The TR6 Trophy is a motorcycle that was made by Triumph, in Meriden, from 1956 to 1973, when it was replaced by the five-speed 750-cc Triumph Tiger TR7V. During this time, it was a successful model, particularly in the US. The competition variant, popularly known as the "desert sled", won numerous competitions throughout the late 1950s and 1960s. Steve McQueen's fondness for the model is well known, as is his participation in the 1964 ISDT on a TR6 Trophy.

Like the other 650-cc models, the Trophy gained unit construction in 1963. Coil ignition replaced the magneto. For 1964, the bike received stronger front forks, which improved handling. The Smiths Chronometric instruments were replaced by the magnetic type. In 1965, a locating pin for finding top dead center was added to allow timing without the use of a dial gauge.

In 1966, the tank badge style changed from the "Harmonica" style to the "Eyebrow". Confusingly, the model designators for the US now reverted to TR6R and TR6C. The electrics changed to 12 volts, and a bigger 6-pint oil tank was added. The front brake drum was redesigned to allow a larger braking surface. TR6C models had a smaller teardrop 2.5-imperial-gallon (11 l; 3.0 US gal) tank without the parcel grid.

For 1967, the TR6 received some engine changes. Compression was raised to 9:1. and Bonneville exhaust valves and camshaft were adopted, resulting in a 5-bhp increase. This year was the beginning of the shift to unified threads. The TR6C got twin high pipes on the left side.

The twin leading shoe brake was adopted in 1968. This year had the introduction of the Amal Concentric carburetor. The TR6R was the "Sport" version with low pipes, and the TR6C was the "Trophy Special" with high pipes and folding foot pegs. The TR6C Trophy Special was built at the request of Triumph's sole US distributor at the time, Johnson Motors in southern California, as a way to target the growing number of desert riders. It was fitted with Dunlop Trials Universal block-tread tires and was the model referred to as the "Desert Sled".

The TR6 and TR6R were renamed Tiger for 1969, leaving the TR6C model with the Trophy name. The front brake used a modified actuating lever to avoid snagging of the cable on the front mudguard. Other changes included the larger RM21 alternator and twin Windtone horns. The signature parcel grid was finally dropped for all models.

The last year before the 'oil-in-frame' was adopted was 1970. The exhausts on the TR6C received the "barbecue grill" heat shields.

Pictured here is a weathered 1:12 scale replica of the 1962 Triumph TR6R 650cc motorcycle used by Steve McQueen in the feature film "The Great Escape." Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Length: 7-inches
Height: 3-1/2-inches

Release Date: January 2024

Historical Account: "The Great Escape" - At the threshold of Steve McQueen's stardom, a studio attorney gave him just a day to make a life-altering decision: racing or acting. If McQueen were to become a true leading man, he'd have to play it safe and sacrifice the race track. "They gave me twenty-four hours to make up my mind," McQueen recalled. "I took most of those twenty-four hours thinking about whether I wanted to go on racing, earning my money on the track, or whether I wanted to continue being an actor on the studio's terms. It was a very tough decision for me to reach. Still, I had Neile and our two young children to consider, and that made the difference. I signed their paper."

With 1963's The Great Escape, Steve McQueen established a career built on outfoxing his contract. He may have been unable to race for real, but he could still race in the movies. And The Great Escape was the first of such ruses - director John Sturges and McQueen "worked a hairy motorcycle chase" into the film for McQueen's character Virgil Hilts, nicknamed the "Cooler King" due to the time he spent in solitary confinement. McQueen described it himself, "The idea was this "Cooler King" character makes good his escape by stealing a cycle, gets chased cross-country by German cyclists and loses them by jumping this big barbed-wire fence with this bike."

The bike jump in The Great Escape is legendary, but Sturges' film is a masterpiece in its own right, based on the true story of Allied airmen's daring escape via tunnels from Stalag Luft III during World War II. Though McQueen is ostensibly the star, the film belongs to its ensemble cast, a dream team of 1960s masculine icons and legendary actors that included James Garner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, James Donald, Donald Pleasence, David McCallum, and Richard Attenborough. On its surface, The Great Escape seems to be a war film, but at its heart, it's a heist movie flipped on its head: a group of specialists team up to make a plan with nothing but their ingenuity - though instead of breaking in, they're breaking out of a German POW camp. It's also the ultimate underdog story, a film about camaraderie, courage, self-sacrifice, and giving the enemy hell.