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ROAD TRIPLES GALLERY

Triples are not quite usual in the current motorcyclist production. Except Triumph and Benelli, no manufacturer uses this engine architecture. However a triple has a lot of advantages : torque at low revs like a twin, elasticity like a 4 cylinders, without missing out the compactness of the engine. And what a wonderful sound : A Triumph, a Laverda or even an old 2 stroke Kawasaki or Suzuki are unmistakable !
The 70's and the 80's were the glory years for triples. Road triples have proved its worth especially thanks to Kawasaki with the 500, 750, 350 and 400. Suzuki, as well as Motobécane tried to follow them. Triumph showed the Trident (and her twin sister, BSA Rocket 3) to counter the 750 Honda. Laverda built the sublimes1000 and 1200 triples. Unfortunately, Triumph like Laverda and Motobécane have got into liquidation. Because of anti-pollution standards, the 2 strokes Kawasaki and Suzuki have been abandoned for "ordinary" 4 cylinders 4 stroke at the end of the Seventies. Yamaha and BMW tried their luck with the XS 750 - 850 and K 75 in the Eighties, but these models, moreover very pleasant, were, unfortunately, not a very great success. One have been waiting the beginning of the Nineties to see the come back of triple worthy of the name: the TRIUMPH 900 TRIDENT
Nowadays, the harmonization is in fashion. Each Japanese manufacturer has having its 4 cylinders or its twin-cylinder (Ducati's aura has something to do with it, for the latter) declined in their hypersport, sport-touring, roadster or trail version. Riding a triple, is a little riding different


SUMMARY :

TRIUMPH / BSA
TRIUMPH (the revival)
KAWASAKI
SUZUKI
MOTOBECANE
YAMAHA
LAVERDA
BMW
HONDA
BENELLI
PETRONAS
STRANGE ONES
PROTOTYPES
ANCESTORS

Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics. Click on legends on yellow background for comments and technical datas.


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KAWASAKI


KAWASAKI 500 H1 MACH 3 - 69 KAWASAKI 500 H1 MACH 3 - 70 KAWASAKI 500 H1A MACH 3 - 71 KAWASAKI 500 H1B MACH 3 - 72 KAWASAKI 500 H1D - 73 KAWASAKI 500 H1F - 75 KAWASAKI KH 500 - 76
500 H1 /A /B "MACH 3" - 69-72 H1 D 500 - 73 H1 E/F 500 - 74-75 KH 500 - 76

KAWASAKI 250 S1 - 72-75 KAWASAKI KH 250 - 76 KAWASAKI 350 S2 - 72 KAWASAKI 350 S2A - 73 KAWASAKI S3 400 - 74 KAWASAKI KH 400 - 76
250 S1 - 72-75 KH 250 - 76 350 S2 / A - 72-73 S3 400 - 74 KH 400 - 76

THE STAR, THE MYTH !

KAWASAKI 750 H2 - 72 KAWASAKI 750 H2 - 72 KAWASAKI 750 H2 A - 73 KAWASAKI 750 H2 B - 74 KAWASAKI 750 H2 C - 75
H2
750 H2 / A / B / C - 72-75 WHAT A BEAUTIFUL
COLLECTION !
Gaaz !

ESSENTIAL TO ALL KAWASAKI TRIPLES FANS :


  KAWASAKI 3 cylindres 2 temps 1 légende written by Eric Breton and Laurent Gudin,
  1200 photos, 320 pages, Larivière editions, approximately 49 €.

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MOTOBECANE


MOTOBECANE 350 - 73 MOTOBECANE 350 - 73 MOTOBECANE 500 INJECTION - 75 INFORMATIONS,
ANECDOTES
ABOUT THE "TOBEC 350" :
MOTOBECANE 350
350 - 73 500 INJECTION - 75

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LAVERDA


LAVERDA 1000 3C - 74 LAVERDA 1000 3CL - 76 LAVERDA 1200 - 78 LAVERDA 1200 TS - 80 LAVERDA 1000 JOTA - 79 LAVERDA 1000 JOTA - 81
1000 3C - 74 1000 3CL - 76 1200 - 78 1200 TS - 80 1000 JOTA - 79 1000 JOTA - 81

LAVERDA 1000 RGS - 83 LAVERDA 1000 RGS CORSA - 84 LAVERDA 1000 RGS EXECUTIVE - 84 LAVERDA 1000 SFC - 85 LAVERDA 350 LESMO - 85 LAVERDA 350 LESMO - 85
1000 RGS - 83 1000 RGS CORSA - 84 1000 RGS EXECUTIVE - 84 1000 SFC - 85 350 LESMO - 85

ALL ABOUT THE LAVERDAS, THE REFERENCE PAGE :

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BMW


BMW K75 - 86 BMW K75 C - 86 BMW K75 S - 86 BMW K75 RT - 91 BMW K75 - 90
K75 - 86 K75 C - 86 K75 S - 86 K75 RT - 91 K75 - 90

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HONDA


HONDA MVX 250 - 83 HONDA NSR 400 - 84 HONDA NSR 400 - 85
MVX 250 - 83 NSR 400 - 84 NSR 400 - 85

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BENELLI


TORNADO TRE 900 LE - 2002 TORNADO TRE 900 LE - 2002 TORNADO TRE 900 LE - 2002 TORNADO TRE 900 LE - 2002 TORNADO TRE 900 BIPOSTO - 2003 TORNADO TRE 900 RS - 2004 TORNADO 1130S - 2007
TORNADO TRE 900 LE - 2002 TORNADO TRE 900 BIPOSTO - 2003 TORNADO TRE 900 RS - 2004 TORNADO 1130 - 2007
TnT 1130 - 2004 TnT 1130 - 2004 TnT 1130 Sport - 2005 TnT 1130 Café Racer - 2005 TnT 1130 Titanium - 2005 Tre-K 899 et 1130 - 2007
TnT 1130 - 2004 TnT 1130 Sport - 2005 TnT 1130 Café Racer - 2005 TnT 1130 Titanium - 2005 Tre-K 899 et 1130
- 2007

