Triumph Factory Visit
Our visit to The Triumph Factory on the 27th of June was
preceded by a run of approximately 158 miles of interesting roads. Eight bikes
assembled at The Bagle Brook in Baglan at 8 am. It was another day of ideal
weather for a bike ride. We had decided to make a ride of the Journey to
We left the Bagle Brook with the Red Leader ( Gerald ) leading the group. We headed for the Heads of the
Valleys road which has been greatly improved over the last couple of years. Our
first stop was going to be a roadside café just off junction 1 of the M50
favoured by the Truckers and others who are aware of its presence. Here we had a good all day breakfast at reasonable cost, You missed
out this time
With our bellies full we moved on, taking in the A38 / A438
to
By the looks of things Gareth needed that cold drink. Whilst John can be seen in the background catching up with the mornings business.
We had this group photo taken by some young lady that Gerald used his charm on.
Next stop Triumph Hinckley. The Triumph Factory in the background.
We arrived with 10 minutes in hand, Howard and his son were there waiting for us after travelling up alone. We parked the bikes and assembled in the Security Lodge, two other bikers not known to us were there and were to join us on the factory visit. After we were all equipped with visitor tags we were escorted to the Main Reception Foyer by Peter Clark who was to be our guide for the visit. There was an assortment of bikes in the foyer among them the Rocket 3 and the Thruxton 900 to drool over, some were even perched high above us.
Rocket 111
Thruxton 900
Peter took us to a conference room where we were treated to a choice of tea, coffee, cold drinks and biscuits and given a Triumph brochure and nice little Triumph pin badge to commemorate our visit. We were then given a thorough run down on Triumph history, its aims and what Triumph is about, very informative it was too. Then equipped with safety glasses and radio head sets we all began our tour.
The first thing we saw were storage racks full of tyres, it was then on to the heart of the plant as well as the heart of the bikes, the engine manufacturing area. Firstly we were shown the machining area where all the rough stock was machined to look like proper parts such as crankcases, crankshafts, camshafts etc. Next it was on to the assembly area where the engine parts are all assembled together on one common assembly line until the completed bikes come off at the end of the line where they are checked and tested. There was a variety of different models lined up waiting to be packed for shipment.
I was impressed by the cleanliness of the whole factory including the machining area traditionally the dirtiest area of manufacturing. I was also impressed by the knowledgeable commentary Peter gave during the tour. The tour of the shop floor over, we returned to the conference room where we were again treated with refreshments and biscuits and given the opportunity to ask any questions we wanted and there were a few but Gareth couldn’t get any touch up paint for his Tiger. Gerald thanked Peter on behalf of the club for a very informative and enjoyable tour of the factory and for the hospitality shown to us by Triumph Motorcycles. I think he spoke for quite a few of us when he expressed his sorrow that Triumph didn’t make a large Tourer.
The visit was over and the worst part of the trip was in front of us, the dreaded motorway run home. The only refreshment stop on the way back was at the end of the M50 where after being split up on the motorway some members of the group were able to meet up again before continuing the journey home.
All in all a very good day out. Good weather, good company and good roads.
Well done Peter Clark and Triumph Motorcycles.
Paul Donovan