PRE-1900's

The seed of what was to become one of the most famous names in motorcycling was planted back in the late nineteenth century when German businessman Siegfried Bettmann made his way to England from Nuremberg. At first involved in the sale of sewing machines, Bettmann was impressed with the craze for bicycles sweeping Victorian Britain and decided to set up his own firm.

Initially Bettmann sought bikes from Birmingham-based William Andrews, selling them under the name Triumph.  (He settled on Triumph as a name that would be understood in all European languages.)  In 1887, two years after he started his enterprise, Bettmann was joined by engineer Mauritz Schulte, also from Nuremburg.  Both decided the future lay in manufacturing their own machines and so Schulte found suitable premises in Coventry, where production started in 1889. As the turn of the century approached and the internal combustion engine began to make an impact, a venture into motorcycle production beckoned as the next step for the Triumph Cycle Co.