1910 Triumph 3½hp

•Formerly owned by various well-known collectors
•Brampton variable speed gear
•Many-time Pioneer Run participant
•An older restoration

The first Triumph motorcycle of 1902 used a Belgian Minerva engine, but within a few years the Coventry firm - originally a bicycle manufacturer founded by German immigrants Siegfried Bettman and Maurice Schulte - was building its own power units. The first of these - a 298cc single-cylinder sidevalve - arrived in 1904. This first design was not without its weaknesses: pistons and bores wore out quickly and the curious 'tandem down-tube' frame often broke, but these shortcomings were soon sorted and within a couple of years 'Triumph' was a byword for reliability. The famous 3½hp model first appeared in 1907. Originally of 453cc, its sidevalve engine was enlarged to 476cc in 1908 and finally to 499cc in 1910 before being superseded by the 4hp model in 1914.

The company was involved in racing from its earliest days, and the publicity generated by competition successes - Jack Marshall won the 1908 Isle of Man TT's single-cylinder class for Triumph having finished second the previous year - greatly stimulated sales. By the outbreak of The Great War, the marque's reputation for quality and dependability was well-established, leading to substantial orders for 'Trusty Triumphs' for British and Allied forces.

Previously registered 'LW 3193' and acquired by the vendor in 2021, this early 1910 model has clearly been restored at some point and is presented in very nice overall condition. Notable features include a 1911 Brampton variable speed gear and a Cowey 60mph speedometer. The Triumph was formerly the property of well known collector and rider, the late James Bridge-Butler, and took part in the 60th Pioneer Run. According to James Bridge-Butler's information sheet on file, the machine was requisitioned during the Great War by the Royal Flying Corps and had an RFC roundel on the tank (the tank appears either to have been repainted or the roundel removed. Images on file show the machine being ridden on the Pioneer Run with the roundel attached). The information sheet also states the Triumph has completed many Pioneer Runs. There are images of the machine on the 2005 Banbury Run and Pioneer Run, and other photographs taken when it was being ridden as a motorcycle combination. Also on file are letters to a Mr Pratt of Chelmsford dated 1979 referring to a letter he had published in the August issue of the VMCC Journal enquiring about the Brampton variable pulley. Additional documentation includes sundry invoices; Sunbeam MCC Pioneer Certificates; photocopied technical literature; expired MoTs; and old/current V5/V5C documents recording previous keepers as Reginald Connett and the well-known Oxfordshire collector, Alex Taylor. Recommissioning will be required before road use.