Description
BSA Rocket 3 740 cc – 1968 – PDF Download
Racing power with garden-party manners, an iron hand in a velvet glove – such is the dream of many a connoisseur. In the 740 cc Rocket 3, BSA translate the dream into reality. Its 58 bhp is a level of power· that any road racer bar those with factory support would give his eye-teeth for.
Naturally, with just about every mod con you could wish for, the Rocket 3 weighs half as much again as a 500 cc racer. Yet its eager engine provides shattering acceleration and a top whack, with the rider tucked in as much as possible, of more than two miles a. minute. And all with no more than a pleasant drone from the six tail pipes.
At the opposite end of the performance scale, the bike will rustle through 30 mph limits in top gear, sounding for all the world · like a well-oiled sewing machine.
At both extremes, thanks to the 240-deg firing intervals and the rubber cush-drive in the clutch sprocket, the power is delivered with great silkiness. Moreover, the 120-deg crank spacing gives a degree of engine smoothness which, while ·not perfect, is a considerable improvement on parallel-twin standards.
An acceleration graph as steep as the one in this report is a delight to any enthusiast’s eye. Sampling that sort of sustained get up and go, in all its seeming effortlessness, is the greatest thrill in the Rocket 3’s repertoire.
The magic ton come up in less than 14s. Even with the rider sitting bolt upright at the high rise handlebar with a pillion passenger behind him 105mph maximum after a 95mph change into top gear, is reached in a breathtakingly short time.
