Circulates throughout the world Established 1903

Classic camera - Record breaking, April 1969

The track was hired from April 2-5 and a team of three riders appointed; experienced Dick Mann, up and coming young Canadian Yvon Duhammel and Ray Hempstead.

The idea came from Brown’s service manager Herb Neas’s reckoning that the new BSA could do 130mph and was capable of sustaining a hot pace over many miles.

The Rocket was little modified from standard; the tyres were changed, handlbars swapped for flatter ones and the front mudguard removed. Otherwise, it was claimed, the BSA remained standard, with even silencers in situ.

With Duhammel (pictured) in the saddle, the 740cc three lapped the Daytona Speedbowl at 131.790mph, while the team of three riders managed to maintain a 124.141mph average for 200 miles. Other records were set too.

It was great publicity for the new model and established a ‘myth’ that the BSA was quicker than its Triumph sibling, meaning Rocket 3s outsold Tridents in that first year.