The purse was the main problem at Meriden. I was there during the Co-Op days......no money in the pot, debts of over £10 million, out-dated equipment to work with, trying to produce a product that was long due a radical re-work and a tide of Japanese technically superior bikes arriving by the container load on the British docksides every week.
Honda 750 4 cylinder bikes, double overhead cams, 4 carbs, electric start, fancy metalflake paint, 4 into 4 chrome exhausts.....and what was our offering ??? Pushrods, oil leaks, unreliable electrics, a crumbling dealer network and a failing export market.
The only thing in our favour was the Triumph's would handle. The Jap's took a couple of years to sort out their frames and suspensions.....but as in terms of engineering of the running gear the Jap's were light years ahead.
