From 1961 learner riders in Britain were limited to bikes of 250cc or less, so the little 200cc Tiger Cub became one of the most popular entry-level bikes of the sixties. There will still be some seniors looking at this bike and wondering where the years went.

The Tiger Cub was designed by Edward Turner and launched at the 1953 Earls Court motorcycle show. Four years later, the 1957 Tiger Cub seen here benefitted from the more modern swinging arm with twin suspension units. Previous versions had a plunger rear suspension frame.

The Tiger Cub remained in production until 1968.

Not a great deal is known about the history of this bike. The seller acquired it as a ‘box of bits’ lacking a front end. The frame and engine have different origins but both have been traced by the Triumph Owners MotorCycle Club and the engine is four years younger than the frame.

Saved from being sold off in parts or scrapped, a front end was sought to make the box of bits complete and its rebuild was conducted alongside that of a Tiger T100. The seller’s father, an engineer, spent about three years on it.

The bike has hardly been ridden by the seller, which is why he is offering it for sale to someone with the time to enjoy it. He told us, “I’m pleased it has been saved from the scrapheap. We rebuilt it just for fun but we have created a cute, fun bike.”

There is a V5, a DVLA document allocating the registration number and a letter from the Triumph Owners Motor Cycle Club detailing the origins of the frame and engine.

Receipts for parts include long lists of components sourced from suppliers such as Greystones in Kent and add up to hundreds of pounds.

The maroon and grey paint scheme looks great, with the mudguards matching the grey of the bottom half of the tank. The frame, oil tank, chainguard, air filter box, headlamp nacelle and rear shocks are all black.

There is a hint of overspray, possibly from another paint job, on the bottom of the right-hand rear shock absorber and swinging arm. This can be seen in the detailed photograph and will no doubt be easily removed with T-cut or similar.

The rear wheel has a new rim, laced with new spokes to the original hub. The wheels wear new tyres and the seller will supply the bike with a new registration number plate, rather than the makeshift one done for riding to the photo session.

Starting life with the seller as a box of bits has meant a whole bike rebuild but the machine has not been meticulously restored. It’s clean, tidy and all there, so could make an ideal base for a concourse restoration.

The exhaust has a dent and scratches but that’s the only obvious evidence of the bike’s 60-year journey. Everything else is solid with so many new parts, including replacement original bolts and screws, rather than cut-down longer ones. Once an engineer, always an engineer.

Replacement engine parts include a main bearing and full gasket set. The neat brass-capped distributor sits on the top of the right-hand crankcase and still sends current to the spark plug.

What is there not to love about the little Triumph Tiger Cub? Most at home on the twisty back roads, which will not test its 65mph top speed, the first taste of true freedom for so many riders in the sixties lives on to do the same today. And even if the Tiger Cub was not your first love, it could be your next.

The rebuild work has been carried out to a high standard resulting in a lovely little bike that will appeal to all enthusiasts, young and not-so-young. It’s simply gorgeous.

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