Triumph: Made in Germany

That’s right, and believe it or not, long before the Union Jack and high-tea, Triumph’s were made in das Vaterland. It all started around 1883 when a young, 20-year old named Siegfried Bettmann came to Coventry, England from his native Nuremberg, Germany. He went to work for Kelly & Company compiling directories for various publications. Shortly thereafter, he went to work for White Sewing Machine Company as a translator and foreign correspondent. Later he would also work as the company’s sale representative in northern Europe.

A year later or thereabouts, S. Bettmann & Co, Import Export Agency was established in London, England, selling bicycles made in Birmingham by William Andrews, but having the name BETTMANN on them. During this period, they represented agencies of other German manufacturers, and the company also imported German sewing machines. In 1886, the name Triumph replaced BETTMANN, because Siegfried feels the name was easily understood in most languages. Initially, he registers his company as New Triumph Co. Ltd. but later changed the name to “The Triumph Cycle Company.” Triumph-Werke Nürnberg AG or TWN, In 1887 the Dunlop Tyre Company underwrites shares worth about 45,000 pounds, or $73,500. He takes on a trained engineer from his home town of Nuremberg named Mauritz Johann Schulte as a junior partner of the firm. It was Herr Schulte that convinced Bettmann to manufacture their own products rather than sell other companies products.

A cottage-industry ribbon weaving factory on Much Park Street, Coventry was acquired in 1888 so Triumph could make their own bicycles. During the years following Coventry becomes the recognized center of the works. Bettmann’s parents kicks in 650 pounds ($1,063) and Schulte’s family throws in another 500 pounds. Later, Dunlop Tyre became a major investor in the company. One year later the company moved it’s headquarters from London to Much Park Street, in Coventry and bicycle manufacturing started.

In or around 1895, Schulte studies the possibility of manufacturing H & W (Hildebrand & Wolfmuller) motorcycles under license and imports an example for further analysis, testing it on the Coventry Cycle Stadium course. In 1896, he founded a second bicycle factory in his native Nuremberg and called it Triumph-Werke Nürnberg AG. You will see this three-lettered TWN moniker on the tank in several of the photos.

At this time, there was some confusion in the market between motorcycles produced in Coventry and Nuremberg, so they renamed the bikes from Germany “Orial” for selected export markets. But there was already an Orial brand motorcycle made by the French in Lyons, so the Nuremberg motorcycles were renamed again as TWN. A few years later, in 1898, Bettmann attempts to negotiate with the company that produced Beeston Humber motorcycles/tricycles, but this attempt was in vain as they could not reach an agreement. Producing in parallel, both the Coventry and Nuremberg factory made the same 499cc and 545cc four-stroke engines.

In 1902 the first Triumph motorcycle is produced, designed by Schulte, using a Belgian/Minerva 2.25 HO, single-cylinder engine, which featured an automatic inlet valve and battery coil ignition. This was mated to the downtube of a bicycle frame. Schulte also experimented and fitted Fafnir and J.A. Prestwich (JAP) motors to his bicycles. So, as history will record, Triumph started as a company in 1883, and 1886 as Triumph, and this is the recognized established date of Triumph motorcycles as we know them today.

Around 1929, the British and German factories diverged, with the Nuremberg manufacturing motorcycles with 248cc and 269cc two-stroke After WW II, Triumph made very successful models including the 200cc COMET, a split-single two-stroke and the twin cylinder 350cc Boss. A split single has two cylinders but only ONE combustion chamber and spark plug. While this was an interesting design, these motors vibrated because of the internal mass. The split-single Triumph TWN started with the BD250 in 1939 and were designed by German engineer Otto Rieze. Max Grundig took over the Nuremberg company in 1956 and merged it with his existing ALDER motorcycle/typewriter business and terminated motorcycle production using the Triumph and TWN names.

<Of historical note, this black & white photo shows four-time world sidecar champion Eric Oliver on March 12, 1953 with a TWN Boss 350. This image was made during the TWN publicity campaign shoot for the new model. 1953 was also the year of Oliver’s last world title, after a string between between 1949 and 1953. If you look closely you can see that the tank badge of the TWN Boss is taped off. During the time of the shoot, the bike was not yet shown to the public. So, in an attempt not to alarm the competition that TWN’s latest model, the Boss, was eminent and ready to go in production, they covered the TWN tank badge with tape. A very special thanks to VMOL consultant Ivar de Gier for this photo and historic trivia.

In 2002, Triumph celebrated its 100th anniversary of motorcycle production. And while its “continuous production” claim is still debated (the Meriden factory halted production in the 1980’s while Bloor's 'rebirth' of the modern Hinckley Triumph occurred later the next decade) we won't argue it here.

So next time you see a vintage or modern Triumph out on the road, perhaps you'll have a deeper appreciation egarding the fascinating background of this legendary and historic motorcycle manufacturer. JJ Cerilli