1901 Triumph prototype re-emerges
An important piece of Triumph Motorcycles’ history was recently unveiled in the UK and will form an important part of the brand’s 120th Anniversary celebrations in 2022.
In the Beginning
What we know today as Triumph Motorcycles was founded by Siegfried Bettmann in 1884. A German who had emigrated to England, Bettmann originally sold bicycles under his own name, before rebadging his company as ‘Triumph Cycle Company Ltd’ and his bicycles as ‘Triumph’ in 1887 (some sources differ on the date).
On the eve of the 20th Century, most bicycle makers were moving into motorcycle manufacture and Triumph followed suit, starting development in 1898, with the first production motorcycle offered in 1902. However, the very first motorcycle to wear a Triumph badge had been built a year earlier – the ‘1901 Prototype’.
Like many motorcycles from this early period, the 1901 Prototype was little more than a bicycle with an engine and fuel tank attached. In this case, the engine was a Belgian-made Minerva single of 239cc capacity and 2.5hp, while the fuel tank was scratch built and slung under the frame’s top bar.
Reportedly, the promotion and advertising of the 1901 Prototype generated enough interest to convince Triumph Cycle Company to go ahead with production. By 1903, more than 500 singles had been built and Triumph was off and running. The first in-house engine followed in 1905 and various displacements were available by 1907, when Triumph entered the very first Isle of Man TT. By 1909, the company’s annual production was in the thousands.
Rediscovered
While Triumph flourished, struggled, died and was reborn in the century that followed, the fate of the 1901 Prototype remained a mystery until recently, when leading vintage Triumph collector Dick Shepherd rediscovered it.
“Having been approached by a friend of a collector - who had sadly recently passed away - to evaluate an old Triumph, I was incredibly excited to discover that the bike featured unique details that were not present on the first production Triumphs,” Shepherd said.
“Along with the bike, the collector had also received a letter from Triumph, dated 1937, that outlined the bike’s unique origins and provided key details.
“With an engine number that is consistent with references in Minerva’s engine records of a 1901 first Triumph engagement, the historic significance of this motorcycle became incredibly clear.”
Shepherd undertook a full restoration of the 1901 Prototype and had completed it in time to debut at the Motorcycle Live show in the UK this December, followed by a dedicated display at Triumph’s Factory Visitor Experience in Hinckley, alongside the millionth Triumph motorcycle to be built at Hinckley since 1990.
“As a lifelong, passionate fan of the history and achievements of this incredible British brand, to have discovered this amazing survivor and restored it to the glorious condition it would have been in when it first went on display in 1901, has given me an immense amount of satisfaction,” Shepherd added.