JAGUAR 420 420 1926

JAGUAR 420 420

Manufacturer: Triumph
Model: P
Year: 1926
Displacement: 494cc
Engine type: 4-stroke / sv
Cylinders: 1

Frame number: 925040
Engine number: 223999 DOR

Triumph continued its existing model range after WWI, capitalising on the reputation for quality and reliability that its products had acquired while on active service. Updated with the first Triumph-made gearbox and all chain drive for 1920, the pre-war Model H became the ‘SD’ (Spring Drive), so called because of its clutch-mounted, coil-spring shock absorber, and later formed the basis of the four-valve Model R ‘Ricardo’ model, introduced in 1922. A stylish sports roadster, the top-of-the-range Ricardo was relatively expensive at £96 10s and was never going to sell in large quantities. Just over the horizon though, was a less exotic model, its basic specification notwithstanding, which would change the face of the British motorcycle industry.

A landmark machine in the development of the motorcycle in Britain, Triumph’s Model P debuted at the 1924 Motor Cycle Show. A no-frills, sidevalve-engined model, the newcomer was priced at £42 17s 6d, at which level it undercut every other 500cc machine then on sale in the UK. The first batch manufactured was not without its faults, but once these had been sorted the Model P was a runaway success. Output from Triumph’s Priory Street works was soon running at an astonishing 1,000 machines per week, and the Model P’s arrival undoubtedly hastened the demise of many a minor manufacturer. Production continued until the decade’s end, by which time the Model P had spawned a number of derivatives – models N, Q and QA - and lost penny-pinching features such as its guide-less valves and bicycle-type front brake.

This sturdy bike needs some love to get it back on the road. It´s complete and is equipped with a Triumph carburetor, Lucas magneto and an acetylene lighting set.