1960's
The ‘60s were to prove a fabulous decade for motorcycling in general and Triumph had a winning formula. The Bonneville was a fantastic success - the definitive sports twin of the ‘60s - both in Britain and in the States and competition success at the Isle of Man TT and Daytona spawned a myriad of models.
Social acceptibility of motorcycles was at an all time high. Bikes were still at the heart of everyday transport for many people but were also appearing in the coolest films of the decade, alongside screen stars such as Steve MacQueen and Marlon Brando. Added to this was the birth of the rebellious teenager, who turned their motorcycles into cult café racers.
Triumph’s output peaked at around 50,000 bikes a year with sixty percent of exported, primarily to the US.
Harry Sturgeon, an ex-MD of a BSA group subsidiary, took over from Turner in 1967 and continued Triumph’s policy of evolution rather than revolution.
But rumours of a Japanese 750 became more persistent and eventually could not be ignored so Sturgeon gave the go ahead to the development of a three cylinder 750. The design was pushed through and became the Triumph Trident (T150) and BSA Rocket Three.
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