Four play

At first glance, of course you wondered ‘Why’s that Rocket 3 got Triumph badges?’ Then ‘Why’s the Rocket 3 got a T160 engine?’ Then ‘My goodness me…’ or something similar

BY THE TIME this prototype four-cylinder Trident- based machine superbike sneaked out of the experimental department at Kitts Green the British motorcycle industry had had it.

Yes, in 1974 the all-encompassing motorcycle industry in the UK was down to a handful of people grouped together by Manganese Bronze top lad Dennis Poore.

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Running under the mantle Norton Villiers Triumph, or NVT, Poore was attempting to salvage something out of the chaos and produce a viable company with its eye on the future.

That this was to be Norton based – and what happened when Triumph found this out – has been the subject of much writing over the past 40-odd years and is not within the remit of this piece.

Read more in April’s issue of CBG
 

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