Property of a deceased's estate, 1949 Triumph 499cc Trophy Combination

• Reputedly prepared by the factory
• Long-term ownership 1949-1980s
• Enthusiastically campaigned by the first owner
• Requires recommissioning

From the time of its introduction in November 1948 the Triumph Trophy was established as a true all-rounder: a machine that could be ridden to work during the week and then, with extraneous components removed, competed on at weekends in its owner's chosen branch of motorcycle sport. The model's origins lay in the factory machines specially prepared for the 1948 ISDT in Italy, which had helped Great Britain win the Trophy competition (GB also won the Vase). Although catalogued primarily as a trials machine, the Trophy's true forte was scrambles and the ISDT, events in which the power of the tunable Triumph twin worked to its advantage and its weight was less of a handicap.

Its late owner purchased this Triumph Trophy combination from a car workshop in Cuckfield, Sussex in 1997. The machine had first been owned by George Quantrill, who transformed it into a competitive sidecar trials mount. George had bought the Trophy in 1949 from the factory; reputedly, it is one of six specially prepared by the competitions department to be sold only to active competitors. He was a long-time member of the Brighton & District Motor Cycle Club, competing regularly and serving as an events organiser in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. George updated the Trophy with a bolt-on swinging-arm suspension conversion and fitted a Canterbury trials sidecar as he and his wife Dorothy wanted to compete in long-distance events such as the Exeter and Land's End trials. The sidecar is constructed of aluminium panels on a timber frame, while the sidecar wheel is both sprung and braked. The front brake has been modified to be operable by the foot pedal, and there are numerous other interesting modifications and additions in evidence.

When George died in the 1980s he left the Triumph to the mechanic who had maintained it and his 'frog eye' Austin-Healey Sprite. In 1999 the machine passed to the third owner, Kevin Law, who kept it for only seven months before selling it to the vendor's late father in December of that year. In 2017 the story of George Quantrill and 'HC 9400' was recounted in an article in Classic Bike Guide (August edition, copy available). The history file also contains various instruction manuals; technical literature; numerous bills; a quantity of tax discs and MoTs (most recent expired 2012); and old/current V5/V5C documents. Dry stored for the last few years, this unique Triumph Trophy combination will require recommissioning before returning to the road.