Triumph Usa On the Way?
TRIUMPH USA ON THE WAY?
THE MEN WHO OPERATE TRIUMPH MOTORcycles Ltd. say the company hopes to begin selling motorcycles in the United States in 1994.
“We looked at the U.S. situation very seriously with a view to doing something in ’93,” said Triumph Marketing Manager Mike Lock. But increased demand from other countries means Triumph’s production facilities already are running close to capacity, so reintroduction of the Triumph nameplate to the U.S. was delayed.
“We’ve already had more German orders since last autumn’s Cologne Show than we did in the whole of the previous two years,” said Lock. “But the U.S. market has shown an upturn for the first time in a decade, and if it’s up again this year, we’ll attempt to do something.”
When Triumph does arrive, it won’t attempt to cover the whole country at once, said Lock: “We’re looking at several options, not all of which involve going to the West Coast first. We’ll probably start with a small operation in a few states, then branch out from there.”
While American Triumph enthusiasts continue their wait, the new-style Brit-bikes are set to go on sale in nearby Canada. According to Export Sales and Marketing Manager Darren Payne, Triumph is close to finalizing a deal with a Canadian importer and intends to have bikes available north of the border this summer.
“We hope to have product on sale in May or June, though we haven’t finalized everything yet and it may be a little later than that,” said Payne, who visited Canada last November to set up the deal.
When the bikes do arrive here, they will reflect Triumph’s aim to have more distinctive, more “British” machines, evidenced by the revised 1993 lineup. Six of the eight-bike line are Triples-including two newcomers, the Trident 900 Sprint and Tiger 900 enduro bike-while all models fly miniature Union Jacks on their bodywork. The base-model Tridents also gain Seventies-style paint schemes and improved paint, plating and corrosion protection.
