Triumph Motorcycles Triumph Tr6sc 1956
The Triumph TR6 was added to the 650cc range in 1956 and was aimed directly at the US market. Its lineage went back to the Thunderbird of 1950 and the higher-performance T110 of 1954.
The ‘TR’ designation was borrowed from the 500cc TR5 Trophy that commemorated Triumph’s victory in the 1948 International Six Days Trial with high-performance Tiger 100s. The TR6 used the same motor as the T110 but with a new ‘Delta’ alloy cylinder head while the cast iron barrel was retained but painted silver. Like the TR5, it featured a quickly-detachable headlamp so that riders could quickly ‘prepare’ it for club competition events. For the US there were two models, a roadster with low exhaust pipes and a street-scrambler with high pipes.
Along with the other Triumph 650 models, the TR6, which by then was essentially a single-carburettor version of the T120 Bonneville launched in 1959, went unit-construction in 1963 and coil ignition replaced the magneto. The front forks were strengthened the following year. Produced only from 1964 to 1966, the TR6SC (Special Competition) was a special edition designed specifically for off-road competition in the deserts of the US West Coast. The ‘Desert Sled’, as it became known, was designed by US dealer, Johnson Motors, with high, straight-through exhaust pipes, no speedometer to complement the tachometer, no battery, off-road tyres and higher gearing to facilitate high-speed power sliding. The frame downtube behind the carburettor was modified with a tube through it to the air filter placed inside the box behind the frame downtube.
The TR6SC was used with considerable success in its intended role. Total production during its three year availability numbered only 666 until it was superseded by the TR6C which had both high-mounted exhaust pipes swept to the left hand side. This example was purchased for the NZ Classic Motorcycles collection via auction from a private vendor in New Zealand in November, 2009. It had undergone a restoration and is accompanied by papers documenting a thorough overhaul by Winning Makes of Santa Barbara, California.