join a new 120th anniversary display at the Triumph Factory Visitor Experience center in Hinckley, England, but first the company is planning an event for December 14 where the machine will be ridden in public for the first time in more than a century. The Triumph Factory Visitor Experience is open five days a week and admission is free of charge.
Triumph also recently celebrated the production of its one millionth motorcycle since the brand was resurrected in the 1990s by John Bloor.
