2008 FJR vs 2015 Triumph Trophy SE

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WTP07

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I had the opportunity this morning to swap bikes with a buddy. He has the 2015 Trophy SE.

HOLY COMFY BATMAN! I could ride that thing to the moon! A more upright riding style, much taller windscreen with a LOT more travel in the windscreen adjustment.

Seat was pretty comfy, the design of the mirrors puts your hands behind the fairing so they are pretty much out of the wind too.

Electric ride control, electric cruise control, all very nice. Tunes, very cool! Could easily hear the music with the windscreen up, without them being cranked.

Sounds awesome, yea? Except....

Not nearly as peppy as the FJR. Acceleration, torque, SOTP dyno tells me that the FJR is significantly faster. And smoother power, with less engine noise.

My buddy agrees, the Yammy is a lot more fun in the twisties than the Trophy.

Just thought I'd share my experience. It's a fun ride, but I will stick with the FJR, thanks.
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When Triumph came out with this bike I was very interested to see it and hear about it. When I saw it in person it just didn't click for me. Triumph's target was BMW and maybe that works for that demographic, not sure, but just not for me. Love the do-it-all nature of the FJR. Not to mention the reliability factor.

 
I too was hoping the Trophy would be a good answer, but they took everything I like about the Sprint ST and ditched it. And just so dang big -- particularly side to side. Those bags look too wide for the Grand Canyon, more than 8" wider.

 
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Another "me too." I like Triumphs and have owned several. The Trophy was a natural thing for me to consider, but I really like the FJR better.

I think that ol' SotP dyno tells the truth, and that sporty aspect is still important to me. That's probably why I did not like my K1600 either. It had many nice points, but when it came to thrashing the bike, the FJR was the more fun to thrash. YMMV.

 
I too was hoping the Trophy would be a good answer, but they took everything I like about the Sprint ST and ditched it. And just so dang big -- particularly side to side. Those bags look too wide for the Grand Canyon, more than 8" wider.
Yeah, my feelings exactly. Had an 04 ST that was a lot of fun but my knees couldn't take the riding position. When I actually saw the new Trophy, one of my impressions was, "Wow, this thing seems huge". Styling left me kind of cold too.

 
I felt as though the Triumph might be the first serious alternative for the FJR

until I noticed it wasnt shaft drive. No more chains or belts for me. The sound

system makes me a little envious.

 
I can't add much to the above -- too big, styling a bit blah, etc. I've been looking, comparing, researching the different sports tourers out there for a couple years -- with the FJR as my default -- and the Trophy was probably the quickest crossed off my list...and I'm a huge Triumph fan (own a Triumph cruiser now, in fact), which made it a particular disappointment.

 
Since my post last October I've acquired a leftover 2015 Triumph Tiger Explorer ABS. This bike is powered by the same basic mill as the Trophy, but it weighs in the 570s wet. That's a good bit less than both the Trophy SE and the FJR.

I did not expect the Tiger Explorer to become a favorite. I traded the Rocket on the Vaquero, and then reaquired a Rocket, and traded the Vaquero on the Tiger. Convoluted enough, but that's the way we roll here.

So ... The Tiger Explorer has been a surprise, and I would say that I certainly like it a lot better than my old R1200GS, but I also like it better than the FJR, except for the YCC-S feature on the FJR AE (which Triumph does not offer).

With this same engine as the Trophy, but with a lot less weight, the Tiger is very responsive. It jumps when you ask it too. And boy does it hang in there in the twisties and on climbs and descents. It feels better planted and more secure to me ... but that's just me.

I stuck a pair of the Triumph factory bags on the bike, and equipped with the bags, this bike is quite travel friendly.

So ... if you like the idea of trying a Triumph 2015 MY 1215 Triple, I'd recommend the TEx rather than the Trophy.

 
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My Trophy was a piece of crap, 9 faults within 3 months, a great bike .......NOT

Never again, NEVER !!!!!

I couldn't even trust it to get to my local shop, not alone on a 3 week tour.

I was so lucky to find a dealer 500 kms away that dealt with Triumph and Yamaha

So I bought my 3rd FJR a AEE and didn't loose too much on the trade.

I've done over 250K kms on FJR's without a problem.

I've had everything go wrong with the Trophy, battery within the 1st week, the throttle bodies blew off, 2 recalls, RHS fork seals blew, about 2 weeks latter the LHS blew, warped rotors, panniers cracking on the pivot point and a engine worse than a diesel, noisy and getting worse.

To name a few items.

No where to service the bike, limited # of dealers, expensive parts, no parts, expensive accessories and farkles, poor pre delivery.

An the best news, Triumph are stopping production, Yahoo!!!!

Good luck, sucker!

 
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I don't want one because of the butt dyno performance.

Your Trophy sounds like my K16. More trouble than it's worth.

Reports here aren't so dismal.

If someone wanted to take a chance on a well equipped Trophy, Triumph is blowing them out right now.

They've had a $2000 rebate going, even on the 2017s.

Like I said, for my money, I like the Tiger better. The butt dyno is always a make or break deal for me, and the Trophy is a dog in that department.

