Saxon Triumph

I recently went to the National Motorcycle Museum.
Lots of triumphs there as you'd expect. One I'd never heard of before.
Saxon Triumph. A UK made 90s superbike.


"TRIUMPH’S THREECYCLINDER ANSWER TO THE DUCATI 916?

WHEN HARLEY-DAVIDSON’S VR1000 MADE ITS AMA racing debut in ’94, it gave fans something new and different to cheer for. Now Triumph, another name from roadracing’s past, is looking to make a return to America’s top-level roadracing class.

Triumph already has the bike, a Saxon-framed 900 Triple, but there are only three in existence, falling well short of the AMA’s homologation requirement of 50 bikes. Still, the Saxon, thus far a private effort with Triumph supplying an engine, parts and technical support, is fast becoming Triumph’s official Superbike program.

The bike began as a collaboration between Taylormade Racing’s Paul Taylor, Cycle World European Editor Alan Cathcart and Saxon’s Nigel Hill, to build and campaign an all-British racebike. To date, the majority of the team’s energy has been focused on chassis development, with immediate plans calling for coaxing more power from the three-cylinder motor. It currently makes just over 130 horsepower with tons of midrange torque, but is lacking the topend punch needed to run with racing’s best.

Recently, I had a chance to take a few laps on the Saxon Triumph at Donington Park, England’s premier grand prix circuit. Having ridden the Daytona 900 and Speed Triple roadbikes, I was taken in by the Saxon’s compact size and light handling. Even though initiating a turn takes little more than the thought itself, stability proved very good. Similar in principal to BMW’s Telelever system, the bike’s Sax Trak fork resists flex when braking better than conventional front ends. Front-tire feedback during corner entry was a bit vague at the outset but improved as I gained confidence and began pushing my braking deeper into the turns. The bike felt best with at least a minor degree of braking load maintained throughout the turn-in process.

Cornering clearance was good, but not limitless, the fairing lower and exhaust touching down through the low-gear left at the end of the Donington’s fastest straight. Removal of the stock motor’s counterbalancer makes for snappy engine response with less chance of the rear chattering on downshifts, but the price paid is heavy vibration through the bars.

Although my time aboard the Saxon was brief, it was obvious the bike will need more power to have a hope of hanging with factory Superbikes. But the much-rumored, next-generation 900 stuffed into a Saxon chassis? Now, that might be just the ticket."
From: https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1996/1/1/saxon-superbike

 

A few pics; slippery Sam, Daytonas, rotary Norton