There is no doubt that the Triumph Among other things, because only a little more than 1,000 examples of the model were manufactured and in this particular case, because the unit that we show you today and that has recently been sold, has barely 2,950 km traveled over the last 50 years.
Furthermore, it is in collectible condition, as the seller explained in the advertisement itself: “Everything on this motorcycle is original. The engine is original, as is the chassis, and every component of the motorcycle, from the forks to the carburetors, wheels and body, is exactly as it left the factory.”
Triumph X75 Hurricane in detail
The birth of the X75 Hurricane was preceded 5 years earlier by the official launch of the new Rocket 3 and Triumph Trident. At that time, BSA was beginning its commercial journey in the United States and Don Brown, the brand’s distributor in the country, resorted to the services of Craig Vetter, a young designer and manufacturer of pieces made with fiberglass.
The idea was to manufacture a body kit with which to reduce the final weight of the Rocket 3, also generating a sportier image of the original model. By 1969 the first prototype was presented. Despite the refusal of the brand’s head of design at that time, Bert Hopwood, who considered that the design was too modern to be put into mass production, the project would go ahead after appearing in the pages of Cycle World in September 1970 and enjoyed a great reception among the public.
Back to the original idea, Steve Mettam was appointed as chief engineer for that project, already under the tutelage of Triumph. The BSA Rocket 3 became the new Triumph X75 Hurricane, continuing with BSA’s tradition of naming its models after meteorological phenomena such as Cyclone, Lightning or Thunderbolt.
1,183 engines were reserved from those that were available at the BSA facilities to give life to this sports version that we show you today. Despite the brand’s efforts, this X75 was only on sale for one year, between late 1972 and 1973.
In the technical section, the X75 Hurricane kept the internal dimensions of 67 mm x 70 mm unchanged, although some changes were made to the cylinder head, seeking above all an aesthetic change, rather than a mechanical one. The cylinders were painted black and 3 concentric Amal carburetors of 27 mm pitch were mounted, achieving a power of 58 HP at 7,250 rpm.
In addition, the three side exhaust outlets were installed, which came directly from the Team BSA flat tracker competition bike, and the model was equipped with characteristic details such as a different instrument panel, Ceriani front fork, a false fiber tank, or a one-piece seat.
The brand now declared a final weight of 202 kilograms and its wheelbase was increased to 1,524 mm. Of the 1,172 units that were assembled, some of them mounted the 4-speed gearbox from the BSA A75, while others came to incorporate the 5-speed gearbox from the A75V. Regarding this recently auctioned specimen, its owner commented:
“Just like it was in the ’70s, except for the gasoline, oil, fuel lines and spare tires.”
With just 1,835 miles traveled, this unit was for sale in Villa Park, Illinois and was finally paid for $37,100. just over 35,500 euros.
