One tends to think of the 1920s as an austere and conformist period in our history. Formal and dower. This impression is probably reinforced by the fact that 99% of the images we see from that era are in black and white. Also, people didn’t smile on photographs; longer exposure times meant smiling could lead to blurred images. However, life was of course as colourful and vibrant as it is today, and the people of that time had a zest for life having lived through the Great War years. Within the world of motorcycling though resources were in short supply and as a result black was a dominant colour. Triumph, for example, offered no colour options. All of their saddle-tank models were black, with a Saxe blue teardrop on the side, edged with gold pinstripe. Not too shabby, but there was no room for personalisation of your machine. That was the case until 1929 when Triumph launched the “Triumph Tanks of Distinction” option.
Unfortunately, there are no surviving records as to who proposed this or how the decision came about as all written records were lost when the Park Street factory was destroyed in the Coventry blitz during WW2. There are however some surviving publicity leaflets showing these exotic options. They were a far cry from the somewhat bland, Black and blue.
Spray paint was a new concept on the automotive scene; it is widely understood that Triumph undertook this experiment to see if there was an appetite amongst riders for a more flamboyant look to their motorcycle.
The publicity leaflet reads as follows:
Triumph enterprises now makes it possible for every owner to add a touch of individuality to his mount. The tank shown on this page is fitted as standard to Triumph Motor Cycles, but there are no less than twelve alternatives available for all models, except the W and WS, at a slight extra charge. New life and colour is thus being added to Triumph motoring. If you wish to have one of these distinctive tanks on your 1929 Triumph, simply quote the colour number which appears under the illustration of the one chosen, for example:- Triumph CO with tank colour 9. The Colours shown in this leaflet are as accurate as possible, but they are only given as a guide and are not binding. Price £1 10s extra (if supplied with new machine) |
I have searched far and wide for an original copy of the leaflet or a high-definition scan of one but to no avail. Even the UK Vintage Motorcycle Club (VMCC) library does not have one. So, if anyone can help me, please get in touch via the Contact Us section of this website.
£1 10s taking into account inflation would be around £120 today (GBP). By way of comparison other options available at that time equate to £80 for a twist grip throttle rather than a lever and £180 for chrome plating rather than nickel. The cost of the machine itself was in the region of £55 (£4500 today) so the Tanks of Distinction paintwork was quite reasonable.
The Tanks of Distinction option only ran for two years, 1929 and 1930. It would seem that sales were poor; what is not known for certain is why. Was there just no appetite for flamboyance or was it economics? The fact that the models W and WS were excluded raises an interesting question, why? The W and WS were ultra lightweight machines with an unusual engine size, 277cc. At that time machines weighing less than 200 lbs (90.7Kg) were only liable for road tax of 30 shillings (£1.50). The bike had the biggest engine they could make whilst keeping it under the 200lb limit but they still had a saddle-tank, very similar in size and shape to other models, so why were they excluded? As a lightweight machine they were predominantly sold to people who were riding a motorcycle not for the love of biking but as a cheap form of transportation. Profit margins on these models were already minimal and this could have affected the decision not to offer the Tanks of Distinction option. I do not think it is unreasonable to draw some conclusions. At £1 10s the Tanks of Distinction paintwork appears unrealistically cheap. Only one and a half times the cost of a twist grip throttle? I suspect that Triumph was subsidising the paint option to a considerable extent, using some of the sale profit to part fund their experiment. Therefore, as there was only minimal profit from the W and WS they were excluded from the deal. 1929 saw the start of the Great Depression, an economic crash of biblical proportions. The Great Depression bit hard and Triumph were forced to reduce prices of their bikes in an effort to bolster sales. My own Triumph, a 550cc model NSD, was reduced from £47-17/6 to £41-17/6, a 12.5% reduction! It is probable that this reduction in profit margin was the final nail in the coffin of Tanks of Distinction.
I first became aware of these alternatives after reading the excellent “Facts” booklet about my Triumph model NSD penned by the former VMCC Pre-war Triumph specialist Peter Cornelious. Peter has now sadly passed away but his son, Richard, has taken on his father’s work and is revising the booklets with modern printing techniques to great effect. Peter’s booklets are excellent but originally they were printed in black and white which didn’t really portray the impact the Tanks of Distinction range has. I first came across a colour Triumph brochure offering the twelve options via a Facebook group and was immediately captured. Like most people, initially there was an element of disbelief. This soon morphed into curiosity: were there any examples still around? Why haven’t I seen one? How many were sold? This went on for some time before my enthusiasm transformed again into an idea that I would like to paint my own Triumph in one of the options. There are actually eleven designs but one is offered in a choice of two colours. Many of the designs take their influence from the Art Deco movement, something I personally admire. Can you imagine the uproar this would have created, especially on the shop floor of the Park Street factory!
To the best of my knowledge there are no original tanks still in existence, so it is not possible to gauge the quality of the paintwork. Again, we must remember that spray paint was new to everyone so there was little expertise to call upon.
My Triumph dates from November of 1929, falling right in the middle of the Tanks of Distinction availability. It was rescued from a scrap yard in 1972 by Rex Chatfield, who pulled it out as a frame plus a tea chest of parts. The tank was in poor condition. Badly rusted and requiring a new bottom to be welded in. The bike came with no documentation. It is clear however that the original owner of this machine was a discerning motorcyclist. At that time Triumph offered an alternative from the standard Lucas magneto to upgrade to the far superior Bosch unit. This was only eleven years after the end of the Great War, the word “Bosch” was not popular in the UK (Bosch being a derogatory term for Germans during the war years). So only those motorcyclists who valued the quality would have gone for this, and my NSD has a Bosch magneto.
This led me to think that as the original owner clearly valued quality, could they have chosen one of the Tanks of Distinction range? It is possible, so when it came to my bike needing the tank repainting, I thought it would be good to preserve this little piece of Triumph’s history by recreating one of the original designs. If I am going to be completely honest, it is unlikely it had this paintwork. The NSD was designed as a workhorse; a sidecar pulling slogger, so it is unlikely; but possible!
I had previously seen a bike of similar era painted with a cream and black tank. It looked fantastic. This was inspired by the Tanks of Distinction range but did not accurately replicate the original design. If I was going to do this then it would have to be as accurate a reproduction as possible. Having scrutinised the designs for hours I eventually, with some encouragement from one of the most creative people I have ever met, picked option 10 from the leaflet.
I am OK with a spanner but no expert with paint, so I entrusted the job to Steve at The Plastics Surgery, Hanley Swan near Worcester. I was not disappointed; the quality was superb! It transformed the appearance of the bike and gave it the eye-catching look I hoped for.
Regrets? No, not really but I do spend a lot of time trying to convince people that it was an available option back in 1929 and that I haven’t, “..ruined an old bike by putting the paintwork from a 1960s chopper on it!” When I’m at classic shows I have a display board explaining all, but when I’m just out and about I frequently have to get my phone out and show doubters the evidence.
From the reaction I get even today I think the Triumph experiment could have transformed the world of motorcycling if the timing had been different. Sadly, we will never know.
Thanks to John Gidlow for taking the time to send over this article.
Photo Credits: Jake Pickering: jakethecannonguy.zenfoliosite.com
an article by John Gidlow for The Girder Club
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