1969 BSA Rocket Three - 6-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1969 BSA Rocket Three - 6-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
BSA ROCKET THREE
Meet A Straightforward Swifty,
Motorcycling’s Answer To The Cadillac
SINCE THE 750-CC Rocket Three appeared on the market,
the complexion of BSA has changed considerably. It is
ruddier. Flushed with speed. BSA Inc. has begun issuing
“Speed-Grams” in a constant flow to dealers and the press.
Both BSA distributors in the U.S. are putting up S25.000 prize
money for speed records set by Threes at Bonneville. And
while they wait for Bonneville, they have not been idle. At
Laguna Salada, BSA dealer Roger Selby set an AFM produc-
tion class record of 123.28 mph. At Daytona, they put Yvon
du Hamel aboard one of the big three-cylinder machines and
set a new AMA one-hour record of 127.615 mph, as well as
breaking several other records. Yvon’s fastest lap around the
2.5-mile tri-oval averaged 131.790 mph. And a four-man team
set a four-hour record average of 117.545 mph, including pit
stops. Had BSA brought an FIM representative to Daytona,
they also could have claimed a world record for production
machines now held by Paul Dunstall.
How can one fail to get the point? The BSA Three—first
all-new big bore design to come from the English factory since
the introduction of the 441-cc Victor—is swift. It is not the
fastest machine ever to run through the CYCLE WORLD
Chrondeks at Riverside, but the record books make it quite
official. The Three is the fastest street-legal tourer running in
America.
Despite these impressive credentials, the Three is not a
competition-bred machine. It is more like a two-wheeled
Cadillac. It has lots of displacement, utilized in an efficient,
yet straightforward design. It is easy to ride, with the usual
four-speed gearbox, but its bulk and heaviness demand a
certain deliberativeness from the chauffeur. The Three may
have a brute aura about it, deriving from its unusual number of
cylinders and top-of-the-line price. But it starts more easily
than most Twins. The Three doesn’t even look like a racer. It
is quiet, in appearance and in fact. While city driving will seem
confining, because of weight and tall gearing, a rider will enjoy
the understated way it negotiates long distances. At 110 mph,
it is turning easily at about 7200 rpm (valve float occurs at
about 8600 rpm), and, even at that speed, the only thing to
offend the rider’s ears is the wind. As the BSA seems reliable,
and free of oil sweating or dripping, it is destined to assume its
place alongside the big V- and opposed Twins as the sort of
machine a cross-USA rider, or road rally buff would choose as
his trip-mate.
The design of the BSA Rocket Three, both engine and
chassis, is nearly identical to that of the recently introduced...
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