[3] The company was started by Siegfried Bettmann, who had emigrated from Nuremberg, part of the German Empire, to Coventry in England in 1883.

In 1898 Triumph decided to extend production at Coventry to include motorcycles, and by 1902 the company had produced its first motorcycle—a bicycle fitted with a Belgian Minerva engine.

Confusion between motorcycles produced by the Coventry and Nuremberg Triumph companies resulted in the latter's products being renamed Orial for certain export markets.

However, a company named Orial already existed in France, so the Nuremberg motorcycles were renamed again as "TWN", standing for Triumph Werke Nürnberg.

Efforts to settle the Lend-Lease debts caused nearly 70% of Triumph's post-war production to be shipped to the United States.

Privateers put wartime surplus aluminium alloy barrels on their Tiger 100 racers, and won races, inspiring the Triumph GP model.

The American market applied considerable demand to reverse this action, and a die-cast close finned aluminium alloy barrel was made available.

Another motorcycle based on the wartime generator engine was the 498 cc TR5 Trophy Twin, also introduced at the 1948 Motor Cycle Show.

[7] To satisfy the American demand for motorcycles suited to long-distance riding, Turner built a 650 cc version of the Speed Twin design.

The Triumph brand received considerable publicity in the United States when Marlon Brando rode a 1950 Thunderbird 6T in the 1953 film, The Wild One.

With its anachronistic V-twin, the Sportster was no match for the Bonneville, but it proved a solid competitor in US sales and eventually also in longevity.

The 1970 Tiger/Bonneville re-design and taller twin front downtube oil tank frame had a mixed reception from Triumph enthusiasts at the time, and was insufficient to win back those already riding the Japanese bikes that had been sold since 1969—the Honda 750 Four, and the Kawasaki 500 Mach 3.

The company was sold to Manganese Bronze Holdings, which also owned Norton, AJS, Matchless, Francis-Barnett, James-Velocette and Villiers.

After the BSA group went bankrupt in 1972, Dennis Poore, the chairman of Norton-Villiers (a subsidiary of Manganese Bronze Holdings) was induced by government aid to assume control of BSA/Triumph.

Poore was made NVT Group chairman and put in charge, even though Norton had produced far fewer bikes than the once-mighty BSA/Triumph.

Poore then held consultations with factory personnel to propose consolidation plans he thought necessary to compete with the Japanese.

With political aid of the newly elected Labour government and, in particular, the then minister for Trade and Industry, Tony Benn, the Meriden worker's co-operative was formed, supplying Triumph 750 cc motorcycles to its sole customer, NVT.

Moreover, despite updates such as electric starting and a faired Triumph Bonneville Executive T140EX with luggage, by 1980 Meriden's debt was £2 million—in addition to the earlier £5 million loan.

Meriden introduced several new models such as the dual purpose TR7T Tiger Trail and budget 650 cc Triumph TR65 Thunderbird during its last years but none were able to stop the decline, worsened by a UK recession and a continuing strong pound harming sales to the US.

However, the Triumph Royal Wedding T140LE Bonneville celebrating the Prince of Wales' nuptials was a popular collector's item for 1981 and that year a 750 cc TR7T Tiger Trail won the Rallye des Pyrénées on/off-road rally.

Large orders for police motorcycles from Nigeria and Ghana were won at critical moments thereby saving the firm during 1979 and 1982 respectively.

In 1983, the debt-ridden company briefly considered buying the bankrupt Hesketh Motorcycles, and even badged one as a marketing trial.

Despite also touting a 900cc prototype water-cooled twin at the 1983 National Exhibition Show to attract outside investment, Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd itself became bankrupt on 23 August 1983.

When Triumph went into receivership in 1983, John Bloor, a former plasterer who acquired his wealth from building and property development, became interested in keeping the brand alive, and bought the name and manufacturing rights from the Official Receiver.

Triumph now makes a range of motorcycles reviving model names of the past, including a newly designed Bonneville twin.