Happy days for Triumph

Triumph Motorcycles says it has passed a milestone - it will reach the 50,000 sales mark this year.

That may be modest by global standards, but is significant in the corporate history.

The previous record was set in the company's 'golden era' of the 1960s, when the Meriden plant hit 46,700 sales.

"We often hear talk of the 'golden age of British motorcycling' referring to the 1950s and 1960s, but we are proud to be rewriting history and creating a new golden age right now," said Tue Mantoni, CEO of Triumph Motorcycles Limited. "Triumph is currently operating in 38 countries and our success is a tribute to our philosophy of making unique motorcycles with distinctive Triumph characteristics. This conference has provided an opportunity to celebrate this success with our dealers, while outlining our plans for the future. As part of our growth plans we are committed to expanding our range significantly over the next few years."

Hinckley has this year launched a new Thunderbird (pictured) - based on a new 1600 parallel twin engine, placing it midway between the 865 twin cruisers and the giant 2300 Rocket III series.

The Thunderbird name was originally used by Edward Turner for one of the old air-cooled twins, and more recently by Hinckley for a 900 triple.

We can also expect to see a few new Bonneville variants launched in the near future, along with a new gadget called the Street Triple R.

The latter, pictured in silver, is a logical progression for the model, picking up the premium suspension and brakes from the Daytona 675.