Triumph motorcycles date back to 1902, when engineer Mauritz Shulte fitted a 2.2hp Belgian engine to what was essentially a bicycle frame. 

A brand steeped in tradition, it’s easy to trace a direct line from vintage Triumph ‘bikes to those in the current line-up, even though the current Triumph brand is a revival of the former company. 

Post-WWII, Triumph moved from making the military bikes that had sustained it through the war years to producing civilian machines, and efforts to settle the UK’s ‘lend-lease’ wartime debts to the USA saw 70% of its post-war production sent across the Atlantic. 

The Thunderbird was introduced in 1949, and produced in many forms until 1966. To capture the American market, the 6T Thunderbird used a variant of the earlier Speed Twin's parallel-twin engine, bored out from 500 cc to 650 cc to give the added horsepower American customers demanded.

Valuable publicity ensued from Marlon Brando riding a 1950 Thunderbird 6T in the 1953 film The Wild One, even though the bike’s importers objected to the use of the machine, fearing damage to its reputation as the film featured rowdy motorcycle gangs. 

‘Bobber’ bikes were originally created by owners customising their motorcycles, usually for performance purposes, and the name comes from the practice of removing the front fender and shortening (bobbing) the rear one. 

Typically, excess accessories such as lights and mirrors would be removed, the frame would be modified to give a shorter wheelbase, and the bike would have a low-down stance and muted colours, as evident in this example.   

Originally a Triumph Thunderbird 6T, built in 1949 and sold new to the USA, this bike has had a later (1957) big-bearing engine fitted by a previous owner, and has been customised to produce a ‘bobber’. It’s a very light, and very agile bike. 

The V5 records that the bike was first registered in the UK in January 2006. 

The vendor purchased the bike in 2012, as a rolling chassis with engine. The previous owner had intended to complete the restoration, but had run out of money and decided to sell ‘as is’. 

Having purchased the bike in the UK, the vendor then immediately shipped it to his home in Italy, where he worked on it, during a period of downtime from work, to end up with the result that you can see in the pictures. 

Having finished the bike, he took it on an extended ‘shakedown’ ride to Sardinia in 2017, where it performed faultlessly. However, he has a collection of motorcycles and has not used it regularly for the last few years, in fact it has been on display in his living room! He has now decided that the time has come to sell it for a new owner to enjoy.

The bike is MoT- and tax-exempt, as a historic motorcycle, it has a current V5 in the vendor’s name and the paperwork also includes a number of invoices for parts and accessories.   

Note that the V5 records the bike as a Triumph Bonneville, which the vendor assumes is down to an error on DVLA’s database, as the Bonneville model didn’t appear until 1959. 

As is evident from the pictures, this is a bike that has been restored to very high standards. 

A marine engineer by profession, the vendor clearly has considerable skill even though ‘bikes are only a hobby. Everything on the bike looks fantastic, and it has clearly been fitted with expensive and robust components. 

It’s a striking and distinctive bike that is bound to turn heads wherever it goes.  

The bike has been rebuilt using high-quality performance parts. 

The vendor is particularly keen to point out the Bob Newby racing belt-drive, which gives a very light clutch action – the clutch can be engaged with just two fingers on the lever. Gear changes are via a ‘jockey shift’ mounted adjacent to the saddle, but this can readily be converted back to a foot-shift.

There is also an expensive K2 FC Lucas racing magneto, and a T140 valve train. 

Originally a single-carburettor engine, the bike has been converted to twin-carbs, and there is also a Bunn breather system fitted, which improves the engine performance. 

The wheels have been fully rebuilt by the vendor, with stainless-steel spokes, while the tyres are both in excellent condition. The exhaust pipes are straight-through pipes but are baffled, so the bike is not excessively noisy. 

The vendor reports that this is a ‘very fast’ bike that rides beautifully. 

Restored to very high standards, using top-end parts, this one-off bike is a visual delight as well as a performance machine.  

It’s a bike that could hold its head high at any classic bike event, and can be guaranteed to draw a crowd at any such gathering.