THE TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE MV AGUSTA ’ S HERITAGE
REDESIGNED In 1971 Triumph eventually got the message . The Trident became lean and mean , with a teardrop tank , new forks , mud guards , and new mufflers . A five-speed gearbox was optional , but Honda was selling six CB750s for every Trident . In 1973 Triumph became part of BSA and Norton Villiers , to become NVT . By 1975 the Trident T150 became the T160 . It was what many believed the model should have been from the very start . It had an electric start , leftfoot gear change , disc brakes , and the engine was angled forward like its sister model , the BSA Rocket Three . The competition by now came not only from the CB750 , but the Kawasaki Z1 and a host of Japanese machinery that would mark the beginning of the Superbike era . In 1975 NVT collapsed , and with it went the Trident , at the time the fastest British road bike ever built . With it also went the BSA Rocket and Norton Commando . That ’ s three classic British motorcycles that remain in demand all over the world . It wasn ’ t until the rebirth of Triumph in the John Bloor era , which began in the 1990s , that British motorcycles became a force again in the big bike market place .
ROAD RACING SUCCESS If the Trident ’ s market place performance wasn ’ t spectacular , then its road racing performance most certainly was . Percy Tait and Dave Croxford won the demanding Thruxton 500 mile race in 1971 . That same year Tony Jefferies won the Formula 750 TT on the Isle of Man , Ray Pickrell won the Production TT , and Tait and Pickrell won the 24-Hour Bol d ’ Or . A legendary Trident known as ‘ Slippery Sam ’ won five consecutive Production TTs in the Isle of Man between 1971 and 1975 . The bike also enjoyed considerable success on American race tracks , notably at Daytona . I remember the Trident with great affection . At a time when superbikes of all shapes and sizes where flooding from Japan and Europe , it was a brave attempt to keep the flag flying for a truly British classic motorcycle .
A slimmed down production racer Trident
88 KIWI RIDER