1970 Triumph 500cc T100C Trophy, Frame no. HD56310T100C Engine no. HD56310T100C

1970 Triumph 500cc T100C Trophy
Frame no. HD56310T100C
Engine no. HD56310T100C
• Matching numbers example
• Iconic original Jacaranda Purple paint

Through the 1960s, Triumph's 500cc twin had been considered a 'rider's motorcycle', appreciated not for any one outstanding quality but rather for its overall balance and competence. The editors at Cycle World magazine, for instance, most with racing and cow-trailing experience, considered the 500 to be Triumph's finest machine, calling it a 'sound and well-proportioned design.' They waxed more eloquently in the wrap-up of their road test on the 1970 Trophy 500, same model as seen here: 'The T100C is poetry. Superb road handling. A modicum of convertibility for the dirt. Excellent braking, requiring only one or two fingers on the front stopper. Easy starting. And exemplary reliability'.

The sports version of Edward Turner's trend-setting Speed Twin 500, the Tiger 100 was launched in 1938, reappearing in 1946 with telescopic forks in place of the original girders and separate dynamo and magneto instead of the pre-war version's magdyno. An alloy cylinder head and barrel were adopted for 1951, these and other engine improvements boosting power to 32bhp, while a swinging-arm frame and 8inch-diameter front brake were fitted from 1954 onwards. By the decade's end a splayed-port cylinder head with twin carburetors had become standard equipment, and this would represent the ultimate development of the Tiger 100, which in mid-1959 was replaced by the new, unitary construction Tiger 100A. Various models of the 500 twin continued in production through model year 1974 but by then the Triumph company was in 'deep' turmoil and the rest is history

For 1970 the catalog says there are four 500s – T100S, T, R and C – each with its own unique specification. The 'trail' C is quoted at a dry weight of 340 pounds with a 7-inch twin leading shoe front brake, shared only with the S. Showing just 7,235 miles, this Trophy 500 has always been stored properly and maintained in running condition. It is virtually as it left the showroom 47 years ago, right down to the mufflers' 'barbeque grille' heat shield, which were usually removed and hung on a nail in the garage. To be sure, there are signs of use but not misuse – minor scuffs, discolored fasteners, some fading in the gas tank's Jacaranda Purple paint, as examples – but these are just proof of a good motorcycle being enjoyed as intended, with the same future ahead of it.