Property of a deceased's estate
1919 Triumph 550cc Model H Motorcycle Combination Project
Registration no. LY 2094
Frame no. 305486
Engine no. 65811 DTO

* Long-term enthusiast ownership
* Last ridden circa 1980
* Restoration project

The first Triumph motorcycle of 1902 used a Belgian Minerva engine but within a few years the Coventry firm - originally a bicycle manufacturer founded by German immigrants Siegfried Bettman and Maurice Schulte - was building its own power units. The company was soon involved in racing and the publicity generated by competition success - Jack Marshall won the 1908 Isle of Man TT's single-cylinder class for Triumph having finished second the previous year - greatly stimulated sales. By the outbreak of The Great War the marque's reputation for quality and reliability was well established, leading to substantial orders for 'Trusty Triumphs' for military use.

Triumph's 3½hp model had first appeared in 1907. Originally of 453cc, its sidevalve engine was enlarged to 476cc in 1908 and finally to 499cc in 1910 before being superseded by the 550cc 4hp model in 1914. Equipped with three-speed Sturmey-Archer gearbox, it was this revised 4hp - the Model H - that did such sterling service in WWI, some 30,000 'Trusty Triumphs' seeing action with British and Allied forces.

This Triumph Model H was manufactured in 1919 and first registered in 1921 in the Norwich area. The former owner was Mr John Porter, a fellow member of the Brooklands Section of the VMCC. An avid collector of classic motorcycles, the late owner purchased the Triumph from Mr Porter in June 1972 and kept it in his private collection for 43 years. 'LY 2094' was last ridden circa 1980 when it took part in a VMCC run, completing a total round trip of 100 miles, as documented in a copy of the AJS&MOC's 'Jampot' magazine on file.

It has not been possible to identify the maker of the sidecar, which comes with its part dismantled chassis, original canopy and leather interior. Offered for restoration and sold strictly as viewed, the motorcycle comes with a box of parts, V5C registration document, older style registration document, buff logbook, MoT certificates for 1973 and 1981, a 1973 tax disc and some Polaroid photographs from 1972.