Rider ON THE storm
It was, in the words of crime writer Dorothy L Sayers, “an old antagonism.” She was referring to the street rivalry between Scott and Norton in the 1920s and 30s, but the neat phrase could also apply to that between Triumph and BSA twins in the 1950s and 60s. Or Triumph and Norton twins, which was where I came into motorcycling in 1962.
At college my Dominator 99-riding pal convinced me that Nortons were the only option. Was there a class element to this? Nortons were “Unapproachable”, successful on the track, relatively scarce and reassuringly expensive. Certainly no one at the university, including our boho fringe, ran a Triumph, though one chap was building a Triton.
Everyone knew ‘Triumphs didn’t handle’, and before Hele worked his magic from 1963-on, this was true (though it could be lived with). And there was the ubiquity – being keenly priced and charismatic, Triumphs were the default position for British twins, much like MGBs would be for British sports cars; and looked down on by some for being common in both senses. Also Edward Turner’s cost-cutting meant that a majority of postwar models didn’t feature magnetos, and thus were hampered by some dubious early coil ignition systems.
So, long story short, the
