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The History of the Triumph Motorbike
In 1883, two men of German ancestry named Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler designed the first motorbike. They developed a four-stroke combustion engine that they installed in a self-propelled bicycle. During this same year, Siegfried Bettman arrives in Coventry, England from Germany. He takes on several different jobs at this time.
In 1884, Siegfried Bettman establishes the S. Bettman & Co. Import Agency. He begins to sell bicycles produced by William Andrews. However, Bettman places his name on them. He also sells German sewing machines while expanding his holdings.
In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler produces what is considered by many to be the first, true motorcycle in the world. It includes two additional wheels as stabilizers. The frame is wooden and the engine is mounted on the centre of the bike.
The year 1887 was an important year for Bettman as he replaces his company name with the name, Triumph. Bettman believed that this word is more readily understood and recognisable. The new name for the company is “The Triumph Cycle Company.”
Although Bettman registers the name as “New Triumph Co. Ltd.,” he later changes it to “Triumph Cycle Co. Ltd.” Maurice Johann Schulte, a German engineer, joins Bettman as a junior partner in the company. Schulte convinces Bettman that they should produce their own products rather than sell someone else’s.
Triumph purchases a small factory that originally wove ribbons in order to have a place to manufacture its own brand of bicycles. Both Bettman and Schulte receive investment money from relatives to help them with start up costs. By 1889, Triumph is well on its way to the manufacturing of bicycles and moves its headquarters to Coventry.
In 1895, Maurice Johann Schulte considers importing and selling Hildebrand & Wolfmuller motorcycles under licence. Hildebrand & Wolfmuller motorbikes were four-stroke bikes that were manufactured under licence in France starting in 1894. Schulte imports one for a trial run at Coventry.
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