2012 Daytona 200 - missed it by that much

As some of you might know, Jason Disalvo riding a Triumph 675 Daytona came in second overall in the 2012 Daytona 200, losing by a very narrow .048 second margin. He almost had it!

It would have been the first time since 1971 that a British bike won the race. The bike was painted in Gary Nixon's livery and carried the number 9 as a tribute.

Later,
Walt

Patience- it will happen.

m

Where might I see a picture of the bike and maybe the helmet worn. I remember Gary Nixon had a distinctive pattern on the top of his helmets.

google search .007 sec.

Are Triumphs fully manufactured and built in England?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is; like everyone else (including Harley-Davidson) they use Showa suspensions from Japan or in the case of the 675R Ohlins from Sweden. Again, like everyone else, braking systems from Nissin in Japan or Brembo in Italy.

Maybe 5 years ago (not 100% sure on this timing), Triumph opened a facility in Thailand where they were making some small parts and sub assemblies and sending the parts back to Hinckley. After that they opened another facility there where they are actually doing some manufacturing of bikes. I am pretty sure they only make bikes of the Bonneville line there, all others including the Daytona 675 seen above are Made in England. Take this with a grain of salt as I really don't know that much about it, meaning what exactly is done in Thailand.

If you have a question about a specific bike, go to the triumphrat.net forum, search for VIN decoder and plug in the VIN, it will tell you where it was made (at least the final assembly).

I know for a fact both of my Triumphs were made in England because if they were made in Asia, things would fit better and they wouldn't leak so much oil! :lol:

Even "back in the day," British bikes weren't necessarily all-British. The Norton Featherbed Frame of the mid-to-late '60s sported Ceriani Roadholder forks (Italy).