By the mid-sixties motorcycling in Italy had lost its appeal and numerous well established firms like Parilla, Mi-Val, Bianchi, Capriolo, MM and Rumi had been forced to close their doors and even big manufactures including Moto Guzzi, Ducati and Laverda were running into the red. Largely thanks to government and military orders they managed to survive and their salvation came with the huge, and burgeoning American market which was crying out for large capacity twins. This proved to be a happy hunting ground for Triumph who in 1967 exported a staggering 28,700 units stateside. It was the latest unit construction Bonneville motor which would power the Bolognese masterpiece, the first and only time the Meriden twin engine would be used by another manufacturer. In its four-year production period around one thousand Grifons were made with the bulk going to the American, Australian and Italian home markets.
They are now highly sought after, but firstly we turn the clock back to the early ‘fifties and reflect on the company’s founder Leopoldo Tartarini, a man who turned a hobby and the passion of his youth into a profitable business riding, racing and manufacturing motorcycles. From the age of four Leopoldo – or ‘Poldino’ as
