1956 Triumph 499cc TR5R

Frame no. 76157 Engine no. TR5R 76157

• Matching Numbers
• Factory street-legal racing bike
• One of only 13 examples still in existence
• Comprehensive restoration by Jaye Strait of Britech, in Southbridge, MA
• 'Near perfect restoration'
For the model year 1956 Triumph offered the Shell Blue TR5/R in very limited numbers and only to those racers who were committed to running in the 500cc class. The factory records show that 112 TR5/R engines were produced - 104 complete bikes and eight spare engines - between January 12 and April 27, 1956. Standard TR5 engines were pulled off the production line and sent over to the Meriden race shop in some secrecy because of Edward Turner's avowed aversion to purpose-built race bikes. Each engine was stripped and rebuilt to 'red seal' T100/R spec. with the latest racing camshafts and tappets, high compression pistons, dual racing Amal carburetors with remote float bowl affixed to the tool box and oil tank, racing exhaust system with dual inverted cone megaphones, competition Lucas magneto, folding rear set foot pegs and other racing components. The swingarm frame came with fenders already narrower, the tank smaller, and fork legs with gaiters, 8in front brakes, and QD lighting. Standard was a Smiths speedometer, while a Smiths rev counter was an optional extra! Also standard was a fixed, left side foot peg that needed to be ditched immediately for a folding peg to meet AMA road racing rules of the day. All of which reflected the 'production-based' build sheet required by AMA's Class C rules.
Most, if not all TR5/Rs, were sent to the Johnson Motors in Pasadena, California. Many would return to the east coast to run at Daytona and Watkins Glen, for example. They retailed for around $950.00 and had to be special ordered.
Research reveals this is one of only 13 examples to be still in existence, perfectly restored by a long-time Triumph enthusiast come expert restorer. Classic Bikemagazine wrote the story of how Jaye Strait of Britech in Southbridge Massachusetts, came to discover this motorcycle and his long process of restoring it to its factory-intended high-performance specification, augmented by the inclusion of an ultra-rare and super-trick Tri-Cor splayed-port head featuring oversized inlet valves and welded-on intake stubs. A photocopy of the article is included with the bike. It is a motorcycle that should be viewed seriously by all students of British postwar, limited production, competition machines for it is both beautiful and capable. And dangerously rare.