PH 90cc TRIU M. PRET SDT TROPHY TR AIL e a batch of brand-new spect: ig Co. Ltd, a Datel Ol he first and only time. in America e he six Days Trial, held in America tor” e home” — ing months of ¢ ernational Six Days “one which cam In the oor the forthcoming Inte raat yim Davies pictures, ernie lange describes, and JM Minel's gold meda old Triumph Enginee Final 490cc model to emerge from Meriden, the TRST in ISDT trim looks thoroughly competent — as, indeed, it proved to be. THOUGH virtually every other one of the f 600 or so bikes on view at the National Motorcycle Muscum has been restored to showroom condition, there is an exception AQ =a very businesslike Triumph twin which Proudly bears yellow competition plates with the number “252”, and the “T” symbol | indicating that the rider was representing | his country as a member of an International | Six Days Trial Trophy team Scruffy? No, no; just a little travel- stained, that's all, with the yellow panels | On the light-alloy tank slightly worn away | by urgent knees, and with splashes of the \ Serutineers’ special marking paint (a pre- caution against high-power lawyer who tried every trick in the book to get the event declared illegal | on pollution grounds. Nor was that all, for it was discovered at a very late stage that the small town of Windsor, on which the final speed tests were to be based, had a local bye-law to the effect that no more than five motor cyclists taking part in a group activity could ride through the town on any one day. Just why there was such an ordinance was not explained, but the city fathers had to call an emergency meeting so that it could be = written off the statute book. —— For the previous three years the British = : ices Trophy and Vase teams had relied on a ASL JRES OF Posse of Cheney — Triumph specials, funded WU KW by = a = Patriotic and enthusiastic undertake anothe: fr a Va 1 motor cycle dealers, but for 1973 the tecngotd mies ofcoxecoumey wort | HE, NATIONAL, | tismnt tongs, (290. te Against the clock eA nite though the reason was perhaps not Only once did the USA ever play host | envisage ag | Surely altruistic. At the request of to the International Six Dige’t Be ai Se eee spectator sport, | Triumph’s USA subsidiann’ a ner ag 2Daton Mancha gnats | he course and ope meg | ale ang a eat Production dur Outes mainly og mae with the daily | enclosures on thong t this was the “Six | factory shew ‘as necessary that the Tout ainly on forestry. lai ut this was t x ory eh “tt : Berkshire Wille Eee lana Lathe | Pays” that very nearly didn't happen, for oe “ “Offers ith in its = y ans | 4 group of local environmentalists hited a | Britain’s national Pa Be modehip any illicit swapping of major | —2— components during the competition) still | 7 ‘sible in places. But in other respects a TRE clean, tidy and very cobby little machine es looking all set to 1973, when it w THECLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE AUGUST 1986Poised on some appropriate roughery, the fanaa ‘machine displays its American made Preston-Petty plastic mudguards, and the neat little Rickman conical front hub. ence the 490ce TRST Trophy Trail (soon to change its name to Adventurer) was a relaunch of the TRS Trophy of a couple of decades earlier — and none the worse for that, of course, for there were plenty of situations in which a light, lively, and compact all-rounder of a model was exactly what was required. Lightness was achieved by employing the rolling chassis of the oil-in-frame BSA BS0 Victor MX single, and compactness and liveliness by fitting into this a single-carburettor STA Speed Twin engine-gear unit. By November 1972 the BSA-Triumph group was plunging into deeper and deeper financial waters but nevertheless, in that month a batch of twelve rather special Trophy Trails was put in hand. Six of these would be for American riders selected by Triumph’s USA subsidiary, and the remain- ing six were for Britain’s Trophy and Vase team members, as chosen by the ACU. | Preparation of the machines was to be undertaken in America, and therefore the | whole dozen were shipped off to Baltimore. In ess A Rathmell’s-eye view. Tuning notes are still visible in the tank-top document wallet. The tank is in light-alloy, with hunting-yellow side panels Rather a tortuous brake pedal, necessary to clear the hinged footrest. Engine number can be read as PH 19538, representing November 19 six being returned in time for the Welsh Three Days Trial — with which, as usual, Would be incorporated the ACU’s team: selection tests. Tt. was soon apparent that machine prep- aration had been remarkably thorough. They were still recognisably TRST models, but at the front the Triumph fork had been discarded in favour of an Italian-made Bator fork carrying a quickly-detachable wheel built on a very neat six-inch-brake | Rickman light-alloy conical hub. The Tear Wheel, too, was quickly detachable, but BSA fans would recognise the splined. Pressed-stcel, “crinkle-flange” hub