At 77 years old , l got a 2020 Kawasaki W 800 Cardinal Red Retro Street…..it looks like half 1958 Road Rocket and half Triumph 110 …it’s a work of Art….I passed my bike driving test 61 years ago.

Summer of 1972; I used to hang out at a local BSA/Triumph/Bridgestone motorcycle dealer, I was 17 at the time and had a real Jones going for the '72 Rocket Three sitting in the showroom (was identical to the one in this video, I'm in the US). I'd always loved British bikes and wanted to buy one as soon as I was 18 (Mom and Dad wouldn't sign for me to get one as a minor). I turned 18 at the end of that summer and was hoping and praying that the Rocket would still be there, it had languished in the showroom for several months. Sale price was $1800. There were also a new Lightning, and a new Bonneville, both with the oil in the frame and modernized looks. I hated how they looked and wasn't interested in either one, I really wanted the Rocket Three, but it was just out of my reach financially, and insurance was going to be high. No matter, it sold about two weeks before my birthday, and the dealer wasn't getting any more of them. My fallback, the one I ended up buying, was a new '72 Daytona 500. Triumph had not "upgraded" the classic look on the smaller bike; I loved the looks, it still sounded great, and in all honesty, I would probably have killed myself on the Rocket. I really came to love that twin, and did several long trips on it over the next couple of years, before I got the yearning for something faster. I'll always have a place in my heart for the British Twin because of that bike.

I like your funny name and reason for same. Best old boys T Shirt I have seen is: "This nap is not going to take itself"! - does that make sense the older we get? sure does

I miss my Triumph Trident. With Dunstall pipes the sound was incredible.

I have an x-75, nothing feels or sounds like these British triples. Thanks for the ride along.

I’ve owned two triples. They appear to be a simple engine but actually are very tricky to put together properly.

The name is right on too. That BSA was a rocket. It's a Lightning with a big kick in the pants fast. Right on, sound was glorious with straight pipes. Man, do I miss the 60s. Thanks for bringing back memmories.

Thanks so much.Absolutely gorgeous.I'm 74 and have lived in Madrid for the last 46 years, but I well remember my youth and all the great Brit blkesSo nice to see you chaps maintaning these "Glorys" Jeep well and all the very best.Graham

Being a Derby lad, my early motorcycling years were blessed by watching the great John Cooper riding his works Rocket 3 to glory...

I love the faith Dave has in the brakes, "use your heels use anything" that takes me back to the good old days when people and the police weren't to precious.

Paradise, riding a Rocket 3 on a beautiful day, on a curvy road!

Somebody should sponsor Allen Millyard to turn a modern Royal Enfield 650 into a 1L 3pot.

I know what you mean about the brakes,a friend brought his gs 1000 over to visit me on the IOM took it for a couple of quick spins, fell in love with the brakes,what an eye opener light years ahead of the old clunkers I was used to.

I love the twin leading shoe vented front brake

That does sound brill ! I live in Wisconsin and I packed in biking last year (again !) (Kawa 1000)... Climate is awful coz its either pouring sweat 95 degrees (F) with mosquitoes, or MINUS 30F (62 below freezing). The roads are flat and grid pattern (no bends). The other bikers are harloids and strut (waddle) around making out they are tough. I passed my bike test in Harrogate in March 1964 and Tampa Florida in 2008... Brit bikers complain about the rain but the rest of it in da yookay is top banana !

Full screen - and I was back on my bikes in the 70s. I lent my Honda 750 K2 to a friend and in turn, he lent me his Rocket 3 for the day and off we went. He was determined to dislike my K2 and I was equally determined to dislike his BSA; but at the end of the day, we both came back with a different point of view. Happy days and thanks for sharing this.

You talk about the 70s bike which I never saw. We had a 3 cylinder bike here in the States in 69. My pictures of it were destroyed way back in a break in and vandalization that took place. Those bikes weren't around long. A one year thing I believe. Yes, the bike you are videoing is a complete different animal than what we had. It looked just like the 69 Lightning but with three cylinders-hence the name Rocket Three. Triumph then revived it after BSA went bust.

That is beautiful music! My oldest brother had one in Australia. Always wished it had stayed in the family

Clearly remember Percy Tait, who recently died, on the works racing Triumph Triple which sounded superb and he rode very competitively.

I had the last BSA ever produced. It was an A65 Lightning, with small tank. It had been exported to California, and I reimported it in bits. Then found it had a special engine and frame number, indicating it was the last of the last. I sold it into North Wales. R

My mechanic in Michigan let me ride a '69 Rocket 3 that he had. Set out to go around the block but was gone for good while as it was totally captivating ride. Always liked the Buck Rogers exhaust with the "bread box" tank myself.

