TRIUMPH TRIDENT

TRIUMPH TRIDENT

TRIUMPH TRIDENT

When Triumph launched the TI50 Trident  in 1969, the 750cc triple's blend of i smooth power and stable handling made it one of the fastest bikes on the road. In road-racing, too. Trident-based machines scored many notable victories, not least on the high-speed banking of Daytona. But the triple was never the success that Triumph had hoped, partly due to its angular styling, aquamarine paintwork and unusual 'ray- gun' silencers, all of which were especially unpopular in the States.

The Trident's design was also very much of the 1960s, in contrast to that of Honda's more refined CB750 four, which was launched a few months later. The 740cc triple had pushrod valve operation, and produced 58bhp at 7250rpm. The chassis was heavily based on that of Triumph's twins, including the frame which was a strengthened version of their single-downtube unit. Front forks, borrowed from the twins, had stiffer springs to cope with the triple's extra weight. The drum front brake also came from a 650cc twin. 


 

 High-speed cruising

The TriumphTrident was certainly fast. Its 125mph (201km/h) top speed and sub 14-second quarter- mile time were mighty impressive in 1969. So too was the smooth power delivery that allowed sustained high-speed cruising, and which made the Trident a much better long-distance bike than contemporary twins. The Trident could crack 1OOmph (161km/h) in third gear, and show its fancy silencers to just about any vehicle on the road. For a big bike its handling was good, too.

Triumph attempted to uprate the Trident over the years, although the firm's financial problems ensured that many mods were merely cosmetic. The disappointing front brake was changed to a conical drum in 1971, then to a single disc. Styling changes included a smaller fuel tank that combined with the Trident's thirst to give very poor range. (Many American dealers threw away the standard tank and exhausts, fitting parts from the twin to make the Trident more appealing.)

Trident performance suffered when the 1973 model's revised carburation and silencers, introduced due to tightening emission laws,

resulted in lOmph (16km/h) being lost from the top speed. Equally seriously, the Trident never really recovered from its early reputation for unreliability - much of which was caused by poor assembly rather than flawed design. Those problems and its high price meant that the Trident never had much chance of success.

TRIUMPH TRIDENT

In 1975, Triumph replaced the T150 with the redesigned T160 Trident. This was a handsome machine whose engine incorporated many new features including an electric starter and left-foot gear 




 change. The new bike's frame angled the motor forward in the style of BSA's Rocket Three. Its layout was influenced by Triumph's works production race triples including the legendary Slippery Sam, which won five consecutive Isle of Man TT Production races from 1971 to '75.

TRIUMPH TRIDENT

Finally, the TRIUMPH TRIDENT was the bike it might have been all along, with good looks, excellent performance, fine handling and a smooth ride. Although it had some reliability problems, and a high price, the T160 was the fastest, most sophisticated British bike yet. But it did not last long. By the end of 1975, production had ended following the collapse of parent company Norton Villiers Triumph.