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 Triumph - 500 Rikman Métisse MK3
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Triumph Rikman Métisse MK3 motocyclette motorrad motorcycle vintage classic classique scooter roller moto scooter
Photo ou archives : F-M. Dumas
519

Capacity : 500
Model : Rikman Métisse MK3
Production : 1960 - 1968
Category : (Off-Road) MX

Triumph - Rickman
500 Métisse MK 3 - 1963


Special-builders have always lived large on the British scene but the motorcycle dealers Derek and Don Rickman became bigger than that when their production soared to 800 bikes a year in the Seventies, making them Britain's number-two motorcycle manufacturer.

Home-Brewed Specials
Back in the Fifties when most British scramblers rode big singles - usually BSA-powered - the Rickman brothers appeared on home-brewed specials with Triumph twin engines in their own design of nickel-plated double-cradle frames made of Reynolds 531 tubing. They christened their potent specials with the irreverent nickname "Metisse" (French for "mongrel dog!") but those "mongrels" proved so successful that the brothers were inundated with demands for replicas.

Worldwide Reputation
Their 215-sxquare-foot workshop was clearly inadequate so they added a 4000 square-foot factory in which they built motocross frames which achieved a worldwide reputation. By 1964, the Metisse so dominated scrambling that Rickman bikes represented 60 per cent of the machines competing in the British Grand Prix. In 1966, the Rickman brothers launched the first quantity-built motorcycle with a front disc Brake, then turned their attention to the Triumph Bonneville engine, marketing a Weslake eight-valve conversion which boosted power by an impressive 31 per cent. In 1970, Rickman moved into a new 42,000-square-foot factory.

SPECIFICATIONS
Bicylindre 4 t refroidi par air - 490 cm3 ( 69 x 65 mm) - 35 ch/7 000 tr/min - Soupapes culbutées - Semi bloc moteur, boîte 4 rapports - Cadre double berceau - Suspension av. télescopique, ar. oscillante - Pneus av. 21", ar. 18" - Freins à tambour simple came - 130 kg.





Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.