I’ll be the first to admit, I am a sucker for a model or a designation that I don’t recognize. I’ve owned a couple of Triumphs, and I’d never seen the ‘TRW’ designation. So after an hour’s happy research I now know that is a military design, and I also know that the British Army bought almost none of the things. The RAF bought a few, but the Commonwealth’s various services bought quite a few. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, most notably.
The Triumph TRW500 was a purpose designed military motorcycle that was designed in 1938 but after the Coventry plant was bombed out of existence in 1939 Triumph couldn’t get the bike into the war. As redesigned in ‘48 it featured a 499 CC side valve air cooled parallel twin. By 1956 a single Solex carb brought the total to 20 HP. 4 speed gearbox, hydraulic front forks, seven inch brakes and a rigid frame completed the package. The TRW500 was the only side valve motor Triumph ever produced and the TRW was also the last rigid frame in the Triumph inventory.
In the above photo you can see why the motor pool guys loved this bike. Right between the exhaust pipes is the access cover to adjust the valves. The pictures look very good, but I’m guessing the bike is very much overpriced. It has none of the military attachments on it, absolutely bare bones.This listing provides very little information. The bike is in Coombs, BC, Canada with a starting bid of $13,000 C (roughly $10,000 US) and a Buy It Now price of $16,900 C (roughly 13,000 US)