CDN Military Motorcycles - Post War
 

Hi folks,

I have checked out a few threads discussing the various Canadian military motorcycles. Is there enough interest in creating a permanent place here to discuss the topic?

I have a 1957 Triumph TRW 500 (Canadian Army), but am also interested in other post-war bikes like the Armstrong, CanAm and Kawasaki KLR 250. I served 20 years in the Canadian Navy from 83-03 and was in Cambodia with UNTAC in 93. I also spent my final 4 years on exchange with the US Navy in Norfolk (and other places overseas).

I also own and built a "UN Tribute" 96 KLR 650, as the US and other Allied forces used the 650 in some UN missions during the 90s.

Rev High!
Alex

I have a 1954 Royal Enfield and a Kaw 250 and the Harley MT500 ( Armstrong ) All were Canadian forces units. I think a spot for the bikes would be good. Eddy

:thup:

Thanks.

Rev High!
Alex

Looks great Alex. Whats the history that you know of this motorcycle? Have you had it a long time?

Those are some beautiful bikes, Alex and Ed.

Dan.

I bought it from a friend just a few months ago, after drooling over it for quite a long while. He owned it since 2009. Before that, it was owned by the son of the deceased original private owner who bought it from surplus at some point in the late 70s (probably). It sat indoors on display in a small engine repair shop for many years.

It has been on display at the Montreal Motorcycle Show several times, but it hasn't been started in who knows how many years. It remains very clean and completely original, even the tires.

My goal is to get it sorted, running, insured for the road and legally plated (with historic plates), and then use it for occasional rides and to take to shows like the Bivouac in Odessa and to the annual show we run for the veterans each June at the hospital in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec.

These photos are of my 1996 Kawasaki KLR 650 U.N. Tribute bike. It is a civilian bike and never saw any duty in military service, but bikes like this one were purchased for use by United Nations Peacekeepers in a few missions during the 90s. The U.N., the USA and some other nations purchased KLR 650s, as they were very simple, rugged and reliable machines.

When in Cambodia with the UN in 1993, the UN had a fleet of hundreds of Honda and Yamaha 125cc and 250cc on/off-road bikes which we used to negotiate the small trails which were often the only way to get to some of the small jungle villages far away from the cities. Bikes like these (and small boats) are of great use in jungles and rural communities in many 'Third World' countries.

Photosare:
1. My KLR and Ural and other bikes at the meeting point for a CVMG Montreal 'History Tour' ride this past summer.
2 and 3. The KLR at the 'Salon de la Moto' in Montreal just before the Covid-19 lockdown in late February 2020.
4. My 3 bikes at the same show. Left to right: my 71 BSA Lightning, my 57 TRW 500 and my 96 KLR 650.

Nice bikes (and cars too)!

OK. I'll post what I can, and would ask all members who have military bike content, questions, answers, etc. to post here please.

While I don't have any sort of complete data about the TRW 500s delivered to Canada and used by the Canadian Army and RCAF, I DO know that they were used at several bases across Canada by both the Army (MP, Provost, Signal Corps) and the RCAF. The C.A.R. numbers for which I have found photos are all stenciled in white paint on both sides of the fuel tanks, and the ones I have been able to find have all been 56-XXXXX through 57-XXXXX. There is some, but not lots, of information in the "Only TRW" Facebook Group, some manuals and other data on the "Triumph Pre-Unit" Facebook Group, and at various British bike websites.

Here's the best information about the serial numbers. These are based on the engine numbers, but all TRWs left the factory with matching engine and frame numbers. Obviously, if an engine failure occured, a different engine would be fitted:

Mine is #26232NA (1957). It is a matching numbers TRW 500, (apparently) built on the 25th of September 1956. According to Triumph records, TRW 26232NA was dispatched to the Canadian Army on the 19th of January 1957 with gearbox number 85822, which also matches the number on my bike.

TRW Military 500cc Side-Valve Twins
YEAR (batch production total) Engine Numbers
1950 (58) / 14401N-14459N
1951 (unable to calculate. #s do not make sense) / 6044NA - 14320NA
1952 (837) 22001NA - 22838NA
1953 (434) 22839NA - 23273NA
1954 (48) 23274NA - 23322NA
1955 (274) 23323NA - 23597NA
1956 (1879) 23598NA - 25447NA
1957 (1679) 25448NA - 27127MA
1958 (47) 27128NA - 27175NA
1959 (170) 27176NA - 27346NA
1960 (298) 27347NA - 27645NA
1961 (539) 27646NA - 28185NA
1962 (278) 28186NA - 28464NA
1963 (641) 28465NA - 28827NA
1964 (777) 28828NA - 29605NA

Total: 7959 (Unable to calculate the numbers for 1951). The current data published in a couple of places states that a total of 15939 TRW 500s were built between 1950 and 1964. That would mean that the production run for 1951 would have to be 7980, which is pretty unlikely because Triumph just did not have the production capacity to produce that many in one year in 1951.

I hope this helps.

Rev high,
Alex