Let’s start with a slight discrepancy in this ad. The bike is listed as being from 1953. However… although Triumph started manufacturing the Tiger T110 (aka TT110) in 1953, it reportedly didn’t start selling them until 1954.
Confusing things a little more: thanks to the meticulousness and transparency of the United Kingdom’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, I’m able to see that official government records show this motorcycle’s year of manufacture as 1955.
Something to discuss with the seller, I suppose.
Meanwhile, the Tiger T110 was the inspiration for Triumph’s most iconic model. In 1956, American racer Johnny Allen achieved a land speed record of 214.17 mph with a (obviously modified) Tiger T110 at… wait for it… the Bonneville Salt Flats. Three years later, the Triumph Bonneville was born.
The Tiger T110, like most of Triumph’s bikes at the time, was a model aimed at the US market. Driven by a 4-speed 649cc parallel twin that in stock form may or may not have been capable of achieving the 110 mph top speed implied by its name, the model was produced from 1953/54-1961.
Triumph was still in the early stages of its BSA partnership when production of this bike started, the latter having bought out the former in 1951. BSA-Triumph was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world through the 1950s but poor management and bad choices led to rapid decline. All part of the larger story of British manufacturing’s stunning fall from grace.
This bike ─ clearly in good condition and mechanically “excellent,” according to the seller ─ stands as a testament to a different and special time in motorcycling and British history.
You can find this Tiger T110 for sale in Reading, England, with a BIN of £6,250 (roughly $8,360) here on eBay.