1960 Triumph TR6

1960 TRIUMPH TR6 NOMENCLATURE
1960 is the first year when Triumph TR6’s received -“A” or -“B” suffixes. The TR6A became the Roadster with low pipes, and the TR6B retained its former identity as a dirt bike/desert racer/enduro/street scrambler with high pipes. 1960 Triumph TR6 engine & frame numbers came in two batches: the first being 029364 to 029688, with production dates running from September 3, 1959 to June 29, 1960. The original price new was 271 British Pounds.

NEW DUPLEX FRAME REPLACES ‘WHIP IRON’
Triumph Motorcycles adopted a swingarm rear suspension in 1953 & their first attempt at a frame was poor, at best. With meager support of the swingarm pivot points, these pre-unit twins were known for their evil handling. The high speed weaving could be so bad that the frames earned the nickname “Whip Iron”. With the introduction of increasingly more powerful machines, culminating in the 1959 Triumph Bonneville the problems just got worse. This forced the adoption of an all-new frame, just 3 model years before the wholesale redesign of the entire machine when it went unit-construction in 1963. The new frame had twin front downtubes, earning it the moniker of the “Duplex Frame”. It too had it’s problems, with early version suffering cracked steering heads, quickly remedied with the addition of a second bracing member under the backbone. In the interest of tightening up the steering, the rake angle was reduced from 25.5 degrees to 23, which shortened the wheelbase to 54.4 inches. A whole new set of engine plates were required. The front forks were also redesigned adding 2-way damping & reducing spring friction.

1960 TRIUMPH TR6 ENGINE CHANGES
The 1960 Triumph TR6 got a new alternator, along with new crankcases deleting the old dynamo drive aperture. The engine sprocket dropped from 24 to 22 teeth, made necessary because of the new 43-tooth rear wheel sprocket. The new crank-mounted 6-volt alternator provided lighting, but ignition spark was still provided by the battle-proven Lucas K2FC magneto, mounted as always behind the cylinder block, driven off the intake cam timing gear.

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1960 Triumph TR6 SPECIFICATIONS