Difference between revisions of "Triumph Trident 750 Rob North"
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|name = Racing Bikes Triumph Trident 750 Rob North | |name = Racing Bikes Triumph Trident 750 Rob North | ||
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Latest revision as of 21:46, 23 November 2019
Racing Bikes Triumph Trident 750 Rob North | |
Class | Racing |
---|---|
Weight | |
Manuals | Service Manual |
Photos[edit | edit source]
Overview[edit | edit source]
Triumph Trident Rob North Racer
The Triumph Trident and its BSA Rocket 3 sibling were, in a
way, a last hurrah for the previously globally dominant British motorcycle
industry.
A racing effort funded on a shoelace budget was launched in
1970 to promote the being used by both Triumph and BSA. Frame construction was
contracted out to British specialist Rob North, he developed a chassis that
was years ahead of its time a perimeter frame with excellent rigidity, and
top rails that run directly from the steering head to the swingarm pivot
point.
Without the funds required to develop a new engine from
scratch the team at Triumph/BSA had taken their 500cc parallel twin and
essentially grafted on an extra cylinder, creating an inline-3 cylinder
motor that was better balanced that a parallel twin, but not as wide and
heavy as an inline-4.
While the factory engineers led by Doug Hele focussed on
tuning the engine for as much power as possible, Ron North focussed on frame
development. The resulting motorcycle was far quicker than many had
expected, it was capable of 90 hp and it had scalpel-like handling thanks to
the work of North and his team.
The biggest competitor for the Triumph Trident and its
sibling, the BSA Rocket 3, was the
.
The Japanese Invasion
In order to make their new superbike land with a bang, the
Japanese engineers at Honda had rolled in every modern and advanced feature
they possibly could, including a SOHC inline-4, an oil-tight horizontally
split crankcase, a 5-speed transmission, an electric starter, and reliable
operation.
The CB750 was heavier than its British and Italian
competition, and its handling wasnt as good (for the first few years at
least), but its positive far outweighed any negatives, and the model would
go onto be emulated by the other Big Three Japanese motorcycle
manufacturers creating the UJM or .
dealers around the world struggled to keep the CB750 on the showroom floor, such was the speed at which they sold, and the model would signal the death-knell for the British and Italian motorcycle industries for a few years at least. Wins at the Daytona 200 and the Isle of Man TT With the Honda CB750 far outpacing the Triumph Trident and the BSA Rocket 3 in sales numbers, the British triple turned the tables on the race track in 1971. Modified racing versions of the British bikes would take a 1-2-3 sweep at the 71 Daytona 200 with Dick Mann/BSA in 1st, Gene Romero/Triumph 2nd, and Don Emde/BSA in third. A specially prepared Triumph Trident named Slippery Sam was run by a team led by Les Williams in the early-to-mid 1970s, the team took the bike to a 5 consecutive victories at the Isle of Man TT in the 750cc production races between 1971 and 1975. The tumultuous 1968 to 1975 production run of the Triumph Trident was punctuated by some great victories on the race track, combined with a series of labor disputes, strikes, and low sales figures. Surviving examples are now much sought after by collectors, and the incredibly rare Rob North-framed bikes are two-wheeled unicorn dust. Source