The Junior was introduced to the Triumph line up in 1914 and was the nipper of the pack. This is a whistle-stop tour of this awesome little motorcycle, with photos of an early model – all yours for £42.00 (not now!).
The Junior was powered by a 225cc 2¼ hp two-stroke with a bore and stroke of 64 x 70mm. It was the first two-stroke produced by Triumph and a notable departure from the heftier four-stroke models that had dominated the brochure for quite a number of years.
It provided Triumph with an affordable competitor on the market at a time when the road network boomed, and people needed a simple means to commute to the nearby factory, collect the groceries, or head over to visit Great Aunt Mavis.
The air-and-fuel mixture was forced into the motor via a Brown & Barlow carburettor, a piece of equipment that was commonplace on many smaller British bikes of the era. It was a straightforward contraption that was well suited to the small two-stroke engine.
The sparks were produced by a Bosch magneto that was mounted behind the motor. The benefits of such a position are paramount on an everyday motorcycle, as the barrel helps to protect the delicate and sensitive innards from the rain and elements – this concept took a while for a handful of manufacturers to cotton on to!
The Junior featured a chain and belt transmission and had two speeds (with a 40% reduction from high to low) that were controlled from the handlebars.
There was no clutch and with a lack of pedals, the rider had to run down the road to fire up the little motor. The story is that Mr Schulte (the MD of Triumph) had in fact created the bike for his 14-year-old daughter Murie, as the 550cc 4hp was too much of a handful – take this with a pinch of salt.
The cylindrical, underslung petrol tank was an element of the Junior that provided it with a unique character. The blueprint did not really catch on across the industry at the time, and it took BSA another 10 years to catch up with the trend and release a similar orientated motorcycle that became known as the Model B Round Tank. Better late than never, but the Triumph was the real deal.
The suspension featured Triumph’s own distinctive front forks which rocked about a single pivot and provided a small amount of travel. All that said, with a pitted and uneven road, the forks would have made very little difference. A sprung saddle will have helped take the edge off it all, which was set 28½in above ground level.
Braking on the Triumph Junior was somewhat rudimentary by modern standards, and required the rider to be extra alert in order to apply the brakes early enough before hurtling into a bend or a hazard. The front brake was a simple device whereby the blocks would be pulled up into the outer edges of the rim.
The rear brake functioned by pressing a brake block / pad directly against the inner rim of the belt drive pulley, in order to create friction and decelerate the bike. It was a simple method, but not so effective a higher speeds and in particular in wet conditions.
The Junior was good for 35mph and had instant appeal as a first-time bike. It was nimble and simple to start, and with the low saddle height, it gained immediate popularity amongst District Nurses, Ministers of the Church, and school kids with wealthy parents (the legal minimum riding age in those days was fourteen).
The Junior became affectionately known as the Baby Triumph by the public and was well acclaimed by the contemporary motoring press. It filled a niche market which encouraged cyclists to upgrade to motorcycles in an affordable means, which made it a popular all round motorcycle.
Thank you to Henri Verslegers for the photos that were used in this article.
an article by The Girder Club
If you would like to be kept up-to-date with the latest news and information on vintage motorcycles, feel free to sign up to our newsletter, which we aim to ping out each month.
Leave a Reply