Triumph Trademarks Hint at Future Models

Few motorcycle companies have plans as ambitious as Triumph at the moment, as the British brand prepares to enter multiple new markets including motocross, develops electric motorcycles, and readies a whole range of entry-level single-cylinder bikes to be made in India. Now the company has applied for several new trademarks in the US and other territories that might hint at even more projects.

While Triumph has a history of holding onto trademark rights for historic names, even if they’re not in use, recent changes to US trademark law are aimed at getting rid of so-called “deadwood” trademarks, so companies are only meant to register names they genuinely intend to use soon.

The titles undergoing registration include “Hurricane” in the US, while paperwork for the title “Triumph Hurricane” has been submitted in the UK. For most, that title is associated with the 1972–73 X-75 Hurricane; the famous Craig Vetter–designed triple based on the Triumph Trident and BSA Rocket 3. Developed specifically with the US market in mind, the X-75 Hurricane was originally intended to be sold as a BSA before the decision to use the name on the Triumph instead. A one-year-only machine, fewer than 1,200 were built but the Hurricane has gone on to be one of the most iconic Triumphs.

What bike could the name be used on? Given the X-75′s distinctive appearance and three-cylinder engine, the logical conclusion would be to use it on a model with similar styling cues and the same mechanical layout. However, Triumph came within a whisker of reviving the title on a very different machine 20 years ago. At the time, the motorcycle industry was gripped by a horsepower and top-speed war, with the Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki ZX-12R battling for supremacy, and Triumph spent millions developing its own contender. An entirely new, 1,298cc four-cylinder bike was developed with radical aerodynamics and angular, stealth-fighter-inspired styling, it was spied during tests in 2003 and came within months of production before the entire project was canceled, never to be officially shown in public. It was code-named “A13HC,” with the “HC” hinting at a revival of the Hurricane title.

Moving on to the next name, “Adventurer” is the subject of new trademark applications and registrations in multiple countries, including the US and UK as well as Australia, Canada, and others. It’s a title that’s appeared on more than one machine in the past, including the TR5T Adventurer of 1972–74, a twin-cylinder 500cc scrambler based on the Trophy, and the 1995–2001 Adventurer 900 triple, a cruiser based on the Thunderbird of the same era.

Today, however, it’s hard to imagine the Adventurer name appearing on anything other than an adventure bike. Although Triumph already has a fairly extensive range in that market, including a variety of Tiger models from 660cc to 1,200cc in its modern lineup and the Scrambler 900 and 1200 in the Modern Classics range, at least one more is in the pipeline in the form of an affordable 660cc triple with much more serious off-road abilities than the current Tiger Sport 660.

Triumph is also due to launch a whole range of Indian-manufactured single-cylinder retro models, being developed in partnership with Bajaj, with the first due to be released later this year. These will include a scrambler-style model, among others, so there are plenty of potential homes for the Adventurer name.

The final new title, “Street Tracker,” is the easiest to pigeonhole in terms of the style of bike it will be attached to, but Triumph’s use of the term “Street” to signify smaller models adds some questions. Last year, Triumph rebranded the old Street Scrambler and Street Twin to Scrambler 900 and Speed Twin 900, leaving only one model with the Street title, the Street Triple. It’s possible that the rebranding of the two Bonneville-based, 900cc bikes is making way for the new Bajaj-built, single-cylinder retros to adopt Street titles. Alternatively, the Street Tracker could turn out to be a Street Triple–based model. Watch this space, as Triumph clearly has a lot to launch.