from Ye Olde A10 Gilded Flashe | Electrics were sim Were simplified to the minimum, with batteryless rectified coil ignition, and direc equipment, such ‘clero t lighting. The electrical ¥, Such as it was, lived under a \ and press-stud fastened tarpaulin eunBle on the right and comprised three Fanten coils (respectively left thet) and two rectifiers; the spa the spare rectifier ae Quickly should theo, spare and | € coil, and could be plugged in riginals fail. Under a ‘arpaulin triangle on the left was THECLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE AUGUST 1986 Electrics are remarkably simple. The spare ignition coil, which can be plugged in as required, is the middle one of the three Covers retained by press studs and Velero fastener Power unit is a single-carb STA, installed in a BSA BSOMX scrambles frame. Additional frame loops give added engine protection; exhaust pipes are retained by springs.air filter. | Siamesed, with | ies by housed the circular The expat tothe front engine plat ai pes held to the front engine plates t pres. ‘ending in a single Burgess silencer Pwo welded-on crashbar loops, ané an under-sump bash plate, gave engine protec aoe trhe toolkit was housed in a hollowed out section of the seat. instantly accessible a zip-fastener at the rear by Railing from the Welsh Three Days Trial tests, Malcolm Rathmell (the 1973 Scottish Six Days Trial winner) and Alan Lampkin were chosen for the Trophy team, while Arthur Browning and John Pease wert in the Vase A squad, and Geoff Monk in Vase B. Browning and Pease were on machines bored out to 502ce (because the ISDT regulations of the time insisted that national teams must include bikes of watjous capacity classes), the others using standard 490cc engines. Because of his other commitments Malcolm “Rastus” Rathmell turned up at the US Embassy at Grosvenor Square, London, only two hours before he was due to catch the plane at Gatwick Airport ~ but ho way would the Embassy officials budge from their lethargy and issue him with a visa double-pronto, so eventually he left a day after the rest of the team Frankly, the American organisation of the ISDT-was chaotic checkpoint marshals seemed to work to their own timetables, whatever the riders demanded; and there ‘was one morning when the first competitors were despatched on time from the parc ferme; only to find that nobody had turned up with the key of the padlock on the com pound gates, which had to be burst open with a hammer before the day’s run could get under way In the previous half-dozen years Britons had become used to having their hopes dashed as carly as the first day, and it looked like British luck had descended on us again as Arthur Browning coped with two punctures in quick succession, losing four marks on the day. But, surprisingly, that was all and, against all the odds Britain finshed as convincing runners-up in the rophy section of the competition, behind the Ceechoslovakians cosa jth Rathmell and Lampkin kept the medals, as did John Pease of the Vase ase of the Vase A squad. Meanwhile, back at the ranch events een moving rapidly. Between the e! BUG Welsn Thee ite ene the ISDT, the BSA-Trumph sous hed : ph group had collapsed and, in July 1973, the shi Wedding known as Norton-Villicre Triumph had emerged eye On September 14th, less than before the “International” g Bi bos Dennis Poore Eromny Baeeh's Meriden works would be cleted Setincnnoement oti closed Seritierrcen oe Jed directly to ally, to the setting-up of the Bee, ane the co-operative Triumph’s urner, architect of & Ph’s post-war succe. almost exactly a month ean’ 2% died Tati ty g month earlier Again, but the 4° OF the dozen a week and, eventu- neville would come 0c unit had gone fo built for the stayed in the USA, 10 a of the Triumph Corporation Ine ily one machine een Rathmell model — ritain. alive good eleven as part this one, the Malcolm ever came back to ‘As featured on BSA motocross models (and, earlier, on DMW machines) a snail-cam ‘adjuster at the fork pivot allows the entire fork to move rearward for chain adjustment, so ‘maintaining wheel alignment. The rear hub is ex-BSA AIO. The toolkit is housed in a hollowed-out section of the seat, with ready access by way of a zip-fastener. No, nota hasty repair! The cli fo, epair! The clip at the base | of the fork leg allows for rapid wheel remova Malcolm Rathme See a | ” Rathmell on his way to a gold medal in 1973 ~ THE ECLASSIC MOTOR CYCLE AUGUST 19861973 TRIUMPH 500 ISDT Machine. One ofthe last Meriden competition machines frame sa TST PHZOII, Engine no TRST20181 Sraineer markings ll clear. Component seas inact. Unrestored and original. In storage since 1974. Published material ‘Complete except for Competition Plates (3) and speedometer (it was predicted the speedo would likely fall of). $11,900 includes crating, shipping negotiable. Can be seen at: British Car Service, th Stone, Tucson, Arizona 85705, USA, or call Bob at (602) 882-9393.