Left : Restored Trident at Pukekohe with disc brakes and new pipes . Right : The author on first Trident in Auckland 1969 . Get the helmet .
largest market , changing the pipes and petrol tank to make the Trident look like a Triumph , or should I say a three-cylinder Bonneville . The dealers knew what their customers and the market place wanted . JAPANESE COMPETITION Historically , the Trident couldn ’ t have arrived at a worse time in the market place . In 1968 , a month after its launch , the Honda CB750 was unveiled . The CB750 featured a disc front brake , electric start , five-speed gearbox , overhead
cam shaft , slick styling , and it was cheaper than the Triumph . The Trident was as fast as the Honda in a straight line , and could outperform the Japanese bike with better handling , but the Honda was bristling with features which until then had been considered luxury extras , or seen only on works race bikes . Ironically it was on the race tracks of the world that the Trident , together with its sister the BSA Rocket , also a three-cylinder machine from the same source , showed their true colours .
Left : Tony Jefferies on Slippery Sam Isle of Man 1973 . Right : Paul Smart 33 , Ray Pickrell 34 , and Percy Tait 29 on factory Tridents 1971 .
72 KIWI RIDER