The styling of the first Triumph Trident in 1969 was both surprising ... and confusing . In fact , it didn ’ t resemble any Triumph that preceded it . The petrol tank was un-Triumph like , and the muffler had a sort of fish tail appearance and didn ’ t do anything helpful for the overall look of the bike . If the styling , the work of an independent industrial design group called Ogle Design , was questionable , the engine was a different matter . The T150 motor was strong and fast . The curious thing about the styling was that in 1965 a three-cylinder prototype motor was put into a 1965 Bonneville chassis and looked great . Why did the Ogle designers change it ? Were they not motorcycle people ? There were dealers in America , Triumph ’ s