Earliest three?

Sorry, and all that, but this grew out of the other thread....

Who made the earliest three-cylinder bike?

I was amazed to discover today that Scott made a few water-cooled 750cc
and 1000cc triples:

http://www.scottownersclub.org/scott_motorcycle_history.htm

I had no idea, and I've never seen one. Can't find a pic either, though
I haven't googled that hard.

Me like triples. Me especially like two-stroke triples, and of all the
firms that have made 'em, I can't think of a duff one.

Anyway, can anyone find an earlier one that the Scott? And how about
four-strokes? Or was the Trident the first?

 

There were four stroke triples racing GP before WW2.

AJS?

 

writes

There was one in the Sammy Miller museum last time I was there. Not sure
the Scott triples ever made it into production - I've got Jeff Clews'
history of Scott on the bookshelf so I really should make time to read
it & find out

Come to think of it there was a barking mad flat radial engined thing at
the Sammy Miller museum - it might have had 3 cylinders.

Hmm, Wonder what the Laverda two-stroke would have been like - it never
made it beyond a prototype.

Never ridden a 2-smoke triple. Really should blag one someday.

Hmmm, so who all has made a four-stroke triple? Triumph/BSA, Yamaha,
BMW, Laverda & Benelli - any others?

 

No, I was thinking of a picture of a pre-war DKW 3-cylinder 2-stroke GP
racer that appeared next to a picture of an AJS 7R 4-stroke.

 

Yes, true. I was really thinking road bikes, though.

 

You really, really should.

Well, Hinckley Triumph, of course.... Siccardi made that prototype
racer triple, but (a) it was a race bike and (b) never raced, so it
doesn't count.

Two-stroke triple road bikes have been made by Scott, Suzuki, Kawasaki,
Honda and Motobecane. Can't think of any others.