Did you see these other Classic features? EUROPEAN TWINS
BRITISH TWINS
Angus Scott was one of the great motorcycle
innovators. As early as 1897 he had patented
a form of caliper brake, rotary induction
valves, and the first motorcycle kick-start.
Scott died at the age of 48 in 1922, a few
years after his motorcycles had won two
Isle of Man Senior TTs in 1912 and 1913.
The first two-stroke, 746cc, liquid-cooled
triple was built in 1934. The capacity was later
increased to 996cc. The machine weighed
222kg and had a top speed of 159km/h.
Very few 3S models were built, and the
growing popularity of parallel twins, and
the advent of the Second World War, put an
end to production. The engine did however
surface briefly in 1959 for marine use. When, paradoxically, Edward Turner, the prime
exponent of parallel twins with his ground
breaking pre-War Triumph Speed Twin, visited
Japan in 1960 he returned with new ideas on
how to counter the might of the Japanese
factories. Bert Hopwood and Doug Hele then
designed a three cylinder engine for Triumph
in 1965. The Trident Triple was released in
September 1968, a month Honda’s CB750.
The Trident was as fast as the Honda in
a straight line, and could outperform the
Japanese bike with its better handling,
but the Honda was bristling with features,
which until then had been considered
luxury extras, seen only on works race
bikes. The Superbike era had begun.
MV Agusta 500cc triple 1970
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