Triumph Motorcycles is an English
motorcycle manufacturer founded by Siegfried Bettmann in 1884. Bettmann was a
German immigrant who traveled to England and founded his own company, at the
age of 20. His company started by buying foreign-made motorcycles and selling
them under its brand. The company began in-house motorcycle production in 1902,
when Triumph’s first motorcycle debuted, powered by a Belgian-made 2.2hp
Minerva engine. It was subsequently known as the ‘No. 1’.
In 1915, Triumph was chosen to supply
its Type H Roadster motorcycles for the Allied military service. Of the 57,000
manufactured units, only 30,000 of the 499cc air-cooled, single-cylinder bikes
saw active service. Like many of its contemporaries, Triumph also witnessed
immense success in world racing during the 1950s and the 60s. However, the
company also faced financially turbulent phases in equal measures which
resulted in multiple changes of ownership. The most notable changes among them
took place in 1939 and 1951.
In 2011, Triumph announced its
decision to enter the Indian two-wheeler market independently. Subsequently,
the British marque displayed its motorcycle range to Indian buyers at the 2012
Auto Expo. At this point, Triumph had also announced its initial 7-model
line-up for India along with their prices. However, Triumph’s exhaustive
research of the Indian market conditions delayed their launch significantly.
Its plan to initiate sales operations through CKD units and not CBUs also
worked as a catalyst in the delay. The delay was further increased due to the
setting up of their new assembly facility in Narsapura, near Bengaluru.
Consequently, Triumph Motorcycles
launched a line-up of 10 motorcycles in India after a significant time-gap, in
November 2013. It consisted of the Bonneville, Bonneville T100, the Thruxton
café racer, Street Triple, Speed Triple, Daytona 675R, the Tiger 800XC, Tiger
Adventure, Thunderbird Storm, and the Rocket III. The Rocket III featured the
largest engine on a production bike – a 2,294cc, three-cylinder engine. This
line-up was a combination of completely built Units (CBUs) and CKD kits brought
in from Triumph's plant in Thailand. The CKD units were assembled at the
manufacturer's interim assembly facility in Manesar, Haryana.
In
January 2014, Triumph announced the opening of its first fully-equipped
dealership at St. Marks Road, Bengaluru. The company had tied up with
Bengaluru-based Keerthi Motors for the same. By June 2014, Triumph inaugurated
its seventh dealership in India, located in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area. The
opening of the Delhi showroom marked Triumph’s debut in the North Indian
Territory. The range of Triumph bikes, ever sold in India, consists of the
Street Twin, Street Scrambler, the Bonneville T100, the Street Triple 765, the Bonneville
T120, the Bonneville Bobber, the Street Triple RS, the Bonneville Speedmaster, the
Tiger 800 XR, the Thruxton R, the Tiger 800 XRx, the Tiger 800 XCx, the Tiger
800 XCA, the Thunderbird Storm, the Tiger 1200, the Thunderbird LT, the Tiger
Explorer XCx, and the Rocket III Roadster.