It’s widely believed that Triumph started plotting its transition into the bike market way back to 1895 after Muaritz Schulte bought a have a look at a motorized bike designed by Hildebrand and Wolfmuller. Reportedly, Schulte was so taken with the bike that he satisfied Siegfried Bettman to think about manufacturing them below license from Hildebrand and Wolfmuller.

As attractive because the prospect was, the Triumph mind belief opted to place the concept on ice, believing such a automobile would not fare nicely within the English markets. They had been probably smart to imagine so, as motorized autos had been closely restricted in Great Britain on the time because of the notorious Red Flag Act. Backed closely by stagecoach and locomotive firm leaders who feared private motorized autos may change them, the Red Flag Act restricted the velocity of a “horseless vehicle” to 2 mph in a metropolis and 4 mph within the nation.

These legal guidelines additionally required at the very least three people per motorcar, together with one to stroll forward, carrying a crimson flag to alert the general public of oncoming visitors. Believing such restrictions restricted the industrial attraction of a motorbike, Triumph saved out of the market till the Red Flag legal guidelines had been repealed.