Page 23 - Complete DR-November 20

BACK IN THE DAY……..#3 by the Disgaceful Diarist

Remember when all motor bikes looked the same and it was really hard to tell one from another? I was at least 3
years old before I could recognize a Trumpy from a Beeza. Mummy would wheel me down to Riverwood shops in
my stroller and I would have to correctly name all the machines that went past before I would get an ice-cream.
Dr. Spock-style parenting had a lot to answer for ….. and then they wonder why we became so rebellious. Almost
all of the ‘bikes in Australia in the 1950’s were British and all of the British imports looked very much the same to
a toddler. OK then, let’s see how you go with this quick quiz …….
Try to match the correct bike to the correct badge.

I guess we should feel sorry for the Pommies, trying to impress on povo little Bantams and James two strokes
when all the cool bikes like those above were exported, but, like, we should but we really don’t. We got our fair
share of the imports but the real market potential was in the USA where returning WW11 veterans demanded
cheap transport to navigate the commute from the ever expanding suburbs, mainly in the Midwest and West.
Harley-Davidson was the only real contender in the domestic market and their production could not the meet the
requisite output to satisfy this demand. Furthermore, Roosevelt’s Lend Lease Act of 1941 sort of said “Hey, after
we bail you guys out, you can keep all of our equipment that we leave behind after the war if you sell us your
Triumphs on the cheap.” Well, this is the gist of it anyway. When the British pound sterling was devalued in 1949,
Trumpies were available across the US for 25%-30% less than a Harley. In 1950, the cost of a Hydra-Glide Harley
averaged around US$1,000, so who wouldn’t want a cheaper, faster, sleeker and cooler looking British import? In
fact, the Triumph marque, with the top of the line Thunderbird (650cc) as the flagship, had 70% of their exports
going to the US. The Matchless G9 (550cc) and it’s twin brother, the AJS M20 (500cc) were made in England for
export only to the USA in 1948 and were not available to their local Brits until 1949. Clever marketing and
distribution by their importer, Johnson Motors, made Triumph the standout and with endorsements like these,
what could possibly go wrong?

See if you can name these:

The magazine of the St George Sutherland Branch of the Ulysses Club | 23