1960 Triumph Speed Twin 5TA Bathtub – $9,000

1960 Triumph Speed Twin for sale

SELLER SAYS: For sale is my 1960 Triumph Speed Twin 5TA Bathtub, which has undergone a complete ground-up, nut-and-bolt restoration. The bike was fully stripped and rebuilt, with a focus on keeping it as original and period-correct as possible.
Restoration includes:
– Fully rebuilt engine
– Electrical system fully restored
– New wiring loom
– Frame and chassis restored
– Wheels, brakes and suspension refurbished
– Fuel system restored
– Paintwork, chrome and brightwork restored
– Original-style nuts, bolts and hardware used/restored where possible
– Complete 5TA Bathtub bodywork restoration
Receipts from the restoration have been kept and will go with the bike.
A very tidy, properly restored example of the classic 5TA that is ready for its next owner.

Contact Ron on 0434 124 224 (Phegans Bay, NSW)

EDITOR TERLICK SAYS: In the long and often glorious history of Triumph motorcycles, the Speed Twin and its creator Edward Turner are a headline duet. It’s true that Triumph was a successful company before Turner arrived, but it could hardly have been called creative; much less imaginative. Turner, on the other hand, was both of those things. Having previously designed the remarkable engine that the world would eventually know as the Ariel Square Four, he smashed some long (very long) British motorcycle traditions both in terms of engine design and in marketing. For eons, British bike motors were single cylinders and had two separate components – the engine and the gearbox were housed in separate compartments, linked with a chain. And, just like early Ford motor cars in America, they came in any colour you liked, provided you liked black. They were also machines for manly men who didn’t mind that they were often difficult to start and had a tendency to leak oil and cover their riders with both oil from the bike and grime from the road. It must have come as a shock to Triumph’s board of directors when Turner released the first Speed Twin – it was red! Turner also introduced the board to a “unified” motor, bringing the engine and gearbox into a single unit. But perhaps his most radical achievement was popularising the twin-cylinder engine. Triumph had previously built a parallel twin – the 650cc 6/1 of 1933 – but it was the 500cc Speed Twin of 1937 that set the mould. From that point forward, the British bike industry was built on big twins! This very nice example of Ron’s brings together many of Turner’s signature achievements, including the distinctive semi-enclosed rear end. This model was dubbed “the bathtub” for obvious reasons (well, it’s obvious if you picture the bike turned upside down). The extra bodywork was supposedly designed to keep rider and passenger clean of chain oil and road muck, but it’s generally considered nowadays as more a marketing decision than a functional one. It wasn’t terribly popular back in the day, and many folks tossed the bathtub bodywork in the skip. That, of course, ultimately led to a scarcity of original bathtubs, making them increasingly attractive to collectors!