My buddy had a beautiful Trident in the early '80s. One day he left the fuel tap on and went to kick start it the next morning. One of the carb float needles had started leaking and the bike burst into flames and burnt to the ground. The engine was just a melted pile of goo before it burned itself out. One of the saddest moments of my motorcycling life and certainly his.
My only complaint about Tridents was the same one I had about Goldwings. The first time I tore both engines down for a complete rebuild, I swore it would be the last, and it was. Terribly difficult lower end to assemble compared to the ease of the twins.
The complex bottom end was an unfortunate hangover of the bikes compromised design, being essentially a T100 and a half. This was a problem for BSA / Triumph too because it made the construction expensive
I took a 1973 750 OIF Triumph Tiger, bored it 060 over and had the heads flowed made it as light as I could. Picture a barely street legal Flattracker. Lived on it for a Year!
Well, the Triumphs were pretty, but not really much better than the earlier 500 and 650s. Mind you, I'm biased: I still have a '73 Norton 850 I bought new in 1975 from a dealer who was closing up shop. I bought it in the crate and assembled it mself and have done all the maintenance and repairs. The engine has been properly overhauled and everything surfaced so that it does not leak oil, balanced with upgraded bearings, Big Mikuni carb and Boyer ignition. I've still got a good stock of Isolastic pieces, and have upgraded the brakes and added Akont rims and "modern" tires. I've got a garage full of bikes, but this is the one I love most of all, and it gets more comments than anything else I own on two wheels. And I'm 86 and can still start it! My daughter (who does not ride) swears she's going to drain all the fluids and display it in her living room, if I ever die...just to remind her of her old reprobate dad! As always, good video...
@@bikerdood1100 I'm a lttle older... Also, I'm the only person who's EVER ridden the Norton...but I have a bunch of other bikes and I still ride them. I admit I'm about to sell off several of them, mostly because I'd like to be able to use that part of the garage for something other than memory storage! Plus some of those are pretty unusual and they deserve more than a few shorter rides per year. For instance, have you ever seen a Richman-framed Honda CB450? I've got a pair of those, and my English buddy Sam swears they only made 3! Keep the videos coming; I always enjoy them.
I have owned three of Triumph's Meriden built 750 twins, a 1977 TR7RV, a 1981 T140E and a 1983 TSX. I've also owned a T160V, but it wasn't a 750 when I bought it, original owner had installed a Norman Hyde 871cc big bore kit.
I had a second-hand 750 Bonneville bitsa. My dealer sold the engine from a TSS (the 8-valve-er) to a local club racer. He put a TSX engine into the rolling chassis and sold it to me. Not sure if it was standard on a TSX but I has a toothed-belt primary drive with a dry multi-plate clutch. My wife had a standard 750 Tiger and I have to say that the belt drive primary was a much smoother transmission.
Got my first British bike when i was 19 it was a great day dreamed of owning a triumph since i was taken for a ride on the back of one when i was 5.my Norton 750 commando and a 850 interstate were better bikes though bit heavier but loved that pre unit down for up box my favorite Brit bikes Simple’s rugged and fast enough .hi from New Zealand 🇳🇿
Setting aside the big American V-twins for a moment, if you wanted a large road bike from Europe or Japan you capped out in/aaround 750cc. Nowadays road bikes can eclipse 2x, even 3x that size. Crazy....
I remember in the nightys pulling up at the pub on my honda 250 superdream and the only place to park was beside a Norton cammando i felt so ashamed haha but the bloke was cool and complemented me on my bike. I think the Norton was beautiful and just a wow. Thanks for the great video brought back memories ☘️
I borrowed a superdream 250 and thought it a little underpowered for it's weight. My wife had the 400 superdream and that went like stink. A little faster in fact than my Honda 400/4.
Five you say? You had to make me think hard for all five. In the end I came up with 8: 750 Commando, 750 Bonny, 750 Tiger, 750 RE Interceptor II, 750 Trident, 750 Hurricane, 750 A70 BSA Lightning and 750 BSA Rocket 3😂😂😂
So did I But 5 makes for a good video length Rickman interceptor and Clyno by the way Obviously I’m not saying there’s only 5🙄 I could have put 10 in were I trying BSA V- twin and Norton Atlas Shall I continue 😂😂
Nice selection. A bit longer than most of your 5 series. Don't mind not mentioning the -63 to -68 Atlas which was just an increased bore 650SS. Which was a stroked 600. That was an enlarged 500.
In 1976 I bought triumph I owned it for 3 months b4 I sold it. I cant remember the model or if it was a 650 or 750. The only bike out of 44 that I have zero memory except hate😂
It's almost criminal that the BSA management didn't get the triples to market much much earlier than the Honda 750. If I remember correctly, the Hinckley 750s were available as both Trident and Daytona guises.
