I
t all started when I was 16 years old.
I’d just passed my motorcycle test and was
on my way home from my Saturday job
when I saw it; a 500cc Triumph 5TA Speed
Twin. Sitting proudly, if a little battered and
bruised, on the forecourt and emblazoned
with the words, ‘Bike of the Week – £99’, I had to have it.
I’m showing my age here, but I was among the last who
could pass their test at 16, a rudimentary affair which involved
little more than riding around the block a couple of times and
performing hand signals, and then riding any size motorcycle
without a helmet. The year was 1971. At the time I had hair
halfway down my back, which I would wash and then use the
bike as a hairdryer on the way to school. By the time I got
there I looked like a cross between Kevin Keegan and Brian
May – how cool was that?
That bike started a lifelong love-hate affair with Triumph.
The 5TA that I bought that day didn’t last long – I should
have known that ‘Bike of the Week’ was a metaphor for ‘Dog
of the Week’ – and its cylinders soon separated themselves from
the block. I sold the bike on for £22.50. I should have cut my
losses, but instead turned to four wheels and bought my fi rst
car, a Triumph Herald.
This too turned out to be more canine than automobile,
and on one of my fi rst jaunts after passing my car test its
conrods parted company with the crankshaft. I vowed
never to buy another Triumph. But that didn’t last long
either and two more Triumph cars – a 1300 and a Dolomite
- would be mine before I gave up and turned away
from the brand for many years.
And then came my mid-life crisis and one sunny day
I found myself testing, and buying, a modern Triumph
motorcycle; a Sprint RS. It was a fabulous machine
but it lulled me into a false sense of security; 70mph felt like 25.
Fearing for my licence, it had to go, and was eventually replaced
by two classic Triumphs; another 5TA Speed Twin and a 650cc
Thunderbird, the bike I had always wanted as a boy but could
never afford to buy.
Both were found on eBay and are beautiful examples of
the marque. Their theoretical worth is appreciating and today
they are valued for insurance purposes at £7,500 and £11,500
respectively. They give me pleasure and grief in equal measure - a routine oil change costs the skin of at least three knuckles
- but I love them both. I’ve done shows and rallies with them
and it’s great when someone comes up and says, “I had one of
those in my youth”, and then tells you all about it. I’ve even met
a chap who claimed his love life was never the same after an
emergency stop shunted him forward onto the chrome rack
on the fuel tank. Ouch!
Today, my son rides the 5TA over the summer months,
but in truth I now fi nd little time to do more than polish the
Thunderbird. Why? Because I discovered boating, and now
our Fairline Targa 34 takes up most of our weekends over the
summer months. The Targa is a fantastic craft and I’m always
telling people I’ll never change it – I just hope Triumph don’t
start making boats...
From the moment he set eyes on his first Triumph motorbike, aged 16, Phil Sampson
has been hooked. He now owns two classic bikes and a boat!
A B O V E Phil and the classic 5TA Speed Twin that kick-started his obsession with Triumphs T O P R I G H T The Fairline
Targa 34 that’s slowly eclipsing his love of two wheels B O T T O M R I G H T Phil lusted after this 650cc Triumph
Thunderbird from a young ageMY OTHER PASSION IS
TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES