Triumphrat

Beemie · 11-12-2004

Seems odd that due to the implied unpopularity (by Triumph's choice to discontinue) of the Thunderbird models that there are few to none available as new leftovers.

There seem to be a boatload of Guzzis, Aprilias and Ducs to be found, but nary a Thunderbird.

When I was looking this past Spring, one dealer claimed to have gotten the Triumph rep involved, and the report was that there were none known of.

Maybe a better decision than dropping the bike would have been a price adjustment to get them to sell.

I can't be the only vertically challenged person with an achey back in the lifetime customer pool.

Beemie · 11-12-2004

Seems odd that due to the implied unpopularity (by Triumph's choice to discontinue) of the Thunderbird models that there are few to none available as new leftovers.

There seem to be a boatload of Guzzis, Aprilias and Ducs to be found, but nary a Thunderbird.

When I was looking this past Spring, one dealer claimed to have gotten the Triumph rep involved, and the report was that there were none known of.

Maybe a better decision than dropping the bike would have been a price adjustment to get them to sell.

I can't be the only vertically challenged person with an achey back in the lifetime customer pool.

thumper723 · 11-12-2004

CAW here in JAX has a TBS (03 I think) Orange/Black.

Last I knew they were willing to part with it near dealer cost, jsut to get it out of the showroom.

thumper723 · 11-12-2004

CAW here in JAX has a TBS (03 I think) Orange/Black.

Last I knew they were willing to part with it near dealer cost, jsut to get it out of the showroom.

11-12-2004

It's a great bike. I just did a little 250 mile trip down I-10 on my '04 TBS today and everytime I do that it make me wonder why I keep looking at that BMW R1150R. I think I may soon be a two motorcycle owner. The wife said it's O.K. with her.

11-12-2004

It's a great bike. I just did a little 250 mile trip down I-10 on my '04 TBS today and everytime I do that it make me wonder why I keep looking at that BMW R1150R. I think I may soon be a two motorcycle owner. The wife said it's O.K. with her.

shedds · 11-18-2004

my dealer here in mass has a 2004 tbs and a 2003-04 st plus all kinds of rockets and sprint rs too.

MickMaguire · 12-17-2004

From what I hear there are quite a few available, and many from previous years hung around showrooms for quite a while (mine was a 2000 that I purchased in 2002). Triumph didnt cite falling sales as the only reason - and yes it was falling, not zero sales. They said that much of the tooling was worn to the point of needing replacement and that they would rather invest in tooling for new models than for keeping (9 year) old models going. The other factors seem to be that the Thunderbird was the only T3 model left so pretty much all its major parts were unique to the bike (not good for inventory costs) and that the T3 engine was unlikely to continue to meet tightening emmisions standards.
Additionally Triumph clearly saw the Thunderbird as taking market from the bonneville range (whether you think it does or not they obviously did).

You could sucessfully argue that withotu dropping the Thunderbird and TBS they may not have been able to introduce the Thruxton or the Rocket, both of which are much better sellers.

It makes total business sense to me.

FattRat · 12-18-2004

I'm in the market for a Triumph.... always wanted one. I didn't want one of the New Age Trumpets, but I wanted the newer technology. Every time I rode a new Bonneville, I thought that it was slow, underpowered, and I felt like I was left for wanting (more). But the ***** thing fit me...... I'm 5' 2" and have never been able to reach the ground on any of my bikes in the past. The Sportster was narrow, and it was easier to hold up at lights.... as is the Bonnie.

Then I discovered the Thunderbird Sport.

It had Old School British charm, and it was a "Trident"...... It was a three cylinder Triumph like the Hurricane of yesteryear I lusted after, but did not want to wrench on (I can't pretend to be a mechanic). Then I kept hearing how the regular Thunderbird was lower....... and they were still showing up on the web sites of some of the west coast Triumph dealerships.

But nobody had one. Hell, I've never even sat on one!

So I decided to "settle"...... on a Bonnie Black for 2.9% & Zero down, slow though they may be. But it had character, it was Black & Bad, and I could get the respect of the local "patch holders" with whom I sometimes ride. I was VERY close to signing on the dotted line. Yeah...... I wanted a Victory Hammer, but I can't afford the Bonneville, let alone an $18,000 loan for the up & coming Victory!

Then it happened.

I drove a half hour from work for the BEST Pastrami samich in the world! And as I pulled into the parking lot looking at the Duc's, a Guzzi, some little dirt bikes, and....... a Speed Triple with red wheels. I finished my samich, went into the Duc'ship, and she proceeded to try to sell me a Ducati 620 for $6200.00....... NOT! I told her I couldn't afford anything, but that I was looking for something that had already depreciated and was cheap. That's when she walked me out to the '99 Speed Triple that she said I could probably get for $4,000.00 if I came up with the cash for the owner.

It's getting the fuel leaks addressed, and the owner hasn't called me yet...... but I WANT that tall Speed Triple! I can only hope that with some modification, I can get that bad boy down a bit. And I can only hope that the owner will understand that I don't have any money, but I can write a check from my line of credit for $3500.00...... and let me become the proud owner of a life long desire; to own a Trumpet.

So if this doesn't pan out......... I would LOVE to find an '02/'03 Thunderbird that somebody wants to unload for a mere song. It's beuatiful, it's retro, it's a throwback to "doing the ton" on an old school!

(If the S3 pans out though, watch out for a short, fat, 50 year old Hooligan raising hell on his Black Menace!)

jefftarlton · 12-20-2004

I still wonder why Triumph didn't upgrade the Tbird to the 955i engine. It could have been a very versatile cruiser/retro bike.
Maybe there's a 1050 Tbird in the works.