It was rather dumb that they dragged their feet Their was indeed a Daytona 750 Didn’t sell well at all unfortunately and their are a few out their They make a bargain buy too
Great informative video, my only suggestion for improvement here would have been to have road tested each of these glorious machines (i know that some of the camera shots are from a museum, so this would have bene difficult !).
I hear u haven't ridden all of those , no other bike came even close to the Featherbed bikes in surefootedness !!t Even if hose all far better than the Japanese ones in that respect !
And what I state in previous answer is that I don’t have them available to rest separately Not that I’ve not ridden any of them at all Although there is a danger about rose tinted specs being evident when ever the featherbead frame is mentioned If the look at sag the thrust on 500 endurance race results from the period it’s not like the Nortons were Dominat
🙄 No because I had film of that bike Does it actually matter that someone fitted a better break Definitely not It’s a story about engines not breaks after all 😂
Old joke...Q: what do you need to dismantle a Combat engine? A: a motorway! Nah,that ain't funny😮
🙄
Sometimes jokes can be true. But the ones that never was on the Autobahn had a fair chance to survive.
Comat engine was definitely not a smart move at the time
Modern upgrades do make them a reasonable proposition for motorways though
Correction at 11.26, Royal Enfield Interceptor, bore 71x93 gave a capacity of 736cc not 636cc.
Dam
I wondered if anyone would notice
Obviously yes given that it’s a 750 ish
The T160 is one of the prettiest bikes to be made in the 70’s. ❤
True indeed
There is a feel of the 1930s about they lovely fuel tank
The T160 in red & cream is the prettiest motorcycle ever!🤔
Definitely in my top 10 I’d say
Closest I got was a big poster...T180 900 would have been awesome...
My buddy had a beautiful Trident in the early '80s. One day he left the fuel tap on and went to kick start it the next morning. One of the carb float needles had started leaking and the bike burst into flames and burnt to the ground. The engine was just a melted pile of goo before it burned itself out. One of the saddest moments of my motorcycling life and certainly his.
My only complaint about Tridents was the same one I had about Goldwings. The first time I tore both engines down for a complete rebuild, I swore it would be the last, and it was. Terribly difficult lower end to assemble compared to the ease of the twins.
Well that must have been pretty awful
The complex bottom end was an unfortunate hangover of the bikes compromised design, being essentially a T100 and a half. This was a problem for BSA / Triumph too because it made the construction expensive
I took a 1973 750 OIF Triumph Tiger, bored it 060 over and had the heads flowed made it as light as I could. Picture a barely street legal Flattracker. Lived on it for a Year!
Fast and Load I expect
Well, the Triumphs were pretty, but not really much better than the earlier 500 and 650s. Mind you, I'm biased: I still have a '73 Norton 850 I bought new in 1975 from a dealer who was closing up shop. I bought it in the crate and assembled it mself and have done all the maintenance and repairs. The engine has been properly overhauled and everything surfaced so that it does not leak oil, balanced with upgraded bearings, Big Mikuni carb and Boyer ignition. I've still got a good stock of Isolastic pieces, and have upgraded the brakes and added Akont rims and "modern" tires. I've got a garage full of bikes, but this is the one I love most of all, and it gets more comments than anything else I own on two wheels. And I'm 86 and can still start it! My daughter (who does not ride) swears she's going to drain all the fluids and display it in her living room, if I ever die...just to remind her of her old reprobate dad! As always, good video...
The bike is you and you are the bike it seems 😂
@@bikerdood1100 I'm a lttle older... Also, I'm the only person who's EVER ridden the Norton...but I have a bunch of other bikes and I still ride them. I admit I'm about to sell off several of them, mostly because I'd like to be able to use that part of the garage for something other than memory storage! Plus some of those are pretty unusual and they deserve more than a few shorter rides per year. For instance, have you ever seen a Richman-framed Honda CB450? I've got a pair of those, and my English buddy Sam swears they only made 3! Keep the videos coming; I always enjoy them.
Thanks
Happy riding
@@rustyturner431 aReprobate? Great use of that word!
Commando did not vibrate at idle ,it shook greatly ,no vibration felt.
Ha ha
I had a friend who liked Tridents so much that he had a T160 for summer use and a T150 as a winter bike.
Show off 😂
I had a Triton and the featherbed frame is the best handling machine I've ever riden
Nice
I have owned three of Triumph's Meriden built 750 twins, a 1977 TR7RV, a 1981 T140E and a 1983 TSX. I've also owned a T160V, but it wasn't a 750 when I bought it, original owner had installed a Norman Hyde 871cc big bore kit.
