Motorcycle Classics — September-October 2017

Innovation is a tough row to hoe. There’s no question the

British industry had the talent and the resources to come up

with new designs. What held them back in many cases was not

their own inertia, but the conservative nature of the motorcy-

cle-buying public and an unwillingness to accept designs that

broke the mold.

Edward Turner knew this. His 1937 Triumph Speed Twin was

expressly designed to look like a typical twin-port single of the

period, easily the most popular type of bike on British roads.

The Speed Twin won by looking right while offering better per-

formance and smoother running.

Meanwhile, Valentine Page, perhaps the most prolific of

SELLY OAK

SOPHISTICATE

Story and photos by Robert Smith

1960 Ariel Arrow 250

A

Ask pundits why the British motorcycle industry

collapsed in the late 1960s and most will point to

management’s failure to innovate and modernize

in the face of increasing foreign competition. If it

had just been that simple.

50 MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS September/October 2017