Triumph Motorcycles: 1937 - Today

June 2015

Ian Falloon | Motorbooks | Classic Triumphs 

We like this book. Might as well get that out of the way. We like it a lot actually. It arrived in the post a few days ago and we've since been thumbing through it and comparing notes and nodding agreement.

It's nice.

Written by long established motorcycle writer Ian Falloon, the book is published by Motorbooks, an imprint of the US firm, The Quarto Group. As the title suggests, the material covers everything built by Triumph Motorcycles since Edward Turner's groundbreaking Speed Twin first made the news.

And that includes the Hinckley bikes which have rightly earned their place on the hallowed Triumph podium—and we've no doubt that if Turner was around today, he'd nod approval at what John Bloor has managed to achieve, and in such a short time frame.

Falloon is certainly no buffoon. Born in New Zealand, and now resident in Australia, his writing style is economical and unfussy, but not stale. He doesn't drone. He doesn't pad. He simply gets on with the narrative, and he's taught us a few new facts to add to our collection (after we've checked them out, of course). But as it stands, we can't see that he's put a foot wrong.

There are over 250 colour pages in this book. It's a heavy volume stuffed with images, many of which we've seen numerous times, but many new snapshots too. The dimensions are 255mm x 315mm. The cover is hard (with a book jacket).

What we especially like is the fact that you can simply dip in and out of this book as and when opportunity allows. There's some celebrity Triumph owner stuff inside (James Dean, Steve McQueen, Brando and so on). There are some racing heroes too. And it all adds up to a useful publication that will make a nice present.

The full title, by the way is: The Complete Book of Classic Triumph Motorcycles, 1937-Today. The RRP is £35, but already we see heavily discounted books on offer here and there. But pay the full price, we say. Ian Falloon and Motorbooks have earned every penny.

www.motorbooks.com

— The Third Man