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1965 Triumph Thunderbird

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1965 Triumph Thunderbird

1965 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD AS A COMMUTER?
When the 6T Thunderbird launched in 1950, it was the first Triumph 650 (up from the 500cc 5T Speed Twin, and was the largest British-made parallel twin at the time. As such, it was a true hot rod in its day. However, the rest of the Brits quickly followed suit and just being a 650 was no longer enough. Triumph juiced it up with higher compression and hotter cams and created the T110 Tiger in 1953, dropped the new Delta head on in 1956, creating the hotter-still TR6, then stuck a second carb on in 1959 creating the legendary Bonneville. This effectively left the entire Thunderbird line on the back burner. What once was the fastest bike that Triumph built, now was their entry-level 650. It was now filling the role of basic commuter bike, leaving the hot rodding to the big boys It was still a fantastic bike, well-developed by this time, but nearing the end of its life. 1966 was the last year for the T-bird (until modern times), the market had simply moved on. Performance was now the mainstream, and bikes that weren’t fast didn’t get much attention.


1965 Triumph Thunderbird SPECIFICATIONS

Model designation
Engine type
Displacement
Bore & Stroke
Compression ratio
Fuel system
Ignition system
Power output @ RPM
Primary drive
Clutch
Gearbox
Final drive
Suspension, front
Suspension, rear
Brake, front
Brake, rear
Tire, front
Tire, rear
Wheelbase
Seat height
Ground clearance
Dry weight
1965 Triumph 6T Thunderbird
Air-cooled OHV vertical twin 649cc / 40.0 ci
71mm X 82mm
8.5:1
1- Amal Monobloc
Lucas points & coils
42 hp @ 6,500 rpm
Chain
Multi-plate, wet
4-speed, right-foot shift
Chain
Telescopic forks, hydraulic
Swing arm w/2 shocks
8-inch SLS drum
7-inch SLS drum
3.25″ X 19″ Dunlop
4.00″ X 18″ Dunlop
54.5″ / 1384mm
32.5″ / 825.5mm
5.0″ / 127mm
363 lbs / 165 kg