Reception
The prototype triples had a classic "Triumph look" with a rounded tear-drop tank. However, BSA/Triumph commissioned OGLE design company to create a "modern new look," this redesign leading to an 18 month delay. The result was a squarer fuel-tank and a less traditional BSA/Triumph look, and the BSA was given sloped cylinders and 'RayGun' silencers.
The Rocket 3 / Trident was introduced in the summer of 1968 to critical acclaim, but only four weeks later it was upstaged by the introduction of the Honda CB750. Compared to the British triple, the more sophisticated CB750 had a five-speed gearbox, overhead camshaft, oil-tight engine, electric start and disc brake. The Honda outsold the Triumph in the target USA market, and in 1970, in a bid to revive sagging sales, Triumph restyled export versions with the original ‘classic’ look.
When, in 1968, the new triples were shown to the American BSA-Triumph management, they were disappointed. They knew Honda had a bike coming along, and felt the price of $1,800 (£895) was too high and technical details (like vertically-split crankcases and pushrod OHV valve train were far from "cutting edge." However, they acknowledged that the bike was fast, and the USA sales team decided to launch of the bike by using a Rocket-3 to set some records at Daytona, (records which were only broken in 1971 by the Kawasaki Z1).
Read more about this topic: BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion.... Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)