Nice bike, great sound!

I remember taking a friend's Triumph Trident for a spin. I loved it. Not too many years later I bought a 1977 Triumph Bonneville, and it too was fantastic. Great memories.

I've not seen an R3 that looks like that before, what an eyeful of a bike! Glorious sound with an obvious love of revs' Lovely.

I had one 1972 Rocket 3 I miss that bike

My first visit to the Manx was in 2012, after buying tickets for the pits grandstand, the howl of the Honda 4s at full throttle was almost ear splitting, MV 3s were loud, but not harsh, we heard something much different coming our way, on full chat, a beeza Rocket 3, what an awesome sound, we didnt have long to wait when a second beeza 3 , again on full chat flew past in an orchestral whaling yowl, best way I could describe it, I believe one of the bikes was an Australian team.

I had 3 Tridents and sold one to a guy in New Zealand. Still have the 71 Trident and I noticed the same front brake as the Rocket Three. They are wonderful bikes, sound different from the twins and are a lot of fun to ride. I also put an electronic ignition on the bike. One kick after you tickle the carbs. Still have the Amal carbs. Have other English bikes so I am used to them. No complaints about the bike. Like the 75 Trident which was actually a BSA with 5 speed and electric start. People tell me I can install the electric start on the Trident. Will just put up with one kick instead of modifications to install electric start. Take care and ride on.

For me,the best looking of all the Rocket 3's and Tridents. Stunning.....and then the sound 😲

1969 R3 with RAYGUNS!😍

My brother in-law: "Why are you watching boring videos of just engine noises?" Me: "Sshhh. She is singing."

I had a 1972 A65L and was so ugly so put a tank from one of these 1971-72 A75's on it. If I had an A75 would attach a 1973-83 Triumph T140 front end for the disk brake like I did on my '72 Lightning. You can also buy e-start kits and convert to 5 speed to end up with T160 specs. (A very few A75's had 5 speeds) I actually own a T160 with an 850 kit (lots of torque) and PWK carbs and Boyer ignition but have spent a small fortune on it and have had to spend 20 hrs of wrenching for every hour of riding. Leaks oil from several places, not a lot but enough to stain the chrome on the exhaust. Maybe I will put one of those chrome tanks on it. The clutches on the 1968-76 Triumph and BSA triples can be a nightmare.

Bought a 1972 Trident from a buddy. He’d made it into an 867 with Routt barrels, put clip ons and rear sets, Jardine 3-1 header, with Dunstal quarter fairing on it. A totally awesome ride. Very quick and fast for the day. I put it back to cosmetically close to stock, and sold it to a collector friend when my kids were young. A friend of mine in Kamloops Fire Rescue, had the identical bike to this one. They were wonderful! (Note to younger folks, Trident cylinders were vertical while the BSA triples were slanted 23* forward.)( except the later Craig Vetter designed triumph which used the BSA engine)…..😉

Absolutely fantastic, gorgeous and the sound...!!!

Well that's nice to see i had the same bike new in 1971 but with a white frame and orange and crome tank. I put other exhaust on the bike With three little pipes on the end That sound was incrideble. I had more three cyl the trident and built one with a rickman frame Now i am 70 and have a thruxton 1200 r Stil like the style of a british bike.

I had a 1955 A10, a 1967, BSA 250 C 15 and a 1969 BSA, a 65 thunderbolt and always wanted a rocket three, but never quite got there…. Gorgeous rare motorbikes….

Loving your choice of bikes, and the no bs comentry, kiwi

This bike does sound fantastic indeed.

Beautiful bike in a lovely summer scenery 😎👍🏻

💥 Both Triumph and BSA in 68 - 72 Had Impressive Looking Fuel Tanks💥

WHAT A SOUND!!!! Magnificent

Nice video, thanks for uploading. As a BSA man (owner of a 1952 A7 Star Twin) always fancied a go on a Rocket 3. This video makes me want it even more.

"Sunlight on chrome The blur of the landscape Every nerve aware...." - Neil Peart

Best sound of any classic british bike,love it.

The BSA and Triumph triples were a gift from England to the world. I never owned one, but I did buy a new Bonneville. The triple was just too expensive for this young dad with 3 cute rug-rats depending on me!

Hi from New Zealand. I was 13 when the Rocket 3 came out and it HAS to be the best sounding bike ever. 10 yars ago and I saw the first one i had seen for years and the rider pulled up for a coffee, we talked and when he left I asked him to Give it a rap, and he did, bloody purring it was. Such a great sound, gotta be the GOAT.

