1965 Triumph TR6SC -At Home in the Desert - Cycle World review October 1965

Cycle World's review of the West Coast 1965 TR6SC - a Johnson Motors only factory desert sled. This was how my bike, currently being restored by Terry Macdonald to East Coast 1966 spec, started life. They're great looking bikes - but not a lot of use unless you live in a desert. So I decided to restore it to East Coast spec, with niceties such as lights, high pipes and small silencers, and handy accessories like rev counter and speedo - which is what Terry did with his West Coast 1963 TR6SC (see bottom). Altogether much more usable and still pretty uncommon - you certainly see more TT Specials about nowadays than Trophy Specials. However, I've never really cared for the 1965 Trophy colour scheme - Burnished Gold and Alaskan White, it's OK but not my favourite - so I decided to restore it to '66 spec with teardrop tank in Pacific Blue with White racing stripes, small headlamp, exhausts as below with small silencers, which I far prefer. I have everything needed to revert to the desert sled spec below if I want to.

If I'm honest, I don't really care too much for anything pre-1966. Except Fender basses - though 1966 was still a good year for them. For everything else, 1966 was a very good year. 1968 was good too, and I also like the 1968 Trophy Special - but 1966 was best.

Philip Larkin opined that:

"Sexual intercourse began

In nineteen sixty-three."

But he was wrong... It began in nineteen sixty-six.

No Triumph logo on rear of seat - because it wasn't introduced until part way into the 1966 model year (December 1965, most likely)

Check out the rolled edge mudguards - should be razor-edged, as any restorer will tell you! Also see what original Girling shocks looked like (as discussed in my blog post on the restoration of my 1965 TR6SC)

Terry Macdonald's 1963 West Coast TR6SC, restored to East Coast specification