Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1523663
F resh from a week of cele- brating a declaration of free- dom from British tyranny, it would seem only sporting that we also take time to acknowl - edge the kindnesses extended to us by our former lien holder. To the same country that brought us The Beatles, Monty Python and Barry Sheene, let's raise a pint to the Triumph Engineering Co. LTD as we honor them for their con - tribution to the world of heavy- weight four-stroke, twin-cylinder motorcycles which can be ridden both on and off of the road—and they did so decades before the industry coined the phrases "dual sport" and "adventure" for our dirt/street play bikes. Imagine the classic John Landis' movie "An American Werewolf In London," where the locals at The Slaughtered Lamb Pub warned the hiking lads from America to "keep to the roads… stay away from the moors." Now, picture if the fellows had ridden to the pub on a 1973 Triumph Trophy Trail, the motorcycle that Cycle News put to the test in its December 18th, 1973, is - sue. With its big powerplant and chrome fenders, the Trophy Trail (known also as the TR5T) was a sight to behold, a unique blend of style and ruggedness. But Triumph really didn't need a huckster to pitch the Trophy Trail as an off-road beast of bur - den. A full page in Cycle News re- minded everyone that the British team, all aboard TR5Ts, had just netted second place in the ISDT that year. They said they were a flat tire away from winning the whole bloody shooting match! The heart of the Triumph was its lusty-sounding 499cc four-stroke twin-cylinder engine, with a single carburetor providing the fuel/air mixture. While adding another carb might've provided more top- end punch, the solo Amal was easier to tune and plenty effective on the low end. Besides, the editor stated, "…you don't need the [extra] horsepower." Mellow would be a fine ad - jective to describe the power delivery of the TR5T. Peaking at 7550 rpm, Cycle News liked the smooth powerband and posi- tive throttle response and could cruise around at 70 mph all day long, netting 50 miles of fun per gallon of petroleum. A two-into- one exhaust, painted flat black, delivered a throaty note, but at a level still acceptable for the "less sound, more ground" advocates of the 1970s. The test rider's only complaint was lodged against the transmission, where the long throw of the gearshift lever was out of step with the quick snick found with the Japanese gear - boxes of the era. All the power in the British Empire is worth nothing if it can't find its way to the ground in a friendly fashion. Thanks to their frame geometry, Triumphs were CNIIARCHIVES P150 BY KENT TAYLOR THE BRITISH ARE COMING! TRIUMPH'S TROPHY TRAIL (TR5T) Our Triumph Trophy Trail, aka TR5T, test bike was on the cover of CN in 1973.