Triumphrat

midlifecrises

Oh good comeback.............. once again c. is what it's all about. Why should I look at porn when I can get my giggles reading your posts.
Beside if I was a "Nancy" I would have all or your money!

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midlifecrises

Age is no barrier.... born again biker!
07 TBA -- tacho, sissybar, footboards, windshield, AI removed, modified pipes.

CommandoRdster

You're wrong.It's not a Harley clone.It's a 1980's jap cruzer clone,which is why it's not going to be as successful as Triumph hopes.All the Big 4 make better looking cruzers(which are Harley clones),and sell them for less than Triumph is going to have to ask for this thing.

Japan Inc.made bikes that looked just like this one back in the mid to late 80's,up to the mid 90's or so.The small bore bikes were big sellers,but the big bikes,put together,did not approach the sales of H-D.It wasn't until the mid 90's,when the Big 4 blatantly started to copy Harley,that the big bikes really began to take a chunk out of the market.

Look,folks,I'm not saying this is not a good bike.I'm not saying it won't be an outstanding performer in the cruzer class.I'm just saying that for most cruzer customers,it's all about looks,and this bike,with it's bland,dated(and not in a cool,"retro"way) style,is not going to pull any customers away from H-D,or the Big 4.The R-3 has been able to do it,because it's so different from anything else. The T-Bird is going to have to get it's customers from the Triumph faithful.

This thing is fixable,and they need to start with the mufflers.I see I'm not the only one who thinks they are godawful.Like I said on another post,someone is going to make a bundle selling slip-ons for those pipes.

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odie

It is all about what will sell. America wants something that looks like the 1600 cruiser Triumph will build. But a few of us would rather have a standard Bonnie looker. The mass market want the H-D look.

odie

Tbirdnz

I think this sums it up, non cruiser guys seem to be showing their bias, myself included, but if I had to own a cruiser I would definitely be interested in this one and with an almost certainty of buying it. It's designed to be customized and maybe on an exchange or pre-order option basis at the dealer, the pipes for instance.

Perhaps the poll should have been exclusively for 'cruiser-types' then we'd probably get a 50/50 for/against.


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Ride on !

joeswamp

I'm not a fan of cruisers, so this bike doesn't really appeal to me. However I can't figure out whether it will sell or not because I really don't understand how the cruiser market works.

All cruisers, it seems to me, are essentially Harley clones. Unlike sportbikes or standards, one company pretty much invented the cruiser and still dominates the market. No other company really has a cruiser heritage, so any company that's making a cruiser is basically copying Harley. Doesn't that mean that a cruiser is more valuable the more similar it is to the Harley original? I'd guess that the most successful Japanese cruisers are the ones that are the most faithful copies of the Harley that have the best reliability and price (essentially the most bang for the buck).

I showed the new bike to a good friend of mine (who rides a Harley) and his response was, "Why would anyone want that? It doesn't even have a V-twin!"

On the other hand, maybe there's a huge contingent of cruiser riders who are looking for something different and unique, and maybe the parallel twin here will give it to them. I hope that's the case for Triumph's sake.

chisel

Saying the bikes are the same are like saying a Tiger and FZ1 are the same thing. Oh, that Norge is just a Goldwing. Um, ya, sure buddy. Just like a Mustang looks like a Camaro which looks like a Challenger.

Something else that is boneheaded is asking a bunch of people with no interest what their preference is. Ask me what i think about a scooter, and i'll tell you they stink and all look the same (although i realize that they are in fact different). My opinion doesn't mean much. Neither does a lot of people taking the poll.

You really shouldn't be mixing up polls like this. You should have a separate one that asks for interest in having a Bonnie styled bike with the new 1600cc motor. That's what you're really after. All you've done is create confusion. It's obvious by everyone getting sidetracked into "dream machines" that aren't even cruisers. Really people, if it were sooooo bad, what the hell is wrong with this cruiser? If it's bland, what would make it less bland? Really, what radical, mind blowing cruiser design were you expecting Triumph to build? I'd bet most of you naysayers weren't imagining a cruiser at all. Be disappointed that Triumph didn't build your Super Standard Wundekind of Parallel Power(yet), but don't bash this cruiser because it's not something is was never intended to be. It is what it is, folks.


As for the cruiser, i think it's very good. Maybe that's because i own a cruiser, and have some interest in them. Sure, i'd prefer the speedo off the tank and the pegs a little further back. There is no perfect bike for everyone. This one comes very close for me.

The one thing people seem to be forgetting is that cruiser buyers are brand buyers. One of the reasons that people don't by Stars is because it says Yamaha on the tank. Japanese cruisers have a stigma in certain circles. Triumph doesn't have this problem. It would be more acceptable for someone to show up to a group ride with these elitists on a Triumph cruiser than any one of the Japanese cruisers. This makes the Triumph open to a huge market.

Ask any Rocket III owner why they bought their bike and i bet very few would say their primary reason is style, because "it's different", or because it's a Triumph. People buy that bike because it's got gobs and gobs and gobs of power. Make a 1200 or 900cc Rocket and they'll sit in the show rooms. The new T-Bird (shame about the name) would sell at those sizes because it's style is more mainstream, it's still a little different, and to some extent because it's a Triumph.

I'm selling my current cruiser, and planned never to return to that style of bike. This cruiser just may change my mind.

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Tbirdnz

+1 I think this is a telling point !


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Ride on !

playinthestreet

OK, how about a 1600cc Hyper Motard????

road_dog

I just don't like cruisers of any brand... they're just not for me. As far as cruisers go, I like this one more than most.

Apparently I'm a bonehead... but a bonehead that doesn't like cruisers. Still a bonehead none-the-less, per chisel.

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Phil (road dog)

propforward

Well, some like it and some don't. That's about what I expected to be honest.

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