Triumph Pre-Unit 650 Dossier - Knucklebuster

1950-1962 • Air-cooled • Parallel twin • £750-£10,000
RIDING DEVELOPMENT NOS TALGIA BUY ING O W NING
“ Open the TR6 up and it takes off in
a really exhilarating way, with a
classic Triumph snarl”
Mid-range grunt
and fl exibility, the
Trophy TR6 has
both in spades

1950-1962 • Air-cooled • Parallel twin • £750-£10,000
RIDING DEVELOPMENT NOSTALGIA BUY ING O W NING
SPOTTER’S GUIDE
KEY MODELS
● 1958 THUNDERBIRD 6T
Coil ignition with contact breaker points,
located in a distributor behind the
cylinders. Slickshift gearbox. An SU carb
was fi tted to the home market 6Ts from
1952-58. Metallic bronze-gold paint was
for 1957-58 model years only.
● 1959 BONNEVILLE
The fi rst version of the Bonneville is the
only one with a headlamp nacelle and
valanced mudguards. The rear of the
cylinder head casting on very early
examples is adapted from a single carb
type to accept twin carbs.
The 1956 Trophy/
T110 engine (left)
featured a new diecast
alloy head,
known as the Delta
head, which did
away with external
oil drain pipes
● 1961 TIGER T110
Final year of T110. Duplex frame, bath tub
rear end and deeply valanced front
mudguard. Alloy head and slickshift box.
1960
6T AND T110
Pressed steel bathtub
rear enclosure. Last
year of iron cylinder
head on 6T.
1960 T1 2 0 , TR6
A( road ) and B( offroad
w ith hig h p ip es )
v ersions offered in
USA . Tro p hy
discontinued in UK.
1961 TR6
US:R( road ) ,C( offroad
) . E lse w here : re -
introduced as T R 6 SS
w ith low lev el 2 - into -
one e x haust.
196 2 ALL 650S
S lic k shift g earbo x
discontinued. A ll 650
Triu m p hs had unit
construction eng ines
fro m19 6 3 .
● 1961 TROPHY TR6
The last pre-unit Trophy TR6C was fi tted
with twin high-level exhausts with slotted
heat shields, fi rst fi tted to the 1960 TR6B
and Bonneville TR7B scramblers. A rev
counter, driven from a timing cover, was
available as an optional extra. US models
have higher bars and a seat strap.
Classic Bike M A Y 2 006 55