Triumph Bandit

The Triumph Bandit was a British motorcycle built as a prototype by Triumph in 1970 that never entered commercial production. It was designed by Edward Turner, already retired from Triumph, as his last project, and was substantially modified by Bert Hopwood and Doug Hele. A five-speed 349 cc double overhead cam twin, it delivered 34 bhp and could reach 110 mph, and it was essentially the same machine as the BSA Fury, the factory last attempt to compete against Japanese imports. It appeared in the 1971 brochure, and a Cycle Guide road test in March 1971 judged it a lot of machine for the money at US$900, but Doug Hele said the cost of dies, set against the company financial trouble, ended the project. Only five are said to survive, with examples displayed at the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum and the National Motorcycle Museum.