After falling in love with the Triumph Bonnevilles as a kid, I made a trip to the local Triumph dealership – H&H cycle on Vine Street in Eastlake Ohio. There on the floor were three or four rows of gleaming British vertical twin machines. But then I noticed something different. Three of the bikes had three exhaust pipes coming out of the front of the engine. On further inspection, I noticed many differences between these three cylinder bikes and the more common two cylinder bikes.
For one, the three cylinder bikes were wider and longer and more imposing. I also noticed that the three cylinder machines had a completely different look. All of the British twin cylinder motorcycles from the 50s and 60s- Triumphs, BSAs, Nortons, and Royal Enfields, which sold in large numbers, all had a certain common style. Organic teardrop shaped headlamps and gas tanks leading back toward rounded side covers and seats. The exhaust headers connected to so-called “pea shooter” exhausts that tapered into a single cylindrical outflow pipe. The three cylinder machine that I was looking at, called the Triumph Trident, were less elegant but much more purposeful. The green tank was larger and more squared as where the side covers. The three header pipes found their way back to a triangulated exhaust with three small gun barrels is the final outlet. I found out later that these were named “Ray gun “exhausts – a reference to Flash Gordon in the science fiction comics. The novelty of this look completely captured my imagination.
Soon after that I saw my first BSA Rocket Three. This was BSA’s version of the three cylinder motorcycle. Somehow, the look of this motorcycle was even more impressive than the Triumph Trident. With its gorgeous candy apple red paint and unique front fender pointed like an arrow in the front, it proclaimed “I am the future of high-performance motorcycling”. Indeed, its magazine advertisements featured only a hand on a throttle grip with the words “how to go 132 mph” and a small picture of the BSA Rocket Three in the corner. Because sex always sells – another of the magazine advertisements of that time period showed a Carnaby Street blonde model laying seductively across the top of the motorcycle. Another advertisement showed the motorcycle from the rear with the ray gun exhausts pointing at the viewer, while the motorcycle itself pointed toward the same blonde model standing seductively on a beach at sunset. The caption under the ad said “there’s never been anything like it before”. Indeed, there hadn’t been. That was until the Honda 750 four cylinder motorcycle came out within months of the BSA Rocket Three’s introduction. Two years later the BSA Rocket 3, ridden by racing legend Dick Mann, won the Daytona 200 race, the biggest race of the season in American motorcycling. It was the last major motorcycle race ever one by a British motorcycle manufacturer.
The 1969 BSA Rocket Three was a very expensive motorcycle for its time – nearly $2,000.00. One could buy a wonderful automobile for that much in those days. As none of my friends had such a motorcycle, I never rode one then-I could only imagine what it was like. Fast forward 30 years and having moved to California I went to my first classic motorcycle show at the Santa Monica Airport. There, prominently featured in the line of classic machinery was a brilliant candy apple red 1969 BSA Rocket Three with gleaming chrome ray gun exhaust, large and purposeful squared off “breadbox” gas tank, and all the promise of 132 mph! This was a particularly original example with only 6000 miles on the odometer. Other than one repaint, it retained all of its original pieces in shockingly excellent condition. As I walked around the show the rest of the afternoon I kept looking back at the BSA to see if the owner could be found. Finally, late in the day, I saw two men standing near the motorcycle, obviously talking about it and pointing out some features. I approached the man and asked if one of them was the owner. It turned out that one was the owner, a Hollywood producer that had an entire hanger full of classic motorcycles in addition to a couple of airplanes and classic cars. He said this was his favorite motorcycle and had no interest in selling it. After talking about the merits of the bike I was able to get his phone number before we parted ways.
For several years I pursued purchasing the motorcycle from the owner without success. I put it on my calendar to call him every six months and still had no success. I found other examples, though they were rare-but they did not approach the quality of the one I wanted. One day at my office I received a call from the owner. He said he had to liquidate a significant percentage of his collection immediately in order to fund his latest movie project. I had to get a cashier’s check to him within 24 hours to purchase the BSA and additionally a 1969 Triumph Bonneville. Persistence pays off – I was more than thrilled!
A few days later I finally took my first ride on a BSA Rocket Three. A beautiful sunny Southern California Saturday morning I went through some basic maintenance and then was ready for my first ride. Starting the motorcycle, I immediately noticed the unique engine sounds and exhaust note. With an extra pair of pushrods, rocker arms and intake and exhaust valves, there was a lot more mechanical sounds going on. The ray gun exhausts emitted a beautiful melodious sound at idle. Clicking it into gear I got the feel for the bike in the first 10 to 15 minutes noting that its long wheelbase gave it a wonderful stability through long “sweeper” turns. Nevertheless, it turned in nicely as well in tighter corners. Its heavier weight seemed to disappear at speed. I finally decided to try a couple of miles on the freeway. I was finally able to open up throttle that I had seen in advertisements 30 years earlier! Off idle, it accelerated with authority. But then everything changed – at 3000 RPM the Rocket Three started to open up and breathe. Under hard acceleration it was now screaming like a banshee! It’s mellowness at idle gave way to an eruption of guttural screams and amazing acceleration! It was almost like this prim and proper British gentleman had lost his civility and left everything behind in a cacophony of mechanical engine sounds and a satanic exhaust note!
The BSA Rocket Three is one of those classic machines that I never rode as a young man, but the experience of which matched the memory of my anticipation of what it would be like. Each ride that I take on this machine satisfies that early dream. One good thing about having to wait 30 years is that I have no desire now to test whether it’s capable of 132 mph. I am alive today to prove it!