Triumphrat

postnote

If you had been one of the lucky ones to have seen the Thruxton Triumph project bike it would have blown you away in more ways than one, but alas you didn't. Oh lucky me

ggRAT

Woodsie, your comment about the Boonies is a bit of an exaggeration but has some truth to it. For me, the "charm" of Bonnies is how with just afew "tweaks" (904cc kit, shocks, pipes) the bike is a real performer and becomes a "magnet" to those who see it and then take Triumph seriously. (My '05 Sprint ST had a lesser effect.)



That said, I'd like them to offer a 500cc thumper / bobber with a kick starter. (Call me crazy!)

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ecrabbit96

People in the states are still learning that Triumph is back in the game. I feel this is primarily due to lack of advertising which they have addmitted is not strong in the US. They are in my opinion riding on the past by making bikes that appeal to the guys who remember and loved there Triumphs. Now you can own one again since you were crazy enough to sell yours in the first place 20+ years ago. When the post ran asking the ages of most who ride the new tripples it seemed that 40 - 60 was the majority. Now that WE have introduced the states to triumph again I expect the 1500 cruiser to be a huge success (again my opinion). I have been told so many times " if I knew that they made these bikes I would have bought it instead if my sporty, that's a very cool looking bike" Triumph is not stupid, this is a long term investment for them I just pray to god that they don't forget about those of us who help them come back, specially us Tripple owners, you think parts are hard to find now, just wait. Unless they hear our cries for the return of the tripple.

Matthew in TO

The new bonny is quite heavy for its power. My 1970 T100S Tiger 500cc weighs less than 380 lbs. with fuel and produces about 39 hp at 7,000 hp on its single carb (dual carb T100R is good for about 45 hp). The new 865cc Bonneville T100 produces 66 hp, but weighs 451 lbs. Surely a 865cc bike should be good for about 80hp or more?

Matthew in TO

We must remember that over reliance on the US market was Triumph undoing in the 1970s when the firm was exporting nearly 80% of its entire production stateside, leaving them very vulnerable to Honda et al's Japan government subsidized attack on their market share. Of course if the bikes had been better, this might be moot.

I've read interviews with Bloor, who clearly states that their goal is to globally diversify their markets. IIRC, their top market is Britain, followed by the other EU states, then Japan and the Americas.

Blockhead

KiwiTiger & cpallen, I agree with you guys! I'd love to get a new updated Trophy instead of a RIII Tourer! And the T-Bird is what brought me to look at Triumph any way a few years ago. That they quit making them is the only reason I didn't get a Trophy or T-Bird...

Block

Brooksie

Modern bikes have become specialised like Sport, Cruiser, Adventure. In the States, their seems to be only two categories: Cruiser and Sport. Triumph is one of the few who actually have bikes outside this narrow view and they seem to have done a pretty good job of it. The R3 Touring makes sense for here, and that may be as close as we get to a Touring bike with the Sprint and Tiger doing a good job of things. I remember the T-Birds and Trophy not selling too well here, and those were great bikes. Look at it this way, the ST is the Trophy and the Tiger is the Sprint RS. Personally, I think Triumph could build a retro Hurricane with the 675 Triple and really sell 'em. I only wish I had enogh money to have one of each.

F4sSprintST

Well, since I just bought my first Triumph ever, after owning many Japanese bikes, I'd say they were making the right bike for me

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tridentt150v

Sorry, but Meridan wasn't short sighted, just cash strapped. They were making a motorcycle that many wanted in principal, it was just missing reliability, and power, but it had the looks. I think a very good indication of this it the popularity of the Hinkley twin range.
I'm also sure that Meridan would have increased models and types if they had the $$$$, but they couldn't compete with Japanese companies that sold bikes for a half to 2/3 of the price and had smaller learner bikes as well.
Now that the cost of living in Japan has increased, their production costs are closer to other manufacturers, so they have seen that competetive edge erode. The big threat is surely going to be China - if Japan and others don't watch out, China will be selling good quality motorcycles for half the present $$$$, they are already doing what Japan did when it started out, they are copying everything in site and selling it heaps cheaper.
Japan could well be the new Meridan in the battle for world domination..................

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Brooksie

Hardly any of the "Fast" Triumphs from the bygone days were stock from the factory. Hence the "cafe" bikes and desert racers. None of those came out of the dealership running like that. ANY motorcycle is underpowered and overweight from the factory.