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PETRONAS


Petronas FP1 Petronas FP1 Petronas FP1 noir Petronas FP1 gris
FP1 900 - 2004

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STRANGE ONES


"GILERASAKI" 750

GILERASAKI 750 GILERASAKI 750 Tuning :
A 3 cylinders 750 Kawasaki H2 in a 125 Gilera KZ frame! A tuned engine: reed-valves, Ø34 Mikuni Power-jet carburettors, modified 7-port-cylinders, as well as an adapted exhaust. Result : 95 HP !
Seen on the site www.hahne-power.de

YAMAHA RD 3 CYLINDRES

YAMAHA RD 3 CYLINDRES A 3 cylinders Yamaha RD of unknown cubic capacity.
Seen on the site Kawasaki Triples Worldwide.com.
If somebody will have informations, ...!

FEULING W3

FEULING W3
FEULING W3
3 cylinders in W, air cooled, 2470 cm3 (101,6 X 101,6 mm), 150 HP, 25,5 mkg torque, 5 speed gear box, belt drive transmission, etc. Here is an original 3 cylinders, as per Jim Feuling, an American engineer. The idea was to graft a third cylinder on an Harley Davidson engine. Finally, only the Harley Davidson gear box is kept on this bike.
The price: 39500 $!!! (44 422 €)

STARTWIN THUNDERSTAR

STARTWIN THUNDERSTAR Here is a prototype from Holland, built by Star Twin a local Ducati, Benelli, Aprilia, MV, Cagiva dealer. It is a 1200 cm3 Turbo Diesel with direct injection 3 cylinders. At the moment, the engine delivers 70HP and a torque of 160Nm. Star Twin thinks being able to obtain 100HP and 250Nm. The crankshaft, the cylinder head and the system of fuel injection are of origin VW Lupo and the casings are house made. The cycle part is a tubular frame, a Moto-GP front fork and White-Power shock absorbers. This motor bike is in test.
The web page of STARTWIN.

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PROTOTYPES


ITALJET 900 GRIFON 2000

ITALJET 900 GRIFON 2000 Italjet, well-known for its small-engined bikes, had carried out in 1968 a 650 with a Triumph T120 engine. This is what the 2000's Grifon look like. This bike, with a Triumph 900 Trident engine, should have be built by Bimota. Their liquidation, probably, took this project to an end. Personally, I do not regret it !

LAVERDA 1000 1969

LAVERDA 1000 1969 Here is the prototype of the Laverda 1000 cm3 showed in Milan in 1969. It is only here an OHC engine, a kind of 750 with one more cylinder. This motor bike created sensation, but has been expected for a long time.

BSA ROCKET 3 SIMPLE ACT 1973

BSA ROCKET 3 SIMPLE ACT 1973 This BSA ROCKET 3 with a single overhead camshaft was showed at "Moto-Salon" 2000. This prototype was realized by the factory in 1973.

MUENCH 3

MUENCH 3 Münch-3 is a prototype with a 3 cylinders 2-stroke 700 cm3 engine which never was finished and, of course, never sold.

GUZZI W 3

GUZZI W 3 Guzzi Prototype 3 cylinders 992 cc engine by Lino Tonti in 1981/82 code : W 103.

LAVERDA

Laverda 900 prototype engine, carried out in 1998 before the buy-out from Aprilia. To note down, the compact size and the very modern design.

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ANCESTORS

WILLIAMS 876cc 1912-1916

WILLIAMS 876cc 1912-1916
WILLIAMS 876cc 1912-1916
- Conception : Prof. Newton Williams de Derby dans le Connecticut. - Conception : Prof Newton Williams from Derby Connecticut.
- Engine : Radial 3 cylinders of 876cc, 6 CH
- Wheelbase 152cm, Weight 91kg, Speed 89 km/h
The engine turns at the same time as the wheel. It was initialy conceived to equip a helicopter and then was adapted on a motor bike. It is equipped with three " valves ", the admission one is integrated into the piston, the exhaust one allows gases to leave through holes in the cylinder head and the third one controls the air-gas mixture. (By "valve", understand "port" rather than "valve").
4 prototypes were built, but apparently the bike was never marketed. Only one still exists, it belongs to Jim Dennie in New York.

Thanks to Daniel Dupont : (L'HISTOIRE DE LA MOTO)

SCOTT 1000 1935

SCOTT 1000 1935 Here is, in a way, the ancestor of the Kawasaki 3 cylinders 2 stroke. This famous English mark, well known for its innovative ideas, initially launched this bike in the form of a water cooled 750cc in-line machine. This was superseded by the 1000cc version. Unfortunately this motorcycle was never produced in large numbers due to the onset of the Second World War, coupled with dwindling business fortunes. Hence these Three cylinder machines are rarely seen today. This one is the property of the Birmingham Museum.

OLYMPUS SH 370 1962

OLYMPUS SH 370 1962 The lost japanese mark Olympus realized in 1962 this horizontal 370cc triple . It was derived from the 250 twins of the mark. This model did not have a commercial continuation.

GUZZI 1932

GUZZI 1932

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