A mate of mine in Wales has a Rocket 3 sitting in his living room. Never registered, never ridden, zero miles on the clock and like a brand new showroom machine.

Best sound I ever heard was the Rob North framed triples breathing out 3 into 1 megaphones in NASCAR turns 3 and 4 at Daytona.

I'm still in love with the BSA Lightning and love the sound that comes from those twin pea shooters. I have a friend who owns 47 motorcycles most are BSA's and Triumphs, He owns six or seven BSA Rocket III and six or seven Triumph Tridents. He also has several Triumph TRX's that I never heard of until I met this guy. He also has a MV Augusta, a six cylinder Benelli, a couple Harley Davidsons, Excelsior/Henderson, Indian Chief, and many others. The Indian and a couple of the Bonnevilles have been professionally restored and they are beautiful. But the one that tickles my fancy is still the 1966 BSA Lightning.

Yes it is, I had a couple of tridents in the day and even the tappet rattle trilled me, particularly on the overrun Not an easy engine to keep tuned and serviced but what a feel, what a sound , a little like a Le Mans winning jag xk on song.

The best sounding Trident I ever owned had a straight through 3 into 1. Had to be very careful starting it outside the girlfriend’s house late at night. Use to push it down the road and annoy her neighbours!

I love the premise and content of your channel. Subbed!

Without a doubt one of the best sounding bikes ever, this is the reason Triumph have kept the threes going! My Brother in Law and his mate purchased a Triumph 750 Trident Rickman oil in the frame, with a three into one and a letterbox fairing in the 80s/90s, they raced it mainly in the North west, and I had the luck to give it a wallop a couple of times, mainly on private roads, as you can imagine with the 3 into 1 and an open pipe it sounded amazing.

Ah that sound! The handling was also terrific

Watched it again, all the way through. I loved the sounds and the commentary, but the countryside was awesome! You don't get close villages and hedges in NZ, more open wide roads, better visibility and open corners to enjoy. Have been in UK twice, need to enjoy some of Wales and Shropshire next time!! Typical old BSA/Triumph engine thrash and clash noise but brilliant exhaust! Thanks. The bike looked gorgeous.

3 is a magic number! I love my BMW K75S. After 50 years of mostly British bikes, these K bikes are classics you can thrash to Scotland and back.

Heavenly bike, roads and weather. The end music is great too!

I had to stop the video briefly because of envious sickness . The sound and looks were totally overwhelming. I was 14 back in 1972 wonderful bikes back then. Great to see this Beautiful bike, thank you.

I've never had the chance to ride a triple, but they sound great, and it's nice to ride vicariously, along with you. Thanks for these videos! I just closed the shipping on a 750 Triumph, so I'm riding high right at this moment!

Snoring and acceleration too nice! An icon of UK motorcycle construction.

I purchased a new 75 Trident in about 77. It being a leftover. I got it for $1995.00 US. The point that sold me on it was the sound. Nothing in the bike world at that time sounded like it. I used to think it sounded a lot like a Ferrari. Unfortunately I was young and it soon slipped out of my hands with low miles and looking showroom fresh. That bike was smooth, fast ( for it's time, I saw 125+ several times), and handled good. It was however, heavy compared to my Bonnies I previously had owned. I had a 69 T120 with Bob Chantland 750 aluminum barrels and "R" cams that was just as fast and handled better. Sure wish I had them back now.

Wonderful video, thanks very much.

I think that same Twin leading shoe front brake was on my brothers' 650 Lightning setup as a Cop bike in NZ (late 60's 1970 odd), with the oblong greenish tank, you really had to pull on the brakes and then they were all or nothing - had a tendency to tighten and give suddenly good braking! Thanks for the vids and especially the sounds!! Don't mind the music either :) Graeme

A great narritive by the owner and your "Isle of Man" ride along, was a desperate video game for me. As an American I was muscle memory twitching for the brake and twisting back a damn throttle! You've no "side of the road" there... Yet I will enjoy every of your videos! I purchased a Norton 750 Commando new in 1972 and wish to do the same with a used Triumph, Norton or Guzzi as you provide the most excellent research. Thank You, Lemon Drizzle Gang

I'm always amazed at how many export models made their way from the USA and Canada back to the UK. If you're buying one make sure it was shipped to the US or Canada.

this wasnt the first multi, we had the square four in the beginning didnt we ?

In my opinion the 1975 Triumph T160V Trident, with the euro spec handlebars, is the best looking motorcycle ever made! Love the howl of that three cylinder!

Fantastic video.