871
That’s cheating 😂
I had a second-hand 750 Bonneville bitsa. My dealer sold the engine from a TSS (the 8-valve-er) to a local club racer. He put a TSX engine into the rolling chassis and sold it to me. Not sure if it was standard on a TSX but I has a toothed-belt primary drive with a dry multi-plate clutch. My wife had a standard 750 Tiger and I have to say that the belt drive primary was a much smoother transmission.
I've only ridden, never owned two Bonnevilles and I have to say I was extremely jealous of the owners.
Long time since I owned one
Got my first British bike when i was 19 it was a great day dreamed of owning a triumph since i was taken for a ride on the back of one when i was 5.my Norton 750 commando and a 850 interstate were better bikes though bit heavier but loved that pre unit down for up box my favorite Brit bikes Simple’s rugged and fast enough .hi from New Zealand 🇳🇿
Nice
I do find the down for up box on my old BSA. Slick and very easy to use
I love it
Setting aside the big American V-twins for a moment, if you wanted a large road bike from Europe or Japan you capped out in/aaround 750cc. Nowadays road bikes can eclipse 2x, even 3x that size. Crazy....
Crazy and pointless really
To me at least
I remember in the nightys pulling up at the pub on my honda 250 superdream and the only place to park was beside a Norton cammando i felt so ashamed haha but the bloke was cool and complemented me on my bike. I think the Norton was beautiful and just a wow. Thanks for the great video brought back memories ☘️
There should be no snobbery amongst true bikers I like to think
I borrowed a superdream 250 and thought it a little underpowered for it's weight. My wife had the 400 superdream and that went like stink. A little faster in fact than my Honda 400/4.
Five you say? You had to make me think hard for all five. In the end I came up with 8:
750 Commando, 750 Bonny, 750 Tiger, 750 RE Interceptor II, 750 Trident, 750 Hurricane,
750 A70 BSA Lightning and 750 BSA Rocket 3😂😂😂
So did I
But 5 makes for a good video length
Rickman interceptor and Clyno by the way
Obviously I’m not saying there’s only 5🙄
I could have put 10 in were I trying
BSA V- twin and Norton Atlas
Shall I continue 😂😂
If you haven’t heard of Clyno
It’s in my video on military motorcycles
Nice selection. A bit longer than most of your 5 series. Don't mind not mentioning the -63 to -68 Atlas which was just an increased bore 650SS. Which was a stroked 600. That was an enlarged 500.
Well I did of course as part of the Commando story
In 1976 I bought triumph I owned it for 3 months b4 I sold it. I cant remember the model or if it was a 650 or 750. The only bike out of 44 that I have zero memory except hate😂
Oh dear 😂
It's almost criminal that the BSA management didn't get the triples to market much much earlier than the Honda 750. If I remember correctly, the Hinckley 750s were available as both Trident and Daytona guises.
It was rather dumb that they dragged their feet
Their was indeed a Daytona 750
Didn’t sell well at all unfortunately and their are a few out their
They make a bargain buy too
I have always thought 750 is the perfect split between weight and power.
Yes I believe that too
I bored a 750 Tiger.060 over and lived on it for a year!
Great informative video, my only suggestion for improvement here would have been to have road tested each of these glorious machines (i know that some of the camera shots are from a museum, so this would have bene difficult !).
The problem there is getting access to one to ride
Not always possible
Our test ride videos are completely separate
I loved the Rocket III, but damn, it started leaking oil!
Too many push rod tubes didn’t help
Yep My R3 will never rust..
😂
How about a video on the lighweight British Two strokes.
Done a couple previously I think but definitely worth a re visit no doubt
I hear u haven't ridden all of those , no other bike came even close to the Featherbed bikes in surefootedness !!t Even if hose all far better than the Japanese ones in that respect !
True but I’m happy with my A10
Handles just fine
And what I state in previous answer is that I don’t have them available to rest separately
Not that I’ve not ridden any of them at all
Although there is a danger about rose tinted specs being evident when ever the featherbead frame is mentioned
If the look at sag the thrust on 500 endurance race results from the period it’s not like the Nortons were Dominat
Fantastastic my Man. The best thing to come out of England were BSA. And my Ancestors!
😂
Nicely put
The BSA Rocket 3 engine plus the equivalent Triumph had the most glorious exhaust noise, simply gorgeous
Triples do have a truly inspirational exhaust note
Love these sound bite videos 😊
Thanks
Surely you could feature a R3 with the correct front brake!.
🙄
No because I had film of that bike
Does it actually matter that someone fitted a better break
Definitely not
It’s a story about engines not breaks after all 😂