£7,000 - £9,000
1965 Triumph TR6SS Trophy, 649 cc, registration number GBP 91C. Frame number DK22742. Engine number DK22742.
International Six Days Trial successes in the late 1940s prompted Triumph to adopt the 'Trophy' name for their off-road-styled twins, at first for the 500cc TR5 and then for the 650cc TR6, introduced for 1956. The bigger Trophy retained its sporting character but became more of a roadster as time passed, ending up, in effect, as a single-carburettor T120 Bonneville, whose specification in all other respects it closely followed. More tractable than the Bonnie and more economical too, the Trophy gave little away in terms of outright performance. The Trophy continued in this form when Triumph's 650cc twins changed to unitary construction of the engine/transmission in October 1962. Styling and mechanical updates coincided with the Bonnie's from then onwards. However, although they possessed an impeccable engine, Triumph's larger models were widely recognised as lacking in the handling department, especially when compared to rivals Norton. Following the wholesale changes of frame layout in the late pre-unit era, a single down-tube design was introduced on the 650cc 'unit' twins for 1963, although even this would undergo several detail alterations over the next eight years.
For 1957, the front brake was enlarged to 8 inches. This was the first year of the "Harmonica" tank badge. For the 1959 model year, the Trophy was offered in two variants; the TR6/A was the roadster model with low pipes and the TR6/B was the high-piped street-scrambler. The home model was named the TR6, whereas the US export models were named TR6C for the competition model and TR6R for the road model. Introduced in 1962 and offered through to 1966 was the TR6SS model, which sported a two-into-one exhaust, but was otherwise similar to the road model.
GBP is a matching number UK bike first registered on the 1st June 1965 to John Tarrant of Littlehampton, then Richard Turner of Catford in August 1968 and Kim Lambert of Edmonton in August 1970, followed by Alan Rolls of Wallington in March 1972. He owned it until our vendor purchased it in August 1998.
It was fully restored in 2010, with the following upgrades; Pazon electronic ignition, twin leading shoe front brake, wide ratio gearbox and a QD rear wheel, since when it has only covered some 2,500 miles and is only being sold due to lack of use.
Rarely do we find machines of this quality that you can trace its entire ownership history.
Sold with the V5C, R.F. 60, various MOT's and sundry paperwork and photographs.
Fees apply to the hammer price:
Free Registration
23.6% inc VAT*
Flat Fee Registration
20.00% inc VAT*
