The triples from Meriden

The Triumph Trident
If two is good, then three must be better. At least that was the thinking behind Triumph's 750cc three-cylinder Superbike, the Trident. It was a big leap for the British motorcycle manufacturer, but the stakes were high. After decades of building some of the best twins in the world, Triumph, during the late sixties, needed a big displacement superbike to do battle with the multi-cylinder machines being developed in Japan. So in 1968, Triumph introduced the Trident 750.

The three-cylinder, four-stroke machine had the press of the time bowled-over with its uniqueness.

"It's truly a stirring sight," said Cycle World magazine in 1968. "The world over, there is not another three-cylinder roadster motorcycle in production."

"Three cylinders, sixty horsepower and a top speed approaching 130 mph," Motorcyclist magazine proclaimed, "it was certainly enough to whet my appetite."

Although the Trident was a real speedster in straight line power, at roughly 470 pounds, handling was very un-Triumph-like. Where the twins were quick and nimble, the Trident needed deliberate coaxing into turns, and was even more cumbersome at slower speeds. The drum brakes provided fairly lackluster stopping power, which further hurt the Trident's handling.

These faults, though, were minor compared to the all-out power the machine had to offer. Quarter-mile times were in the low 13s at over 100 mph, pretty sporty for the late '60's. And few could complain about the triple's exquisite wail.

With the throttle pegged open, "the cacophony of sound will turn the head of any motorcyclist within hearing range," stated Cycle World.

Motorcyclist mentions a "burbling tickover" at idle, and then a, "whining note of real urgency," as the tach heads for the red zone.

In his book, "Triumph Racing Motorcycles In America," Lindsay Brooke describes the race prepared triples as having, "one of the most spine-tingling screams in motorcycle racing - a haunting howl," that was compared to a "cross between a Formula Two, dohc car engine and a NASCAR stocker, with a hint of Honda Six thrown in."

On the race track, Tridents proved they could easily stay with, and occasionally beat, the Honda fours, Norton Commandos, and Kawasaki H1s, especially in endurance races.

The only place the triples couldn't compete was in the showroom. In 1969, Honda sold 30,000 CB750 fours, while sales of Tridents and BSA Rocket 3s, (mechanically identical to the Trident), totaled only 7,000 in the U.S. It was difficult for Triumph to compete with the Honda, which had an electric start, could hold its oil and was stone reliable.

Ads at the time made direct comparisons between the two. The Honda rider was described as an "enthusiast," while the Triumph rider was an "expert."

Bruce Bodell, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, came by this 1969 Trident after it had been sitting in a garage for almost 30 years. The original owner had blown a head gasket in 1974, and simply let it sit. Bodell picked it up a couple of years ago, rebuilt the motor and now has a beautiful example of one of the fastest production motorcycles to roar out of the 60's.

Motorcyclist summed up the Trident as a, "luxury motorcycle designed for the man who demands the ultimate in performance but who still wants a bike that is quiet and tractable in town and traffic."

The BSA Rocket 3

If the BSA Rocket 3 looks familiar, well, it should. Its essentially the same motorcycle as the Triumph Trident, but with the cylinders cantered forward a bit. Both were designed at Triumph works in Meriden.

Basically, the engine cases are different, as well as the timing and gearbox covers. On the BSA, the covers are designed to look like a single flowing piece, as opposed to the two distinct covers on the Triumph. The BSA sports a double cradle frame, where the Triumph has a single downtube coming from the neck. Other than some basic cosmetic differences, the internals on both bikes are essentially the same.

This sort of "rebadging" is done broadly in today's automotive world, but it was new to motorcycles then.

When the Trident and Rocket 3 were introduced in 1968, both sported the ray-gun style exhaust pipes. That one item alone was so unique to the triples that it was also a dead giveaway that the bikes were from the same gene pool.

As with the Trident, the BSA Rocket 3 had some race track successes. Triumph and BSA claimed a "Beezumph" hat trick at Daytona in 1971, with the Rocket, in the hands of legendary racer Dick Mann, taking the top spot.

Unfortunately, by the early 70's the BSA company was going down for the final count.

The Rocket 3 engine had a mild resurrection in 1972 with the U.S. styled X75 Hurricane. This BSA/Triumph hybrid, designed by Craig Vetter from Illinois, utilized the BSA version of the triple, mounted in a Triumph frame, with a five speed transmission. The Hurricane produced a mild stir in the industry with its somewhat cruiser style, extended forks, and very modern curves and graphics.

The 1969 BSA Rocket 3, currently on display at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum at AMA Headquarters in Pickerington, Ohio, is owned by Kerry Kubena from Cokeburg, Penn.

After buying the bike in Ohio, sometime between 1992 and 1993, Kerry and his father, Bud Kubena, got it home and discovered it had been painted four different colors over its life. It was a purple metal flake, and at another time it was all black. Further down, they found a "terrible greenish color." The original metallic maroon was under the tank badges, and that's what they used to restore the Rocket.