![Triumph Speed Twin 1938 500cc 2 cyl ohv]( "Triumph Speed Twin 1938 500cc 2 cyl ohv")
Manufacturer: Triumph
Model: Speed Twin
Year: 1938
Displacement: 500 cc
Cylinder: 2
Engine type: 4-stroke / ohv
Bore / Stroke:
63
x
80 mm
Power: 28.5hp
@ 6000 rpm
Compression Ratio: 7:1
Weight: 163 kg
Frame number: TH 4821
Engine number: 8-5T 434666
Although Edward Turner's Triumph Speed Twin caused a sensation when it appeared at the 1937 Motorcycle Show, few of its admirers can have guessed how influential the design would prove to be. True, there had been vertical twins before; indeed, Turner's predecessor at Triumph - Val Page - had designed one a few years previously, but the Coventry firm's newcomer established a formula that would be adopted by all of Britain's major motorcycle manufacturers in the succeeding decade. And whereas previous vertical twins had suffered from excess bulk, Turner's was lighter and narrower across the crankcase than the contemporary single-cylinder Tiger 90, and from certain angles looked just like a twin-port single. Performance proved exemplary for a road-going 500, better than 100mph being attainable under favourable conditions.
This sporty and powerful Triumph is an fine running older restoration.