Long-lost Triumphs return

There are plenty of collectors of Triumphs across the UK, but few have travelled the sort of distances to source their bikes that Phill Humphrey has covered.

Since the West Countryman celebrated his 21st birthday with a trip to Morocco on a new Triumph T160 back in 1980, he has covered thousands of miles around Europe, North Africa and North America, mostly on Triumphs from both Meriden and Hinckley. And today he has one the most eclectic collections of singles, twins and triples in the UK.

Six decades seperate the oldest – a 1949 Speed Twin – from the newest – a 2011 Bonneville America. In between there are bikes as varied as the original T160, a beautifully restored Vetter Hurricane and a special Thunderbird trike.

His passion started with a Saturday job in his local bike shop. “At 14 I got a job working at Barton Motors, a British bike shop in Bath and on leaving school in 1975 I went full time,” Humphrey told MCN.

“I was paid £15 a week and managed to save enough to buy my first bike, BSA C15, which I soon upgraded to a BSA A65T before I bought a new T160. It was one of a batch which had gone to Saudi Arabia in police specification but they were never used and on return to the UK were converted back to standard.”

The trip to Morocco came soon after.

Read the full story in this week’s MCN (19 October), on sale now.

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