THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO

The Triumph Thunderbird was launched in autumn 1949 for the 1950 model year – after some impressive publicity meant it was much anticipated. It remained a range mainstay for a decade and a half.

- JAMES ROBINSON

Have you ever ridden a Triumph twin? As you’re reading this magazine, then there’s a fairly high likelihood that the answer to the question might be ‘yes’. In many ways, the Triumph twin is the model which defines our movement, its period of production roughly coinciding with our main era of focus and interest. In short, there was always a Triumph twin there (or thereabouts).

Whether you’re interested in general riding, club runs, scrambling, racing, trials, touring, straightforward restoration or special building, there’s a fine chance that a Triumph twin – in one of its many forms – has made your acquaintance.

Which is the best Triumph twin is almost as big a topic to debate as whether they’re better than the period opposition; but we’re sticking to Triumphs here. Every model has its advocates; there are devotees for everything from prewar Speed Twins to 1960s Tiger 90s, and a sizeable number for whom, simply, the Bonneville cannot be bettered; though of course there’s at least four subsections in that category too.

The case for the Triumph Thunderbird as the best of all is a strong one. It ticks many boxes; supremely stylish, historically important, enduringly popular, a sales success and damned fine to ride, too. Should the Triumph Thunderbird, and not the Bonneville or Speed Twin, be considered the top twin? Well, perhaps yes.

When, in 2008, I produced an archive picture book on Triumphs, the model I chose to adorn the cover was a Thunderbird. Why? Well, good old-fashioned bias came into it – at the time I had a Thunderbird – but there is a genuine case to be made for the Thunderbird’s huge, and underrated, importance to the enduring Triumph popularity.