1951 Triumph Tiger 100 500cc Motorcycle

Description

Although Triumph’s origins date back to 1902, it wasn’t until the ‘30s with talented designer Edward Turner on board, the company began building some very successful motorbikes, starting with the Tiger range of singles. Turner’s classic Speed Twin elevated Triumph into the big league in 1937 and by the time it had been developed into the legendary Thunderbird in 1949, the company could boast the most powerful parallel-twin production bike on the market. During World War II the Triumph factory was destroyed, and when production of the Tiger recommenced in 1946 it now had telescopic front forks. From there development continued apace, with a finned alloy cylinder barrel arriving in 1951 and swinging-arm rear suspension debuting in 1954. 1959 saw the last of the original-style Tigers, the separate engine/gearbox design replaced with a single 'unit' construction, for 1960's T100A.