Triumphrat

artztoy

I dropped into my local cycle center and found a used 1996 Triumph Thunderbird with a small fairing and soft leather bags. It has 13K miles. Its a pretty green and silver/beige combo. Looks good. They are asking $4699.00 for it....
Please tell me about this bike. It seems to have 3 cylinders.
How is maintenance on this machine ? simple ?

patrol21

I own a 95TB.....and an early one at that. VIN #'s are from the first series imported into the US. Owned a ton of bikes and my heart goes with Triumphs.

That being said, take a look at the forums and pay close attention to the "known issues" on the first page. There is a ton of good info there. Also, this forum is a treasure trove of good advice from some very good people. Anyhow, I think the price on the bike is a bit high, but again, they are becoming scarce. I paid 4K for mine a few years ago with 1500 miles, windshield/TOR's/Factory Bags/factory chrome/etc. Private sale (no dealer). I am also one not to let anyone work on my bike.....not a lot of Triumph Mechanics locally, and I havn't run across anything that I couldn't fix myself yet.

Like any british bike, they require a bit more maintence than a Jap bike, but thats 1/2 the fun of owning one. You learn the bike...as it should be.

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oil-spitn-rat

Seems like alot of moeny for a bike that is 12+ years old. People selling, houses, cars they think are classics, and bikes that are older all have one thing in common... They think they are sitting on a goldmine and or there is a sucker borne every minute. People are nucking futz.

I ask you what are you willing to pay for it? look up the book value on it and don't pay a penny more. Sure these bikes are harder to find now because they don't make them, that doesn't mean they are Barret-Jackson valued though.

I NEVER pay more than book value whether it's cars, trucks, guns, real estate and especially motorcycles. If they don't bend on the price then offer them your number and walk.

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I think your radar must be off...

jimmyj900

That price sounds about $1000 high, but perhaps someone can give you a better idea of the market value.

Jim

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oil-spitn-rat

Sorry about that. Let me try to answer your questions this time. Yes it is a 3 cylinder engine and known for being very dependable and reliable. The maintenance associated with it is slightly higher than that of a UJM (universal japanese motorcycle).
I think the bike should of had it's valves adjusted at 12-14,000 miles. I think cost is around 200-300 maybe to have this done at the triumph dealer. It does require a special tool and shims to perform this procedure. I don't think it's worth buying the tool and learning how to do unless you've done it before several times.
Cost of ownership is relatively low. Tires are the biggest problem as they are tube type. Still this is not really a problem at all. These bikes are known to have coil issues as well. Still not a really big problem coils are about 70 bucks each (x3).
They are fun bikes to ride and own. Back to the cost thing, don't pay anymore than the loan value on the bike. If it has new tires and the valves done by a certified/ reputable triumph mechanic and this has been documented then maybe the price could go up a little. This dealer did not pay more than the trade in value; he would be a retard if he did. Keep that trade in value in mind with the price you plan to pay. If it is a consignment then often the owners are aksing too much, make an offer slightly above the trade in value and hold to it.
good luck

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I think your radar must be off...

MLTMD

I am a new member in this group, but I have gained a lot of useful information from reading through past post, so thanks to everyone. In response to this post I would like to say that I just yesterday purchased a 1999 adventurer with 7550 miles on it. It has a Triumph windscreen and backrest/sissy bar. No bags, and is otherwise stock. I paid $3700 for it and feel like it was a fairly good deal. I am not sure how the price of the adventurer compares with that of the Thunderbird, but they are very similar bikes so it seems to me that the price you are being asked to pay is a bit high. Hope this helps,

Mike

artztoy

thanks all... My heart is really with a bonnie black. With that said, I can wait until one shows up at a decent price. I just wasn't sure of the T-bird and the 3 cylinder motor. I have owned a Yamaha 750 triple about 26 years ago, but thats probably a whole different beast... Thanks again.

Woody1911a1

k , well i just looked it up and trade/retail kelly blue book is 2145/3155 . however i don't necessarily agree with OSR . book and market value are 2 different things with these bikes .

i think jimmy's more in the ballpark . in nice shape that bike's worth $3,750 .

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patrol21

I'll 3rd that. Not throwing Bonnie's under the bus but.....the triples are a totally differnt animal than the twins....cubes are close but the performace is a different story. The triples are basically the same motor across the series (with a few exceptions, cams, etc). The Bonnie set up is a great configuration but as someone wrote in the forum that stuck in my head...it's a Bonnie on Steroids.

__________________
The worst day riding beats the best day at work....no exceptions.

jimmyj900

My daughter replaced her wrecked Buell Blast with one and absolutely loves it.

Yeah... big difference!

I had a Kawi H2 for a while. Loved the triple engine but the rest of the bike was the classic 'Jap Junk' of the era.

Neither compares to the modern Triumph triples.

Jim

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