1972 Triumph Trident

The 1972 Triumph Trident was a very handsome machine.  I love the looks of those conical brake hubs.  

1972 Triumph Trident Background & History

The 1972 Triumph Trident benefitted majorly from the 1971-and-later redux of the Oil-in-Frame 650 twins, which was adopted for 1971.  While the Trident didn’t get the oil-bearing frame, it got just about everything else.  Most notably, these included the new front forks with exposed stanchions, a new headlight, turn signals and gauge package, the megaphone mufflers and those great-looking conical brake hubs. All the bodywork was new also.  Overall, it made for a very handsome package.  Not much changed mechanically, other than typical yearly refinements.  The 1972 Triumph Trident T150 was turning into a fine machine.  Unfortunately, events would soon catch up to Triumph and the whole British motorcycle industry, what was left of it.  But, that’s another story.

For a great treatise on the struggles of Triumph and her Meriden factory, check out “Save the Bonneville: The Inside Story of the Meriden Workers’ Co-Op”.  It’s written by John Rosamond, who started out as a welder on the Triumph assembly line and ended up running the whole show.  It’s an important story to all British bike nuts, real history, and a great read.

The 1972 Triumph Trident engine was a thing of beauty, if you can call such a thing beautiful.  Triumph certainly knew how to style an engine.  BSA could have taken some lessons.

Big Trouble is Brewing

1972 Was a bad year for Triumph, BSA and whatever was left of the British motorcycle industry.  AMC (Associated Motor Cycles, not American Motors) collapsed in 1967.  They had owned Matchless, AJS, James, Francis-Barnett and the crown jewel, Norton.  The only company that survived was Norton, which was also the only one still making a profit.  It was snapped up by Manganese Bronze Holdings which wanted it for one reason and one reason only: The Norton Commando.  It was set to launch in 1968 so the timing couldn't be better.  The Commando saved Norton, at least for awhile.  And suddenly they looked strong enough to merge with former industry giant BSA in hopes of strengthening each.  Of course, BSA owned Triumph, which was the hottest brand in the British stable.  It seemed like a match made in heaven, but it was not to be. 

About the time BSA launched their all new for 1971 Oil-in-Frame Triumph and BSA 650s the deal with Norton was proposed.  Everyone had high hopes for the new bikes, enough hopefully to right the sinking ship.  Alas the sales never materialized.  And even if they had, the beleagered Brits wouldn't have had the manufacturing capacity to capitalize on it.   BSA was already so financially weak, and so badly managed that by the time the deal was wrapping up in 1972, BSA had closed its doors.  Now Norton owned their old rival Triumph and in 1973 they decided it would make better financial sense to close Triumph's legendary Meriden factory and move all Triumph production to Norton's own plant at Donington Park. The Triumph workers revolted, locking themselves in the factory and letting nothing enter or leave for almost the entire 1974 model year, which had already commenced at the end of 1973.  Hence there are almost no 1974 Triumph Bonnevilles in existence.  

However, this did not affect Trident production which, as always had been on the same production line as the BSA Rocket 3 at BSA's main plant in Small Heath.  So, depsite BSA being technically out of business, and no more Rocket 3s were produced after 1972, Triumph Trident production continued at Small Heath through the 1975 model year.  However, design and engineering remained within Meriden's sacred walls.  And some very impressive work was done during this era by the scrappy Brits, despite all the problems and a general lack of funds.  However, Trident production never capped 5,000 in a year, this at a time when Honda was building 1,000,000 bikes a year!  They built 50,000 CB750s in its introductory year, 1969.  In 1960 Triumph was the second-best selling motorcycle on the planet, second only to BSA, but now barely 10 years later they were being outproduced and outclassed technologically.  And they didn't have the money or the resources to do anything about it.  By the time Trident production wrapped up in 1975, the total number of Tridents and Rocket 3s combined was barely 27,500 or their 7-model year lifespan.  

1972 Triumph Trident gets a 5-Speed

Despite all the drama, improvements and further development continued unabated on the Trident and Triumph's other bikes still in production.  Midway through the 1972 model year the modified Quaife 5-speed gearbox was made standard and the model designation changed to reflect this.  The T150 became the T150V, the "V" being the Roman numeral for "5".  It made a huge improvement to the bike in many ways.  A lower starting ratio and a higher 5th gear gave the bike better overall performance while placing the gear ratios closer together than the old 4-speed it replaced.  The results were amazing.  It allowed riders to cruise at highway speeds at a lower RPM than before which did a lot to quell vibration, and also improved the abysmal fuel economy.  Other improvements were made, most quite minor, in the interest of durability and reliability.

As always, Triumph produced two slightly different motorcycles, one for the all-important US market, and one for the UK home market, which included exports to Britain's many colonies all over the world.  The Brits had different tastes and requirements than did t he Americans.  The UK-market versions had boxier fuel tanks with greater fuel capacity, and low handlebars, among other minor changes.  The Yanks wanted style and didn't care if they had to sacrifice fuel range to get it.  All US-market bikes got a much shapelier 'teardrop'-shaped tank and a capacity of around 3 US gallons, while the UK-spec tank carried about 4 gallons.  On a motorcycle that barely gets 30 MPG that's pretty important.  But who cared?  The teardrop tanks complimented the overall looks of the bike and US buyers loved the looks.  By this time, Triumph's reputation for oil leaks and poor reliability had set it, so it often came down to the gorgeous looks that sold Triumphs on the showroom floor.  US bikes also got taller handlebars and Yanks liked riding in an upright position compared to Brits of the day who liked to lean forward or even lay on the tank when riding.

This is the UK Home Market-version of the 1972 Triumph Trident.  Note that it retained the original 'shoe box' gas tank, came with low handlebars and a blade-type license plate on the front fender.

1972 Triumph Trident Specifications

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1972 Triumph Trident Books

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More Triumph Trident Pages

1969 Triumph T150 Trident

1970 Triumph T150 Trident

1971 Triumph T150 Trident

1972 Triumph T150 Trident

1973 Triumph T150V Trident

1973 Triumph X75 Hurricane

1974 Triumph T150V Trident

1975 Triumph T160 Trident

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