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Up for sale in New Zealand on Trademe. What a beauty.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=649736823

How Triumph went under with bikes like this, I will never fully understand. Please don't bother explaining to me the bad management, the impact of the 69 750 Honda, the proliferation of too many separate unions in one factory, the advent of socialism in GB, etc, etc, ad nauseum, I was, paying attention to current events at the time.

http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/classi...x#axzz2gY8MDjrr


this recons it was a better bike than the Honda. OK this is about the T150 but not much difference I beleive.

Perhaps I can answer your question.....
In those days (I was there) the most common advert for a Trident usually concluded with the words "rod through crankcase"
sorry

Al

read somewhere that outside of the UK NZ has the most old triumphs still running. Probably true as they were suited to the roads and climate. ie. bloody cold. The T150 suffered from oil pressure problems and not seen as the most reliable of machines. The T160 had a improved oil pump and lubrication system but still not over popular. Maybe the T150 had put a lot off. Had a mate with the T160 when I was a young Diesel mechanic and we were always working on it! Give me a 69 Trophy or suchlike any day!!!!

I never had enough money for a triple in those days, and all I could do was lust after them. Like some women, the fantasy is much better than the marriage I guess.

I traded in a '66 BSA A65 Lightning for a brand new '71 A75 Rocket 3 because none of the Honda dealers in my area(SoCal) were interested in my Lightning as a trade-in for a new CB750 and the bike I REALLY wanted instead. Yeah, I could see the writing on the wall that the British motorcycle industry was on its last legs by that time.

And, just past the time my new bike's one year warranty expired and with as I recall no more than maybe 7,000 miles on the odometer, a valve lifter sheared off inside the Triple's engine and caused major internal damage.

The BSA dealer from whom I purchased the bike told me he was sorry but getting BSA to even reimburse him for bikes with "legitimate" warranty service claims was getting harder every day, and that he would have to charge me for the rebuild.

Being all of 21 y/o at the time and having little money for that, I ended up having to rebuild the engine with the help of a friend and a Chilton motorcycle manual, AND purchasing out of my own pocket a new set of lifters, a new cylinder barrel, all three new pistons, rings and a few other odds and ends. Luckily, none of the valves were bent, and so I was able to use the top end valve train.

(...just thought I'd relay MY experiences with the early British Triples...which btw as some here may know, the Triumph T160s were actually powered by BSA A75 Rocket 3 engines)