SELLER SAYS: G’day. Ever liked the idea of owning some motorcycle royalty? This classic 1952 Triumph Thunderbird 6T, over the last couple of years, has been fully restored by myself, except for the engine, and the pesky sprung hub which a kindly engineer took his life in his hands to do. (Need the correct jig to release the heavily loaded springs.) Many parts have been replaced either because the originals were missing or unusable. Others were restored e.g. dynamo, magneto, gearbox, seat, parts re-chromed, SU carb., and frame, petrol/oil tank repainted. The motor was rebuilt by an engineer. I have the comprehensive documentation of this. Motor runs fine, but will need some running in. I have calibrated the timing digitally, so starts first kick with no kickback … youch! I have defeated the Prince of Darkness with a new wiring loom. Even the AMP meter works, which Norton owners, who apparently have a problem with this, refer to it as only useful to fill up the hole in the nacelle! The mileage is 31 since club rego. Has matching numbers, and I am the second owner. Comes with workshop manual and parts catalogue. Nothing like the Triumph burble, I reckon … Contact Ian on 0411 088 609 (Terrigal, New South Wales)
EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: There’s a motel in Southern Carolina, USA, credited with playing a big part in the success of Triumph motorcycles in America. Legend has it that Edward Turner, chief designer and General Manager of Triumph back in the late 1940s, made several trips to the USA in his quest to break into its huge market. Turner was faced with two major hurdles. One was that Triumph’s big bike of the day was the 500cc Speed Twin — and 500cc was considered too small to be taken seriously by the Americans, especially as a highway bike. The other was that Americans just loved their Harleys. Turner solved the first problem by boring out the 500 to create a 650. But the Harley factor was tougher. Turner sought a name for the new 650 that would capture the imagination, and conjure up an image of power and strength. So one day he came across this motel in Florence, South Carolina, named after a mythical, supernatural bird — and so the Triumph Thunderbird was born! It was a great name, but a stroke of luck was probably an even bigger factor. When the producers of the motorcycle bad-boy movie ‘The Wild One‘ approached Harley-Davidson to provide bikes for the movie, H-D apparently said no. They didn’t want their image tarnished by a bunch of misbehaving hooligans, even if one of them was Marlon Brando. So the movie was made with a bunch of Triumphs, with Brando himself aboard a Thunderbird. Yes, Americans loved their Harleys. But they really liked Marlon Brando too, and his bad-boy character in The Wild One, atop the Thunderbird, helped Triumph break into the American market just as much as Turner’s designing and marketing genius. This bike of Ian’s looks like a beauty, with low mileage after a right-proper resto.
