Tribsa

The Tribsa, or Tri-B.S.A.,[1] was a custom built cafe racer or off road motorcycle of the 1960s and 1970s. Its name was an elision of "Triumph" and "BSA".[2][3] The purpose was to combine the best elements of each marque to give a superior bike to either.

A Tribsa involved a Triumph parallel twin engine installed in BSA motorcycle motorcycle frame. Although both the BSA A65 and the Triumph 650 cc twins engines were overhead valve (OHV) units, only the Triumph had twin camshafts, which facilitated tuning for greater power output. The BSA frame was a duplex-cradle design which was considered stiffer and stronger than the Triumph's single downtube item.

A Tribsa was built experimentally at Meriden by Triumph in 1973 using surplus BSA A65 frames.[4] This led to a "factory Tribsa" which was to use the BSA A65 frames with the 650 cc TR6 engine. Not many of these hybrids were produced and factory records are vague.

A popular alternative to the Tribsa was the "Triton" which combined a Triumph engine in a Norton Featherbed frame. In contemporary vintage off road events, Tribsas compete in motocross, enduro, and trials.[5]

References

  1. ^ Harwood, James; Coe, John J., Life's a hoot: the autobiography of James Harwood, p. 206, http://books.google.com/books?id=NSju9OXtINsC&pg=PA206, retrieved 2011-09-26 
  2. ^ The Café Racer Phenomenon by Alastair Walker, 2009
  3. ^ The BSA Gold Star by Mick Walker, 2004
  4. ^ Triumph: A Century of Passion and Power. P. 142. Lindsay Brooke, 2003
  5. ^
    • "Bell dominates at temple cloud moto-x." Europe Intelligence Wire 4 Aug. 2009. General OneFile. Web. 26 Sep. 2011.
    • "Frost leaves rivals in the cold to win Enduro class." Europe Intelligence Wire 10 May 2005. General OneFile. Web. 26 Sep. 2011.
    • "Crease reigns supreme in muddy trial." Europe Intelligence Wire 2 Dec. 2003. General OneFile. Web. 26 Sep. 2011.

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