IT has been compared to an angry ant, a sawn-off shotgun and a wild boar, its twin headlights shining like angry piggy eyes. Whichever way you look at it, the new Triumph Speed Triple is a distinctive motorbike.

It’s a distinction that is paying off. Fresh out of the factory at Hinckley, Leicestershire, the latest incarnation of the Triumph spirit is getting great reviews in the American press and has already become Triumph’s fastest-selling bike.

The Speed Triple is igniting new interest in the brand and in biking. The company promises there is more to come. This September Triumph will unveil two new bikes at its American dealers’ conference in Phoenix, Arizona — a rare debut outside Europe and one that underscores the company’s ambition.

In its glory days Triumph went head to head with Harley-Davidson in America. Those times are long gone, but the marque is making an impressive comeback, especially for a brand that until recently looked like a lesson in the decline of British manufacturing.

Triumph has had a troubled history on both sides of the Atlantic. After the second world war the company, along with British rivals such as BSA and Norton, ruled the motorcycle industry. By the 1960s the Triumph marque had become a byword for British engineering excellence. At its peak of production, Triumph was making some 47,000 motorbikes a year.

But by the 1970s the industry was in ruins. It had failed to compete with Japanese manufacturers, it had quality problems and it did not keep up with the changing market.

By the 1970s the then owner, Norton-Villiers-Triumph, teetered on the brink of collapse, propped up by the government. When the company finally went bust in 1983, it seemed like the final chapter for the British motorcycle industry.

Property magnate John Bloor bought the land for redevelopment and picked up the Triumph name as part of the deal. A bad hip keeps Bloor off bikes but he rode in his youth and saw potential in the brand. He set up shop in Hinckley and launched the first new Triumph models at the Cologne Motor Show in 1990. The firm is still part of Bloor Holdings, one of Britain’s biggest private companies.

When Triumph was relaunched in America in 1995 the first task was to win back respect. It once had an impeccable pedigree in America. Marlon Brando rode a Triumph in The Wild One and both James Dean and Steve McQueen had been fans. But Triumph’s troubles had transferred themselves to the bikes.

“A late 1970s Triumph Bonneville was not the most reliable bike in the world,” said Todd Anderson, vice-president of Triumph in the US. The Triumph team toured Japanese factories looking for tips and made reliability a priority. Anderson said: “If anything, we have overcompensated to counter the technical problems people perceived with British bikes. Our technology is as good as anyone’s, but that’s just the price of entry.”

Triumph’s resurgence has won fans in Europe. Prince William has been spotted riding a Triumph Daytona 650, designer Paul Smith has created a clothing range, and the Formula One ace Michael Schumacher owns a Speed Triple.

If Triumph were to win new fans in America, however, it could not rely on its heritage alone. New versions of Triumph’s classic Bonneville are selling well, but the company decided early on that it could not rest on yesterday’s laurels. Competing with the Japanese giants and Harley-Davidson meant Triumph had to offer something different for American riders, said Anderson.

By 2002 Triumph was making headway in America and then disaster struck. A fire destroyed one of the company’s two factories. No bikes were made for five months. The fire contributed to a loss of £4.5m for Triumph in 2003, but also gave Bloor and his team a chance to rework the operation.

Triumph now has one of the most modern motorcycle plants in the world. The new Speed Triple and Sprint ST models were the first bikes to come out of the ashes and proved great successes. This year the company has returned to profit.

America is the land of big bikes. Cruisers, as they are known, dominate the market and anything under 600cc is considered small. Triumph’s giant Rocket III, weighing 320kg, has the world’s largest production engine on a motorcycle — 2,294cc. It is also Triumph’s No1 seller in America. Tom Cruise, who rode a Speed Triple in Mission Impossible II, is a Rocket owner.

Triumph is now selling about 30,000 bikes a year and has a target of 10,000 in America. Last year it sold 7,500 bikes there, a tiny fraction of the market, but sales are expected to grow at 20% this year and for the next five years.

Bikes are a growing American business thanks to the post-war baby-boomer generation and its insistence on growing old disgracefully. American sales have doubled since 1999, from about 546,000 to more than 1m in 2004.

On the fast track again, America looks set for a new record. And Triumph is once more riding with the pack.

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