Triumph's anyone?

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Fly Bye

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Being an old fart, I kind of have a thing for the nostalgia type motorcycles.

I found myself looking at the 2012 Triumph line up at a local dealership. Although this new generation of Triumph's have all of the refinement of modern motorcycles such as disk breaks, fuel injection, and dohc in a very nicely packaged motorcycle, I was not impressed at the bph/ft.lbs numbers.

I looked up the specs on the Thruxton , Scrambler and Bonneville T100. All have the same 865 cc motor with bph at 67/68 and the torque range at 50/51 ft.lbs.

I did not ride one so I can not speak about how they feel on the road, however I don't understand why they did not build motors with higher performance. At a price tag hovering at around $10,000 I was expecting to see more.

So what do you guys think?

 
I tested a Speedmaster - same motor as those you mention, slightly different style. It had style, it had class. It had enough power to move my skinny ass. They are in a completely different class and serve a completely different purpose than the FJR or any sportier bike. I thought it was a well-rounded bike for what it was. But value... yeah, I ended up buying a Suzuki M50 though. It was a lot cheaper and had shaft drive, water cooling, and was ultimately for the wife anyway as I wanted an FJR.
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You have to consider that current Triumphs you are talking about have vertical twin motors which aren't going to produce the power that an inline four is capable of with similar displacements. An early 70s Bonneville produced only 49 hp albeit the displacement was only 650 then. Heck, my 1975 Honda 750 four only produced 68 hp which is the same as the current Triumph 865 twins.

 
The stock Bonnie has a surprising amount of torque, but with 68hp, it has its limits.

I've ridden the same bike with a big bore kit and pipe upgrade. Adds about 25 hp, and goes like stink. A massive improvement, and relatively reasonable price, about $4k. Plus it sounds and looks cool. I'll post a link to the build video, which should be done in a few weeks.

 
I found myself looking at the 2012 Triumph line up at a local dealership. I was not impressed at the bph/ft.lbs numbers.

I looked up the specs on the Thruxton , Scrambler and Bonneville T100. All have the same 865 cc motor with bph at 67/68 and the torque range at 50/51 ft.lbs.

I did not ride one so I can not speak about how they feel on the road, however I don't understand why they did not build motors with higher performance. At a price tag hovering at around $10,000 I was expecting to see more.
The nostalgia driven Triumph models are only part of their product line. They make genuinely sporty bikes too.

FWIW, the nostalgia Triumphs that are imported into the USA are actually manufactured in Thailand. This doesn't bother a lot of folks, but its a major factor in my decision not to own one. A Brit bike should be a Brit bike.

I would observe that the nostalgia bikes have more power, better brakes, and better handling compared to their original counterparts.

I would also observe that your idea of hovering around $10K is different from mine. I see new Bonnevilles and America's for sale at prices around $8500 frequently, and at the end of the year, leftovers are sometimes as low as $7500. I think that the Bonnevilles and Americas offer excellent value if you want to ride something that sort of looks like a throwback and you don't mind the Thai sourcing.

FWIW #2, the other nostalgia bike, the Royal Enfield, is made in India. Between the two, I like the Triumph offerings much better.

 
Metisse, maybe Norton, and some of the Triumph line are built in the UK. They are more expensive than the Bonnie/Scrambler/Thruxton line.

I don't get too hung up on "not made in the UK," If the bikes are built well, run reliably, and can be had reasonably with enough left over for upgrades, good for us riders. The Triumphs are built very well and the motors are quite reliable. And unlike the old bikes (my Matchless included) they don't leak.

You are going to see lots of bikes sourced overseas, including Yamaha and Honda, who build models in Thailand/Taiwan to compete on price. I thought I read the new Husqvarna dual sport is also sourced there too, and the bike is a great deal at $7k, I wouldn't get too hung up on build location, unless I was paying a pretty penny for the heritage.

 
The triumphs are nice, but for the money, I'd probably buy the Guzzi V7.

And the 675 R in the Daytona and Street Triple are great machines

 
The triumphs are nice, but for the money, I'd probably buy the Guzzi V7.

And the 675 R in the Daytona and Street Triple are great machines

The Thruxton costs $1,200 less and has 50 percent more HP than the V7. WTF?

 
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Triumph is doing a lot these days. I think they are spot on producting a twin that has a moderate amount of power gets really good fuel economy. Not everyone needs 125 HP. I am also glad that they make many higher performance bikes, too.
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Hi. I just recently traded my FJR in for a 2012 Bonneville.

(Photos at link below)

I'm actually very happy with the bike and can't wait for dry roads here again. It's not all about power. If that's all you think about then buy 180hp bike and enjoy.

Out here where I live you can't go over 65 mph through all the series of S turns these roads have. If my Bonnie had 130hp you still couldn't go through the turns any faster really... So what's the use?

"Nostalgia" bikes are about the feel and sound, if you're looking at "numbers", you're missing the point to start with...

 
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I am with Racin Ray on this one. The V7 has only 2 things going for it: great looks and a shaftie drive. Otherwise, very wimpy. The Guzzi 1200 Sport is a much better bike, though not as pretty as the V7, and it has gobs of torque. A new 2009-10 can be had for $7000 if you look around.

moto-guzzi-1200-sport-corse-special-edition-1.jpg


 
"Nostalgia" bikes are about the feel and sound, if you're looking at "numbers", you're missing the point to start with...
The nostalgia Triumphs are a lot nicer than the originals if you actually want to ride. I sold my original 1970 Royal Enfield Interceptor Series II last year to a national dealer / trader. There is no way I wanted to continue to ride that sucker. It was eye candy, plain and simple. I am thrilled that there are guys who do want to (and have the ability) to curate the originals.

I am not a fan of the Guzzi's (based on first hand experience). I consider them to be not yet ready for prime time .... however, they are better than the originals that they are supposed to replace too. When I had my Norge, I liked the handling pretty well, especially compared to the old Ambassadors.

Royal Enfields were genuine throwbacks to 1956 up until well into the last decade when they started to try to bring their bikes into the late 20th century. I don't have any first hand experience with the new ones, so I can't say anything. As late as 2003, maybe later, you could buy a Royal Enfield 500cc bike from the Indians, and you would essentially be buying the same thing that they had built 40 years earlier, right down to the fueling, ignition braking, and suspension systems. If you want to ride something like that, nothing else will do ... but in the 21st century, these authentic Royal Enfield throwbacks are dangerous. The new ones appear to be better.

All of these nostalgia brands suffer in the US from lack of support from the manufacturer and importer. Triumph is better than the other two. They all rely on the style and lifestyle decision making genes for their market success .... but that's a tried and true approach.

I like to look at all of them and remember street bike class racing at Louden and watching guys with Bell helmets, goggles and brown leathers with their BSA 441 Victors in full lean.

Then I go for a ride on the FJR and think about how lucky we are to live in the Golden Age of Motorcycles.

 
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