Entering the TRW tomb

Michael “Squizzy” Taylor from Brisbane is understandably excited about what he describes as the “Find of a lifetime” – a pair of 1957 Triumph TRW side-valve twins brand new, still in their original crates.

The mystery dates back a long way, but from Michael’s research it appears that the two bikes – engine number 57-93741, and engine number 5793682 were imported from USA by Trevor Standing from Mount Morgan, Queensland in 1985. Standing had actually purchased the lots as ‘NOS Triumph parts’ and were eventually shipped from USA to Brisbane and then to Gladstone under bond. Customs in Gladstone opened the boxes and declared they were not parts but complete motorcycles and therefore subject to import duty of $3,000 each. The boxes were badly damaged by Customs who “Smashed the sides out of them in examining the contents”. Trevor assembled one (57-93741) and exhibited it in the 1991 Capricornia Motorcycle Show in Rockhampton where it was awarded Most Outstanding British Bike. It was shown still coated with its grease covered exterior and was carried on a mattress in the back of his Holden panel van to and from the show. He is adamant that “the bike was rolled from the shed to his van on a tarp and the wheels did not touch the dirt or grass.” It was not prepared with oil, fuel or battery and was put back in the crate after the show. Both bikes were sold in 1997 and moved together to Pleystowe and later to Beaconsfield, Queensland. In 2018, Michael Taylor and a mate purchased the bikes, still crated, following an advertisement on Bike Sales and they were transferred south; one (57-93741) to Michael on the Sunshine Coast and the other to a mate in Ipswich. “I removed some of the panels and sealed the crate with Perspex after covering the bike with lanolin spray, and I have placed casters on the bottom of the crate so it can be moved around. It shows 17 miles on the speedo. It will be assembled at some stage in the future but I have another project at the moment so it won’t hurt having it on display still in the box”.

To assemble or not? The TRW assembled by Trevor Standing, still covered in original grease, and (right) the trophy it won in 1991. 17 miles on the clock from new.

ABOVE The crates with their hidden treasure. RIGHT Protective grease still covers the alloy castings.