Triumph off-road heritage celebrated at Mallory Bonanza
Well-respected Triumph motorcycle restorer and collector Dick Shepherd had a handful of historically important Triumphs on display at the Mallory Park Bike Bonanza on July 6/7 to highlight the off-road heritage of a brand that has, for the first time this year, fielded factory motocross bikes in the World Motocross championship and American Supercross and Motocross series for the first time.
Although the company enjoyed great success in road racing it also was a major player in early motocross (better known as ‘scrambles’ until the 1970s), enduros like the International Six Days Trial, and Stateside desert racing.
Dick’s five restored bikes at the Bonanza paid homage to Triumph’s glorious off-road past – plus he had a gleaming example of the very latest Triumph TF 250-X motocross model that shows the commitment of the British brand to modern off-road racing.
Dick is a private collector whose world-famous collection of over 350 Triumph motorcycles includes machines dating back from 1937 through to the present day. He works closely with Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley, providing bikes from his collection for official Triumph displays – and events like the Bonanza.
Two of Dick’s classic Triumphs at the Bonanza were the unsung, four-stroke, single-cylinder 200cc Tiger Cubs, ridden in the 1961 International Six Days Trials by Johnny Giles and Roy Peplow. Dick said: “Both bikes are based on 1956 Cub but were heavily refurbished by the factory for the 1961 works effort which we’ve just restored. Triumph effectively pulled their works team from international enduros in 1959 and ’60, but then returned in 1961 with a big effort, hence the total rebuild of the bikes for Giles and Peplow.”
Dick also showed the 560cc Triumph scrambler bike that Johnny Giles raced to victory in the 1961 Spanish Motocross Grand Prix, then a non-championship international event. “This is another unique machine,” said Dick. “The early duplex-framed bike was built in September 1959 as a 500 twin with close-fin alloy engine but then refurbished for the 1961 season with a 650cc crank to give it a capacity of 560cc.
The biggest capacity machine of Dick’s classic off-road Triumphs at the Bonanza was the ex-Bud Ekins 1960 TR6 SC – Ekins being a top-class desert racer as well as a close mate of fellow racer (and movie star) Steve McQueen. “It’s a desert racer built special for Ekins with a longer-swing-arm and is one of the first duplex-framed TR6s built – technically the TR6 SC didn’t start production until 1962,” Dick said.
Dick’s other Triumph for the Bonanza was one of the very latest TF 250-X motocrossers that is creating a storm this year in both World Championship Grands Prix and the American Super Motocross series that combines stadium supercross and outdoor motocross championships. His bike though is not an over-the-counter model anyone can buy – it has all the same parts and the factory’s works bike that are being raced in the World and American series.The TF 250-X (and the TF 450-X which will be launched in 2025) is the result of a multi-million dollar investment by Triumph, bringing together some of the biggest names in off-road racing, Triumph Racing teams in the States, in Europe, and key engineering and design work undertaken at Triumph’s Hinckley factory has produced a bike that has already proved competitive at the highest level. The programme includes lead development rider Ricky Carmichael, the greatest racer in the history of the sport. With 15 American ‘world’ championships (10 MX, 5 SX) and 150 career wins (102 MX, 48SX) to his name, his is known to many as ‘the GOAT’.
Words courtesy Mallory Park. Images superbike.co.uk