RealClassic – August 2019

TheT20C wasproducedfor‘the spor ting
rider’fromthe la te 50s, with larger wheels,
greatermudguardclearance, differen tgear
ratios,and an upswept pipe which made
it‘easily adaptableforcompetitiveriding’.
Alongside the lightweightGreeves ,the trials
Cubbecamearoaring (sorry)success and
remainsextrem ely popular with pre-65 trials
guys. Extr aroad-going speed came along
in 1962 with the SportsCub, equipped with

athree -gallon petrol tank,rectifier lighting

and arevised engine witha9:1 compression

ratio,whichwould carry it to the giddy

heights of 70mph.Cycle Worldtested the

MountainCubin1966 and pronounced

it‘a real motorcycle,slightlyunder-sized,

properly equipped and geared’.

By the late 1960 sthe Cubhad morphed into

an unusual animal indeed.Ins ome bizarre

geneticexperimentthe Tiger Cuband BSA

Bantam were combinedto produceafeline-

chickenhybrid ,the BantamCub, with the

four-stroke engine being slotted into the two-

stroke’s chassis.Itc ould’vebeen acompletely

turkey,but in factwas curiously successful and

extended theCub’slifespanforafew more

years afterits introduction in 1966.

Twodecades later, therewerestill plenty

of Tiger Cubs on the prowl. In the summer of

1989, Chriswasatt eacher trainingcollege

in London and desperately needed some

transport. Hisdad cameto the rescue,asdads

usually do,and aTiger Cubwas purchased

forhim.The T20M came inastrikingcolour

scheme of lightblue and cream. Chris says it

wasn’t ve ry prettybut it ranwell –and that

wasthe importantthing !Thatsummer Chris

and theCubvisited theIsle ofManfor the

Manx GrandPrix. They spentmost of their

timegreenlaning where, with its wide-ratio

gearbox, Chrisfound thatthe littlebike would

climb just about anythingexcept trees!

From its T20M designation, Chrisknew the

Cubwas something special.Both the engine

and frame numbers also had‘F’stamped on

them, which merited further investigation.

Theexcellent‘TriumphTiger CubBible’by

Mike Estallreve aled thatthiswas aCub which

hadbeen builtforthe Frenchmilit ary, with

LAST MOT’Dthreeyearsago,this1961 T20B
SuperCubsold for£1650 on eBay re cently

DESCRIBED ASagreat littlebikein

goodcondition,’ which starts and

runsfine,with slightcorrosion on its

chrome,this1960 T20 bidto £1850 but

didn’t meetreserve on eBay last month

The French militaryoriginallyordered7000 WD lightweights:Triumph suppliedaround 1500Cubs to theFrench WDbetween1964 and1970

e n

LASTMOT’Dth th

D

g

r

TRIUMPH TIGER CUB

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