Triumph Mountain Cub

TRIUMPH MOUNTAIN CUB

CW Trail Test

OUR TRAIL TUST machine this month pretty well fills the bill of what we have preached for some:ime; a real motorcycle, slightly undersized, properly equipped and geared, is the best trail machine when all demands are given consideration. For those who desire only a trail scoo'er type bike, or for those who want a motorcycle that is well suited to the problems of off-the-road work, Triumph's Mountain Cub stands among a very small and select group of machines.

Several trail scooters on the market may possess virtues not to be found in larger motorcycles such as lightness and extreme portability, and though the Cub's 250 pounds doesn't exactly qualify it as a lightweight, it can be easily handled by the average rider in all but the steepest or roughest territory where picking the machine up bodily and carrying it over an obstacle is the only answer. A IV2 inch ground clearance helps a little at those times, too.

Triumph thoughtfully installed their “trials" gearbox in the Mountain Cub, offering two very low and close together first and second gears, with higher gear

ratios in third and fourth with a wnde spread between second and third. This simply means that the first two gears are low for slow and difficult going, and third and fourth are better suited for cruising speeds on dirt roads and across smoother terrain. It works well until one tries to race in a scrambles or some such event and finds that he is either revving the very devil out of it, or lugging it with equally disastrous consequences.

Obviously the rider who wants to race the Cub should buy the Sports Cub scrambler, a better machine for the job for several reasons, not the least of which are the gearbox, increased horsepower, and its lighter weight due to the absence of the lighting equipment used on the Mountain Cub. Since this evaluation is being written to fit the viewpoint of the trail rider, not the scrambles racer, or even the parttime racer, we can easily overlook a point or two we might come to odds with.

Rated at 15.1 horsepower @ 6.500

rpm, the single-cylinder, overhead valve, four-stroke engine, is built in unit with the four-speed gearbox, all in alloy and handsomely polished to a tasty finish. The exhaust pipe is carried close to the engine and high, passing under a special bend in the tubular frame which further tucks it in out of the way. One fall to the right proves the value of this kind of planning. A 300 x 19 Dunlop Trails Universal tire is mounted on the front, with a .3.50 x 18 rear. Dunlop Sports “knobbies" can of course be fitted: some might prefer them under certain conditions.

Suspension is by hydraulically dampened telescopic forks and shock absorbers. Steering is very quick, an asset when stumbling around in rugged country trying to avoid rocks, fallen trees, holes, etc., and the ride is downright comfortable. An interesting final thought is the inclusion of a paper element air cleaner, a handydevice.

Nearly every feature anyone could want, and one he does not want or need, is either standard, or available as an accessory, such as the chrome plated carrying rack made by Accurate Accessories. The price seems high only if you have been shopping the trail scooters or lighter and smaller machines: the advantages are worth the difference•