1965 Triumph Tiger 100SC 500cc Motorcycle

Description

Powered by a development of Edward Turner's parallel twin, the Triumph Tiger 100’s four-stroke motor displaced 498cc and the ‘100’ referred to the top speed, a heady number indeed for a pre-war machine.  Lighter and sportier than its Speed Twin counterpart, the T100 was launched by way of an endurance run from John O'Groats to Land's End before heading to the Brooklands circuit where it lapped for six hours. Averaging 78.5 miles per hour, with a fastest lap of 88.5 miles per hour, it won the Tiger instant respect amongst the sporting fraternity.  Although Triumph’s factory was reduced to rubble in the War, production of the Tiger resumed in 1946 using a telescopic front fork.  From there development continued apace, with a finned alloy cylinder barrel arriving in 1951 and swing-arm rear suspension debuting in 1954.  The last of the original-style Tigers appeared in 1959, the separate engine/gearbox design replaced with single unit construction on the T100A launched in 1960.  Billed as “An ideal fast light sports 500” and squarely aimed at the American market, the 100 SC was a high performance derivative street scrambler designed for both on and off road use.  Powered by the same 500cc twin used to win at Daytona and moto-cross GPs, the 100 SC had 9:1 compression and a single Amal Monobloc carburettor, developed 38 horsepower at 7000rm and boasted an impressive top maximum speed of 90mph.  The high mounted twin exhausts, knobbly tyres and high rise bars endowed the Tiger with a rugged go-anywhere appearance but proved equally at home on the highway.