Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

By ALAN CATHCART PHOTOS BY KYOICHI NAKAMURA f riumph's comeback from the disastrous fire it suffered on March 15, which has stopped all production at the British company's Hinckley plant for what is expected to be at least four months, will be product-led and will entail several new models, according to Triumph bosses. It will all begin with the delayed production of the TT600-based Speed Four, a motorcycle that was launched just as the fire took place. But further down the road, there's a distinct shift coming up in Triumph's product strategy, they say - and to prove it, we were able to take an exclusive look at one of the first of the future series of new Triumph models embodying that new philosophy. So, to lift the veil on the British company's plans for one of the first of its next-generation future models, we rode past the army of Bloor Construction operatives working around the clock to make lemonade out of a lemon by replacing the fire-damaged buildings with something bigger and better than had existed before the fire fortunately, John Bloor, one of Britain's biggest builders and property developers, is well used to leveling a site and putting up a well-constructed new building very quickly - and turned into the adjacent, brand-new Triumph plant which began operations two years ago, and was completely 44 AuGUST 7,2002· cue •• undamaged by the fire at the older, original site next door. There, behind a security fence in a quiet part of the complex, the new Triumph Sprint RS.S was waiting, together with its creator, Carlo Talamo. Triumph's Italian importer for the past decade, Talamo used to be a man with a split personality - but he's better now. For many years his country's importer of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, but a man for whom two wheels speak louder to his heart than four, Talamo founded Numero Uno in the mid-'80s as Harley-Davidson's official Italian importer, which by a correct combination of astute marketing, imaginatively designed dealerships, clever product placement and Latin brio, he duly tumed into one of H-D's worldwide success stories. In the end, Milwaukee made Carlo an offer he couldn't refuse, and Numero Uno was sold to Harley in 2000. This allowed Talamo to concentrate on the other two-wheeled challenge he'd been pursuing since 1992 - that of importing upward of 2500 British three- and four-cylinder products (and, now, twins) to Ducati's homeland each year, under the umbrella of his official Triumph import operation, called Numero Tre (what else?). Deploying his own intuitive marketing skills, as well as the wealth of experience acquired via his Harley connection, Talamo has expanded Triumph's presence in the Italian market considerably, in the process assuming an n __ • Triumph plans to head Its comeback from the disastrous Hinckley fire with a sl_ of new models. This Is the prototype for the n_ SprInt RS.S. It's John Bloor's vision of Europe.8n charisma and Japanese quality all rolled Into one bike. increasingly influential role during his regular trips to Hinckley as an advisor to Bloor with his finger on the pulse of the market who can offer suggestions from the commercial coalface as to what Triumph ought to do next. More often that not, Talamo has chosen to actually demonstrate how his ideas could be put into metal by building yet another of the literally dozens of imaginative and distinctive specials, first Harley, then Triumphbased, which he's constructed over the past 15 years - bikes like the Baby Speed stripped-out TT600-based naked bike, of which he sold 50 limited-edition specials to Italian customers before it was adopted by the parent factory as the Speed Four. This is a man not afraid to tell it like it is, not least to Bloor himself - but who, through his own commercial experience and proven track record, has a unique perspective on Triumph's place in today's two-wheeled world. "If you divide the motorcycle family in two, you have classic marques like BMW, Ducati, Guzzi, Harley, Buell, and then modern manufacturers of two-wheeled product like the Japanese - but there is nothing in between," says Talamo. "Triumph has now grown to the point that it must be considered as the only company which can truly fit into this space, which can occupy that central ground and provide a valid option to the Japanese in the high-volume market sectors they dominate, but also to the classic marques in their specific, nkhe areas. People underestimate the significance of what John Bloor is doing, because they think that Triumph is just an assembly company targeted at several small-volume, niche-market sectors. But it's not true. Firstly, Triumph without John Bloor would never exist - but he's obsessive about quality, to the point he hasn't cared so much until now about The Look. You absolutely cannot build a company like Triumph if you are a genius like Claudio Castiglioni, who concentrates on brilliant styling and exciting new products, but at the expense of quality, and of commercial fundamentals. To build Triumph, you need a man like John Bloor, who as he's expanded the company to the point it's big enough to need a new, bigger factory, has focused mainly on quality - and now Triumph has that quality, to the same level as the Japanese, and sometimes even better. People often don't realize that Triumph is not merely an assembly house, but a complete manufacturer in its own right, which builds its own engines, its own frames, its own exhaust systems - so many parts right down to small plastic componerus are entirely made in Hinckley. It's the complete opposite of Aprilia - but it's by bringing so much production inhouse that John has been able to focus on that one thing which interests him most: manufacturing bikes with the character of a European brand, but with the quality that only the Japanese can produce nowadays - except in Hinckley!" But has that quality been achieved in some cases at the expense of the very flair which distinguishes European bikes from their Japanese rivals? "Yes, I would agree with that - the TT600 is talking about quality, but this isn't enough, although this doesn't mean that Triumphs are built without passion - quite the contrary. Look again at Aprilia: they were so successful making scooters and mopeds and 125cc bikes, and now they're trying to establish themselves in the big-bike market. The RSV Mille is okay - it wins races - but it's lacking something. Aprilia's missing that bit of charisma, so the Superbike has no humanity - no passion. But I believe that John Bloor now realizes you need a little bit of thriJI put into the design to show off the passion that Triumph's engineers most definitely do have in creating bikes like the Speed Triple which does exactly that, but is the exception rather than the rule. "Which brings us to the Sprint RS, which I believe is Triumph's best bike - when you ride it, you love it: it delivers. But why does nobody buy this fabulous sports model? Because of the look - the customer in the dealership doesn't even want to test ride it, because he doesn't like the appear-

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