Triumph T110 Tiger

Triumph T110 Tiger

Specs Mentioned:

Make/ Model – 1955 Triumph T110 Tiger

Engine – Air-cooled OHV vertical twin, non-unit

Power – 40bhp – 29.8Kw @ 6500rpm

Top speed – 110mph

True to the British style at the time, the 650cc T110 Tiger was their hottest bike in 1955, so much attention was lauded on it. 1954 Tigers had a problem with their new cylinder heads distorting when they got hot. As a temporary fix, a fifth cooling fin was added to help beat the heat. The real problem was that the cylinder and head were made of cast iron, which doesn’t shed heat as well as aluminum.

There is a saying in the motorcycle business: “Too much is never enough”. The 1955 Triumph T110 Tiger was already one of the hottest machines on the road, on 2 wheels or 4, but more power was needed. So, compression was bumped up to 8.0:1, and new, hotter E3325 cams were installed. The added compression forced Triumph to build the entire kickstart mechanism out of nickel-steel chrome to cope with the added loads. Ignition was now handled by a K2FC competition magneto.