When I had one of these in 1972 (ish) I put a Trident front end on it, complete with disc brake - what a difference! Also, I heard your reference to Richard Darby at 3D Motorcycles in Wolverhampton. Amazingly, about thirty odd years ago he was a really good mate of mine & we lost touch. I now have his contact details so I will give him a bell. Thanks so much for that.

Triumph triple sound in full flight - so cool!

The reason that I have a (Triumph) triple now is because back in 1975 I heard a Rocket3 with open pipes roaring through Bristol, with the sound echoing off the tall buildings...

Lovely video just subscribed keep it up

One of the most beautiful bikes ever built!!

That is one beautiful bike.

Theres so many good bikes out there... just gotta piece them all back together lol

There SHE is! Thank you very much!♥️

I really need to get my Triumph Trophy TR6 going....these rides look amazing.

We had a ‘71 R3 back in the day. Glorious sound. You didn’t mention what happens when you get to 4000 rpm and it takes off like a….Rocket! Caught me out the first time I rode ours. That grab bar at the back is your last hope to stay on 😺

Back in the 70's I had a chopped BSA gold flash & my friend had a Triumph Trident with a turbo charger on it. after a brisk ride at night the exhaust used to glow red hot on that Trident. Sadly it was too much for him. But we did have some great rides together (not that I could ever keep up with him).

Beautiful

Rocket 3 and Triumph trident 160 ah yes

Enjoyed that thanks for taking us on the ride. I have a genuine 72 R3 UK model. I converted my front end to a twin disc set up and AP racing brake calipers transforms it. I have a front conical hub twin leading brake on my B50 the bike only weighs about 300Lbs, you are right it works great on lighter bikes. 👍

Bloody glorious!

Wonderful!

Great vids. Give it some wellie.

Sounds like my Hurricane x75,lovely.

These Gang videos are so cool. Thanks for the work and presentation. The possibility of translating subtitles is very important for us who know English poorly. We are no longer old enough to assimilate thousands of words with their regional derivations and slang. As you are producing at this moment, I consider the quality of the translated material to be very expressive, in this case the subtitles. I am so grateful for all this! Congratulations on top quality work. SHOW!

Early CB 750 with the HM300 pipes for me. But the old Brit bikes are pretty too.

Very nice machine

For the static sections have you thought of going up on the Long Mynd where the glided station is or up on the hills at the Ponderosa cafe near Llangollen? When the suns out and the sky is blue it’s gorgeous scenery. Although on a weekend it does get busy

Not bad for a stopgap bike born out of frustration. The story goes Hopwood and Hele had tried to get the brass at BSA to allow them to build a muliti cylinder muliti valve modern engine for the future, but each time they tried to build a new bike they got knocked back, so Doug Hele decided to build an engine out of one and an half speed twins, the logic being that BSA already had the tooling and would give the bike the go ahead. Unfortunately this was not to be the the case and BSA once again said no, fast forward five years and BSA had just embarked on a massive reorganisation of Smallheath and the development of an entire new range of motorcycles based on a modular construction. The news that Kawasaki and Honda were building a big bike meant BSA needed something new before the arrival of their new crop of bikes., and that is when Doug Hele’s triple finally got the go ahead. Unfortunately in 1971 BSA/Triumph missed or had too few bikes to sell in the all important but very short US selling season. This would lead to a massive financial crisis and in turn attract the attention of the sharks and fraudsters and this great British engineering company was no more.

My pick of the classic bunch ))

Those were the days.....😀🏍🏍

Ah yes, the comical hub front brake. I got really ticked off with the one on my T-Bolt, which as you say was shite even after I'd welded extra length on the arms. Blancmange or wood depending on the cloud cover. Later Bonnie forks and a disc brake restored confidence. The jury's out on whether I like the twin or triple zorst note better.

It’s a TRIUMPH.

The Rocket 3 with the raygun silencers is even better sound,these and the Tridents of the 1970's were the best sounding bikes of the century.

The BEST thing I ever did to my 69 Trident was install a 5 speed gearbox out of a '73, that enabled me to run a 22 tooth front sprocket and a 46 rear. With light weight valve train components & Carrillo rods it runs up to 9,000RPM!

Wow Cool, 2 videos in succession guys riding triples in the Sunshine!! and in England!! Amazing. Except for the hedges right up to the road, you guys could be riding in Horstraylya.😁 And what do you know, Ive got a restored '71 CB750 and a mint '74 T150v. If I park them next to each other, they start to rumble.

this brings back memories I had a grey framed one these selling it was the stupidest thing I ever did

Glorious bsa glorious Shropshire!

It does sound nice.