Triumph TR6 Trophy
WHAT IS THE BEST TRIUMPH TWIN? WELL, it’s the 1968 unit-construction T120 Bonneville 650, isn’t it? Everybody knows that. That’s the Triumph that gets restored to within an inch of its life, wins all the prizes at shows and attracts the biggest crowds.
The thing is, there could be a better Triumph. The unit construction 650cc TR6 Trophy, made from 1963-1968, looks almost identical to the Bonneville at casual glance, yet it’s easier and more flexible to ride and in the real world it’s just as fast.
The Trophy name was originally used on 500cc sporty semi off-roaders following Triumph’s 1948 ISDT victory, then it was used on a 650 twin. Sometimes thought of as a ‘single-carb Bonneville’, there was much more to the Trophy than that.
In the USA the Trophy attracted nearly as many buyers as the Bonneville. Having two big sellers across the Atlantic was important to Triumph who were struggling to sell bikes in a falling UK market. Starting in 1960, half of their worldwide sales were made in the USA, a quantity that
