 1914 Type C 3-speed Roadster |
 1914 Type C 3-speed Roadster |
 1914 Type F TT Fixed-Engine Racer |
 The new Type G TT 3-speed Roadster |
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Triumph's 1914 models were 'different', and perhaps the current Veteran designation should have finished a year earlier! These were more as later Triumph's were also to be, with the top frame member dropping towards the rear in order to give a lower seating position, and the petrol tank was now French Grey, although the Gold outlined Brunswick Green side panels were as before, plus the overall red lining. As is often the case, 'racing improves the breed', and Triumph had used 'drop frames' with their 1913 TT Race machines. There was also a difference at the tank, for Triumph abandoned the basic oiler hand pump, and there was the addition of Best and Lloyd drip-feed oiler. Perhaps it was not a success, or maybe an unnecessary expense, for it was fitted to the machines of this year only. (If the Best and Llloyd had to be charged with a hand pump, for the oil to drip to the crankcase for the next xx miles, why not give the crankcase a charge from the pump every xx miles, anyway.) Also different for this year only, was the fact that some machines were fitted with a Brown and Barlow carburettor. Maybe experimentation, again, for Triumph's own new carb. was to appear the following year. Not so visibly obvious was the fact that the engine capacity had increased again, by another 50cc. This was because sidecars were becoming popular as it enabled the motor cycle to be transport for the whole family, and an extra 50cc was considered desirable for the additional weight of a sidecar. (Tests with 600cc engines had been made, but the 550cc was selected as the best size for either solo or sidecar use.) The engines were still of the twin-cam type, unlike the following 550cc engines of the Models H which used a single camwheel. To facilitate starting the larger engine there was a decompressor for the inlet valve as well as the standard exhaust valve decompressor. The 499cc engine was still the standard fitting for some models, where the 500c competition class was important. With a TT Roadster model now available with a 3-speed hub Triumph's 1914 range was now seven Types. When Siegfied Bettmann received a phone call at home, on a Saturday afternoon in mid-August 1914, from Staff Captain Vivian Holbrook at the War Office asking that 100 Triumphs be available at the Coventry Railway Station the following evening, it was such 1914 models which were subsequently there for collection. Thus forget about what you might have read about only Models H (of the Triumphs) used by Despatch Riders in the 1914-18 war. The Model H was not available until February in 1915. By calling in Work's Manager Charles Hathaway and a number of workmen, who worked all Saturday night, these 1914 models were available! (Although a number of Triumph agencies might have wondered why their orders were not fulfilled as promised!) |
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Brief Specifications and Variations
Standard engine capacity now 550.6cc 4hp. 85mm bore X 97mm stroke.
Type A - Roadster Free-Engine model.
Type B - Roadster Fixed-Engine model.
Type C - Roadster Three-Speed model.
Type D - TT Roadster Fixed-Engine model.
............... 499cc 3½ hp. 85mm bore X 88mm stroke
engine unless the 4hp engine was ordered.
Type E - TT Roadster Free-Engine model.
Type F - TT Racer Fixed-Engine model.
............... 499cc 3½ hp. 85mm bore X 88mm stroke
engine unless the 4hp engine was ordered.
Type G - TT Roadster Three-Speed model.
The first year with a 'drop frame'.
All models had the distinctive front mudguard with a flair
at the end.
A clock-face fuel gauge in the
tank indicated Empty, ¼, ½, ¾ or Full.
The Roadster versions were/are Triumph's most practical
veteran models for sidecar use.
Production approximately 6,800 machines.
I have knowledge of 1914 models surviving in Australia, Britain,
Chile, New Zealand and Spain.
For more details you really need to refer to the booklet I have
written covering the Early Models.
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