The five-time Isle of Man TT winner you’ve likely never heard of
Racing and motorcycling go hand-in-hand. They always have, from the very first time someone wedged an engine into the frame of a bicycle. Humans love to race, and motorcycles have always been the rawest form of machine-powered racing.
There are many tales of historic race motorcycles over the years. We’ve endeavored to tell a few of those here at Road Dirt, as we love racing. With the recent debut by Triumph Motorcycles of their commemorative “67” Trident Tribute, we felt the story of “Slippery Sam” needed to be told.
A reproduction 1974 “Slippery Sam” as featured by Gasoline Motor Co.
The most legendary motorcycle road race in the world, and one of the longest running, is the Isle of Man TT. Since it’s inaugural race in 1907, this epic two week event in late May and early June has attracted riders from around the world to it’s dangerous yet thrilling time trials on the island’s mountain course. Numerous bikes and riders have made it into the history books on the TT, but a story not as well known involves a certain 750 cc Triumph Trident, that won five consecutive production class championships between 1971 and 1975.
The soon-to-be title-winning motorcycle started life as a 1970 Triumph Trident production 750 triple cylinder engine. Shoehorned into a custom race frame built by the great Rob North (we did a feature on him HERE), engine designer and tuner Doug Hele actually built three similar racers for the 1970 IOMTT Formula 750 Production Class race.
The original, not long after earning the “Slippery Sam” name. Photo by Grampian Museum.
The “Slippery Sam” moniker was earned that year when the bike was run in the 1970 Bol d’Or, a 24-hour endurance race in France. The engine began showering Triumph rider Percy Tait and teammate Steve Jolly in oil during the race. The team was able to massage the faltering machine across the finish line in good form with an impressive 5th place finish, despite the issues the bike had. Soon the name “Slippery Sam” was conceived, and the team decided to paint the name on the bike’s tail section.
The bike would go on to win the Formula 750 Production TT for the next five years, and became the stuff of legend in the motorcycle press of the time. Writer and racer Ray Knight penned in an October 1974 article for Motorcyclist Illustrated, “Isn’t it amazing how the evergreen Trident ‘Slippery Sam’ keeps on winning the big production races? For the last four years that bike has had enough performance to blow everything else into the weeds. Not just mph but sheer ‘bikeability’, now part of current jargon and defined as the optimum combination of handling, braking and torque characteristics that makes it a winner.”
Mick Grant piloting “Slippery Sam” around the track, 1974.
Slippery Sam ran on a four-stroke triple 750, with a bore/stroke of 67mm x 70mm, and a twin camshaft overhead valve pushrod valvetrain, 2 valves per cylinder. The bike put down 84 bhp (63 kW) at 8,250 rpm, and rolled a fastest lap of 102.82 mph in 1975 TT timing. Sam had enjoyed a good run when retired and replaced after the 1975 season, five championship titles to its name.
Displayed at the National Motorcycle Museum in Bickenhill, England, the bike was unfortunately destroyed in a fire there in 2003. Slippery Sam was eventually fully rebuilt and restored, and a replica was also constructed, which has been ceremonially ridden in special commemorative events, and funerals of racing notables like Geoff Duke in 2015.
Triumph’s modern hat-tip to Slippery Sam, the 2025 Trident 67 Tribute. Lots of small details. Photos by Triumph.
It seemed appropriate that Triumph Motorcycles would create a special edition Trident Triple Tribute bearing the “67” number this year, celebrating 50 years since Slippery Sam’s fifth and final TT title. We loved the new iteration of the Trident when we tested one a few years ago, and this year’s commemorative model looks good in Sam’s TT livery. Lots of nice touches that hearken to the race legend that the Slippery Sam bike became.
For more on the 2025 Triumph Trident Slippery Sam Tribute motorcycle, click here:
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