11-3 Update: And, it’s back. Find this Triumph Hurricane X-75 here on eBay at the same bonkers price of $37,995. Let’s see if someone bites this time.
Post Sale Update: Despite being re-listed, this Triumph Hurricane failed to sell. We’ll see if the seller tries again with a lower price in the future.
The Triumph Hurricane represented a paradigm shift in motorcycling manufacturing, as it was the world’s first factory custom motorcycle. The brainchild of Craig Vetter (well known as a motorcycle designer and manufacturer of custom motorcycle fairings) and Don Brown (General Manager of BSA), the Hurricane was created when Brown called Vetter up on a secret project to create a better looking British triple. Triumph already had their Trident, and the similar BSA Rocket III, but both bikes were commercial failures in the United States despite the fact that they were decent bikes. Most people attributed this failure to blocky styling which left buyers cold, and didn’t incentive anyone to spend extra money compared to bikes like the Honda CB’s.
The bike was ready to be released as a BSA, however BSA was about to go bankrupt. So it was badged as a Triumph in 1972, and was almost immediately killed off in 1973 after stricter American noise standards couldn’t be met. Want to learn more about the Triumph Hurricane? Check out Classic Bike Guide’s write-up of this wonderful bike. Or, even better, Craig Vetter has a story on how this bike came to be here on his website.
This specific Triumph Hurricane is a one owner bike, though it has the added interesting history of being on a dealer plate since 1973 – it’s never been registered! Stored in a heated showroom, it has been well taken care of. The white “TRX” stickers on the sides are custom, but the owner thankfully has NOS original black decals that say the correct “X-75”.
Find this Triumph Hurricane here on eBay for $37,995. Clearly, this is a lot of money for a motorcycle, but it’s unclear what the market is on Hurricanes as so few are out there. Fewer than 1,200 were sold over the entire product run – who knows how many are currently left. In 2006, a Triumph Hurricane sold for just over $30,000 on eBay in England, which was the record price at the time. When it boils down to it, a bike is worth what someone will pay for it, so only time will tell.