 
Definitly hard to compare these two bikes since one leans towards sport while the other sits on the touring end of the spectrum, but i'll give it quick go...

I've owned a 06 FJR for 10 years before biting the bullet on the trophy SE. I really enjoyed the FJR, but was looking for a change. My hands would fall asleep secondary to vibration (yes, i sat like yoda and had heli bars, so lets not go there), was a bit tired of looking at my elbows in the mirrors, hated the oval throttle body they put in the 06-07 (yes, i farkled around it the best i could, so lets not go there), and just no longer utilized the freight train like power of the motorcycle. Bottom Line: FJR is a rock solid "sport like" touring bike thats does most everything really really well.

That being said, i absolutely positively love that triumph SE. I lean towards the touring end of sport touring and this is by far the most comfortable bike (out of the box) i've ever owned). But lets be frank, comfort is all about how your built. I'm 5'6", so would this bike be comfortable for a 6 footer?....maybe not quite so much (except when they put that "day long" on there). Looks?....another subjective topic.....i love it...others hate it....On the power end, the triumph triple cant pull like the fjr, but the power is fantastic throughout the entire power band. Bike has an incredibly nice feel to it during hard acceleration. Shifting is by far the smoothest of any of my previous 10 bikes. There has been nightmarish stories about the original trophy SE's out there, so i can see where this bike may have gotten a bad rap. These bikes were leaving guys stranded initially all over the place due to battery failures. Turns out, they had a software issue with the radios that were draining the batteries. once that was fixed, that issue was solved. they also had a batch of early bikes that were considered "noisy". Triumph stepped up and offered anyone within that vin range a fix if they wanted it done. the "noisy" bikes did not suffer from any longevity or malfunction issues pre or post fix, and left it up to the owners to decide. The fix was big and basically involved replacing the entire head. I know owners that did and did not have it done, and have not had any issues. I've been riding with a group of SE owners and have yet to hear of any nightmares or anything out of the ordinary. Many of these guys are really putting these bikes through the paces and have been trouble free. On the down side, Triumph did not do a good job with the electrical controls on the bike. Everything works well, but the controller is not backlite, and placed in a spot that requires you to remove your hand from the bars to make simple adjustments. Like i said, it all works, but they could have done a much better job of it. Also, The dealer network is anemic compared to its Japanese competitors. you break down on a triumph, and your in the same boat with all the BMW / Ducati guys out there. But a large majority of us dont buy our bikes with total breakdowns in mind. If we did, we'd all own camry's and F150s. The triumph wants service every 10,000, with every 20,000 being a major servicing......So that definity needs to be part of the equation before purchase. Rumor is also that the trophy SE will be discontinued after 2017.

I could probably go on and on here, but i'll try to summarize: In my experience , the trophy SE has been a great bike to own. Its fun to ride, handles like a dream, provides great power throughout the band, Shifts like butter, and has a seating position (out of the box) that the majority of owners unsuccessfully try to farkle their way to. I would highly recommend this motorcycle to anyone that is looking for a sport touring bike with a focus on touring.

Goose

 
Get a gen 3 ES, add bar riders and BT headset and you have the best of both bikes!

 
Get a gen 3 ES, add bar riders and BT headset and you have the best of both bikes!
Good try Al, but no dice. these are totally different bikes in the way they feel. Just adjusting the riding position (which BTW, bar risers on the FJR will still not put you in the triumph position) and adding bluetooth wont even get you close. Between the buttery shifts, lack of vibration (even though its triple), and decrease in heat output are just a few of the many things that will continue to separate these two machines.

 
Get a gen 3 ES, add bar riders and BT headset and you have the best of both bikes!
Good try Al, but no dice. these are totally different bikes in the way they feel. Just adjusting the riding position (which BTW, bar risers on the FJR will still not put you in the triumph position) and adding bluetooth wont even get you close. Between the buttery shifts, lack of vibration (even though its triple), and decrease in heat output are just a few of the many things that will continue to separate these two machines.
Obviously I'm biased in my preference but after owning a 2008 and a 2014ES, I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the gen 3 FJR's "buttery shifts, lack of vibration, and decrease in heat output". Also I admit to liking the sporty side of sport touring!
 
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Get a gen 3 ES, add bar riders and BT headset and you have the best of both bikes!
Good try Al, but no dice. these are totally different bikes in the way they feel. Just adjusting the riding position (which BTW, bar risers on the FJR will still not put you in the triumph position) and adding bluetooth wont even get you close. Between the buttery shifts, lack of vibration (even though its triple), and decrease in heat output are just a few of the many things that will continue to separate these two machines.
Obviously I'm biased in my preference but after owning a 2008 and a 2014ES, I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the gen 3 FJR's "buttery shifts, lack of vibration, and decrease in heat output". Also I admit to liking the sporty side of sport touring!
You've got a great bike for that!!!...hard to beat the FJR for the sport side of the hill. I just wanted to share my experience with the group since i was apart of it for 10+ years. theres alot of bad data out there about the triumph, and i thought it important to share some real life experience after owning both bikes.

Goose

 
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