THREE. IS A MAGIC NUMBER.
Well, it has been for Triumph. Three may be an odd number but Triumph sales have been pretty magical in the last couple of decades and a lot of this success is thanks to their inline triple cylinder engines. Not all three cylinder bikes have had their cylinders in a line though. When Honda came to their senses in 1983 and ditched their four-stroke NR500 Grand Prix bike in favour of a two-stroke, they decided a V3 engine was the way to go. Although down on power compared to the competition’s four-cylinder machines, the compact V3 NS500 handled well enough for ‘Fast Freddie’ Spencer to win the championship on it in the bike’s debut year.
The handling benefits of the lighter, more compact machine were illustrated when Honda ditched the V3 NS500 in favour of a V4 in 1984. Sure, the new NSR500 had plenty of power, but it took Honda and the best development riders in the world a full season to sort out the chassis. The inherent compactness and agility of triple powered
bikes that Honda gambled on in 1983, had clearly paid off. But in typical unfathomable Honda style, they released the MVX250 and NS400 two-stroke triples, at exactly the time they were nailing their racing flag to V4s. Still, the sublime handling offered by Triumph’s Street Triple and Daytona 675 have enabled the British brand to dominate in their respective classes in recent times. So much so, other European and Japanese bike makers have felt the need to introduce three-cylinder bikes in an attempt to compete with the Brits.