This is almost certainly one of the most pristine 1952 Triumph 6T Thunderbird 650 in existence. Not only did this example take home an award from the Santa Barbara Concours d’Elegance and the Quail Motorcycle Gathering – where it won oldest bike on the ride – but it was also featured in the film ‘Why We Ride‘. On top of being immaculate, this example has just a tad over 1000 miles on it, and the current seller is the second owner. The bike was literally pulled out of a barn before undergoing a ground-up disassembly and restoration using only NOS and original factory components.
The classic design of the bike combined with its unique period-correct Roadark panniers with a shape that contours to the profile of the wheel, make this example a particularly cool looking post-war Triumph. The handlebars feed into the large painted headlight assembly that also serves as housing for the Thunderbird’s instrumentation. The single passenger setup and its big painted metal front and rear fenders boast a fairly timeless look, as evidenced by the decades of choppers and bobbers that draw a lot of their visual DNA from motorcycles of the 1920’s-1950’s.
This Thunderbird example was reassembled using Black Diamond valves and guides, new pistons (.020 over items), bearings and bushings. The fork tubes and seals were replaced and the original SU carb was refurbished. A NOS sprung hub spring-box was sourced for the rebuild and this example’s wheels were pieced together out of made in England rims, Buchanan stainless spokes, and wrapped in Avon tires.
In 1952 the 6T got a new higher-performance SU carburetor that had been designed specifically for the Triumph Twin engine, an updated air-filter that was bigger, a standard 7″ Lucas headlight, and a new underslung pilot-light separate from the headlight. That year also saw the 6T come in ‘Polychromatic Blue’ which is without a doubt the color this example is sporting. This was also the bike Marlon Brando famously road in ‘The Wild One”, albeit the dreamy and rebellious Johnny Strabler’s Thunderbird was a 1950, not ’52.
The 6T sold really well in the US in the 1950’s, and that was very much by design. It was a prosperous time in the US in the years immediately following WW2. Droves of young men came with paychecks and Triumph wanted a piece of all the money that was flying around in the States, so they had Edward Turner design a 40ci machine for the American market, giving way to the Thunderbird. Supposedly the Triumph factory was receiving more orders than it could produce when the 6T first came to American shores.
The price on this one is admittedly a bit steep, but a bike this old in this good of condition does command a substantial value. You can find this stellar 1952 Triumph 6T Thunderbird 650 example (VIN: 6T29348) for sale here on Craigslist in Carmel, California with a price of $23,000.