Description
Triumph 3T De Luxe Twin 349cc 1945
Best Triumph yet a lithe, lively, exceptional gentlemanly motor cycle on which it is a joy to potter and a delight to speed. This sums up my views on the 350 c.c. Triumph twin, the “De Luxe Triumph 3T,” I have been riding. Why test the 350 c.c. 3T and not the super-sports three-fifty, the Tiger 85, or one of the two 500 c.c. machines, the Speed Twin or the Tiger 100? These last are well known; the three-fifties -are new. As for the sports-tourer instead of the hyper-sports, have I not ridden many Speed Twins and probably almost as many Tiger 100s and felt that the former were by far the nicer job? If those very few extra miles an hour in maximum speed are all-important to you, well and good, but I side with the designer and manufacturer, Mr. Edward Turner, in the view that, for the vast majority of people, of the five-hundreds, the Speed Twin was (and is) the more suitable job. The small increase in maximum speed is inevitably at the expense of sweetness and of some of the characteristics that give a pleasant ride, and how many really use the full performance of the Speed Twin?
Experience with the Army Twins
Probably, with the smaller capacity per cylinder, the difference between the two 350 c.c. machines would be less marked but having had fairly extensive experience with the 350 c.c. Triumph twins designed for Army work I felt sure that the less-” hot” model would provide & thoroughly exhilarating performance and that it would have, in addition, road manners almost second to none.
The question of a road test was discussed at the time that details of the post-war Triumphs were made available. “Which model? ” asked Mr. Turner. The new hydraulically controlled telescopic front forks were being fitted on both the 350 and 500 c.c. twins, so there. was no question of having to take a five hundred in order to determine what the steering, handling and comfort are like with the new Triumph forks. Instantly l answered, “A three-fifty, preferably the 3 T.”
A couple of weeks ago Mr. Turner, back after his bus\ness trip to the United States, dropped into Dorset House and I got an indication of what. he has been after in the model I have now tested.
Advert
Enjoy more The Classic MotorCycle reading in the monthly magazine. Click here to subscribe.
