1965 Triumph TR6SC -At Home in the Desert - Cycle World review October 1965

Cycle World's review of the West Coast 1965 TR6SC - a Johnson Motors only factory desert sled. This was how my bike, currently being restored by Terry Macdonald to East Coast 1966 spec, started life. They're great looking bikes - but not a lot of use unless you live in a desert. So I decided to restore it to East Coast spec, with niceties such as lights, high pipes and small silencers, and handy accessories like rev counter and speedo - which is what Terry did with his West Coast 1963 TR6SC (see bottom). Altogether much more usable and still pretty uncommon - you certainly see more TT Specials about nowadays than Trophy Specials. However, I've never really cared for the 1965 Trophy colour scheme - Burnished Gold and Alaskan White, it's OK but not my favourite - so I decided to restore it to '66 spec with teardrop tank in Pacific Blue with White racing stripes, small headlamp, exhausts as below with small silencers, which I far prefer. I have everything needed to revert to the desert sled spec below if I want to.

If I'm honest, I don't really care too much for anything pre-1966. Except Fender basses - though 1966 was still a good year for them. For everything else, 1966 was a very good year. 1968 was good too, and I also like the 1968 Trophy Special - but 1966 was best.

Philip Larkin opined that:

"Sexual intercourse began

In nineteen sixty-three."

But he was wrong... It began in nineteen sixty-six.

No Triumph logo on rear of seat - because it wasn't introduced until part way into the 1966 model year (December 1965, most likely)

Check out the rolled edge mudguards - should be razor-edged, as any restorer will tell you! Also see what original Girling shocks looked like (as discussed in my blog post on the restoration of my 1965 TR6SC)