Books about Triumph Motorcycles

A booklist for Triumph motorcycles.



Books

Bacon, Roy. Illustrated Motorcycle Legends.

Bacon, Roy. Illustrated Triumph Buyer's Guide.

Bacon, Roy. Triumph Bonneville T120 1959-74.

Bacon, Roy. Triumph Twins Restoration. Comments

Bird, Richard. Triumph Bonneville.

Gaylin, David. Triumph in Americal.

Gaylin, David. Triumph Motorcycle Restoration Guide - Bonneville & TR6 1956-1983.Comments Comments

Hancox, Hughie. Tales of Triumph Motorcycles & the Meriden Factory. Dorset: Veloce, 1996. ISBN: 1-901295-67-2 Comments

Hancox, Hughie. Unit 650 Rebuild. Comments

Hazeldine, Paul. Triumph Bonneville Year by Year.

Kane, Gerard. Original Triumph Bonneville - Restorer's Guide 1959-1983. Comments

Nelson, John. Triumph Bonneville - Super Profile. Comments

Nelson, John. Bonnie, the Development History of the Triumph Bonneville.

Nicholson, J. B. Modern Motorcycle Mechanics, Seventh Edition. 1974. Comments

Remus, Tim. Triumph Bonneville and TR6. Comments

Shelton, Stan. Triumph Tuning. Comments

Woolridge, Harry. Triumph Trophy Bible.Comments

Wilson, Steve. Triumph Motorcycles from 1950 -1988.

Wilson, Steve. Triumph T120/T140 Bonneville. Sparkford: Hanyes Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1-85960-679-2 Comments

Reader's Comments

Comments gleaned from the Brit-Iron Mailing List.

Bacon, Roy. Triumph Twins Restoration.
Consensus seems to be that while Bacon's books do suffer from errors they are generally useful. [btm]
"Bacon seems earnest, albeit somewhat misinformed on certain issues.. likely colored by the fact of where he is located." Doug

Gaylin, David. Triumph Racing.
".. has some tips on cams and tuning tips by racers in the back of the book." Doug

Gaylin, David. Triumph Motorcycle Restoration Guide - Bonneville & TR6 1956-1983.
Out-of-print ($200 to $260 on Ebay).
General consensus is that Gaylin's books are well researched and the more accurate than those by Remus and Bacon. [btm]
"THE bible for triumph enthusiasts.. better than Bacon's books and Remus's competing tome. I have all 3 and Gaylin's is my favorite and the one i use the most" Doug.
"Far more useful than Roy Bacon's version."

Hancox, Hughie. Tales of Triumph Motorcycles & the Meriden Factory.
"Autobiographical, enjoyable."
Excellent read. Insider view of 50's and 60's Triumph production including many anecdotes about factory hijinks and culture. Interesting tidbits on the evlolution, design, and problems with the Triumph line. Hancox also chronicles his experiences in the Royal Signals MOtor Cycle Display Team. Highly recommended. [btm]

Hancox, Hughie. Unit 650 Rebuild.
Available on DVD (2) and cassette (2). 3 hours 10 minutes showing complete tear-down, inspection, and re-assembly of a 650 unit engine. Also available for non-unit 650 twins. Rave reviews all around.

Kane, Gerard. Original Triumph Bonneville - Restorer's Guide 1959-1983.
"Recommended". "Lots of good detailed colour photos."

Nelson, John. Triumph Bonneville - Super Profile.
Received at least one negative recommendation.

Nicholson, J. B. Modern Motorcycle Mechanics.
General information plus specific sections on Ariel, BSA, HD, Honda, Indian, Kawasaki, Matchless and A.J.S., Norton, Panther, Royal Enfield, Sunbeam, Suzuki, Triumph, Velocette, Vincent, Villeirs, and Yahama. Univeral acclaim! [btm]

Remus, Tim. Triumph Bonneville and TR6.
Generally negative recommendations.
"Good color photos, but many innacuracies".
"Remus... is horribly inaccurate..(Nice shiny pix though)." Doug

Shelton, Stan. Triumph Tuning.
Several positive recommendations. Long out of print, but now updated and readily available according to Doug.

Woolridge, Harry. Triumph Trophy Bible.
"Very good". "Recommended". Author used Triumph production records.

Wilson, Steve. Triumph T120/T140 Bonneville.
Chronicles the Bonneville from its beginnings through the "New Millenium Bonnie". Details year-to-year changes and has many photos. Situates the Bonneville in popular culture and includes a Who's Who chapter. I found the writing stilted and contrived and the effort required to read it blunted my initial enthusiasm for the book. [btm]


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