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Thrux R vs R9T video

5K views 42 replies 15 participants last post by  worntorn 
#1 ·
#2 · (Edited)
Thanks for posting, always nice to see another review. I love the R nine T, but I would call it retro inspired as opposed to modern retro if that makes any sense. Anyway, what annoys me is the lack of reviews for the standard Thruxton 1200....quite the desert out there for it. The bike mags seemed to have ignored it and I can only find a couple of quick rider reviews. I am especially curious about the suspension feel and quality on the standard model.
 
#3 ·
As a former BMW owner for many years I would never buy another unless it was an airhead. Look on the forums! My Rockster ( the last one I owned) was fine but in the local BMW club we have many newer bikes, rear seals, clutch slave cylinder ( in the bell housing) final drive failures all in the mix. I doubt sincerely the Thruxton will have anywhere near these $$$$$ problems.
 
#5 ·
#7 ·
Yes very few standard Thrux reviews. Although I think this is due to Triumph.

The big press launch was a single day in Lisburn with the T120 in the morning and the R in the afternoon. As far as I know there was not a fleet of standard bikes there to try. I have also never seen a standard bike in my two local UK dealers. The demonstrators were always The R.

I would have liked to have tried a standard but by the time I decided to buy all the bikes were on back order, so I rode away on one of the Lisburn bikes as it was the only one available. I am an impatient bugger.
 
#8 ·
I think the review was fair. The Beemer motor has more ponies for sure, but I agree in every other area the Thrux is superior, especially the looks. As wonderful as Beemers are, and they are great machines, no argument there, I can never get beyond the sight of the cylinders sticking out sideways. The Thrux race kit cam should bring the Triumph up to parity with R9T power, for those who care.

The one styling issue with the Thrux is the backend. Someone has to come up with a FEK for this bike.
It’s like a wart on the face of a beautiful woman.
 
#9 ·
There is the FEK from Thailand, and the Triumph one in the UK of course. I went to pick mine up from my dealer today but it has been lost somewhere between Triumph and the dealer. What with that and the stupid chrome rails for my luggage and other stuff on back order, I am very unimpressed with Triumph on the accessories side. Even my dealer said they were having a lot of problems with dates and parts being promised and not happening. Good job the bike is so great.
 
#10 ·
I would rather have an original R90S than the R9T.


Having a lot of older rider/collectors here to ride with one theme always comes up with that beautiful R90S........problems. They either didn't think them through or were too quick to release them, quite a few who ran out to get them say they were one of the worse bikes they ever owned and a couple worked in a local BMW shop. A renovated or original one is quite expensive now, a better bike was the R100, most of the issues were sorted by then.
 
#12 ·
I would rather have an original R90S than the R9T.





Having a lot of older rider/collectors here to ride with one theme always comes up with that beautiful R90S........problems. They either didn't think them through or were too quick to release them, quite a few who ran out to get them say they were one of the worse bikes they ever owned and a couple worked in a local BMW shop. A renovated or original one is quite expensive now, a better bike was the R100, most of the issues were sorted by then.


That is not what I have heard from long time BMW riders. I have heard the 1976 model was the best of all the model years for the R90S.

As for the R100 series, only the 1978 R100RS was the equal of the R90S. The 78 being the best year of the R100RS.
 
#16 ·
The 9T fork/shocks and it's dry clutch which can be a bit, umm, exciting riding in the rain is the main reason I even went and looked at the Thruxton R. While the R nine T has some advantages I am personally extremely happy with the move, outside of the financial cost of having the BMW for about a year.

I doubt most 9T or Thruxton R owners ride much in the rain, but it sounds like several people have ridden a Thruxton and my old bike at the dealer and to date those whom have bought have chosen the Triumph.

I think with better shocks and at least an option of a slipper or even wet clutch that the "wow" factor of the 9T would give it an edge. I was having a particularly bad issue where when I would try to push the bike harder into a corner harder it would want to stand up. Had I not walked into a the dealer while the very first non-pre order R was available I would have replaced the suspension and been happy. Well outside of being bitter because the 9T should have come with adjustable shocks as you stated.

That said this is a good time to be alive if you like a more classic style in bikes but want one that starts, stops and turns reliably.
 
#19 ·
Hey guys,
My apologies for interrupting the Beemer love fest here, but I was wondering about that issue at the end of the Thrux vs R9T video where the Thrux engine died at low RPM on decel.

Is this an issue with all the new Triumphs (T120, Thrux, ST)?
Any current Thrux owner spoken to a dealer about this yet?
Is it a software issue?

OK,

Now back to the love fest.:grin2:
 
#21 · (Edited by Moderator)
I asked about this when my bike went in for it's 800 km service. I haven't had the problem at all ( now at 4,000 kms and climbing fast) but we know others have as did some of the test bikes.
The dealer claimed they hadn't any problem with the 8 Thruxton rs they had sold, but those bikes had only been on the road for 2 weeks at that time.
I also asked another dealer and the response was the same, but again early days.
Reading on the air cooled forum, I see some 865s had a/stalling problem due to a faulty anti-tip over valve cutting fuel off under normal circumstances.
I wonder if this might be the culprit?

I haven't found any issues with this bike yet, except the rear end gets a little slippery in the rain. That may be due to the 80+ ft lbs even at low rpm, not really used to that kind of wallop. My litre Sportbike has about half that torque at low RPM.
Rain mode helps, but I still found it a little slippery on the R yesterday in heavy rain, raindrops bouncing off the pavement torrents of water running everywhere kind of scenario. This is the kind of weather you try to avoid, but if you tour you will get caught out in it fairly often.

I'm going to replace the Pirellis with Avons when they wear out, which will be soon!

Glen
 
#23 ·
There is nothing wrong with the single plate dry clutch on the boxers. It's setup with a flywheel just as in a car. Any issues with wet riding would be due to inexperience with the drive shaft and crank layout. My view of course. I don't see BMW going to a belt or chain drive with the boxer motor anytime soon. The Duolever is better than the Telelever. Also just an opinion. What Japanese bike tells you when a headlamp is out? All bike brands have a premium price. Being an older rider I still have sticker shock when I look at new bikes, regardless of brand.
 
#24 · (Edited)
What Japanese bike tells you when a headlamp is out?.
I do not need an indicator to know when a headlight is burned out. Another BMW answer to a question no one asked.

.
All bike brands have a premium price. Being an older rider I still have sticker shock when I look at new bikes, regardless of brand.

That is not a premium price. That is just the price of inflation, from when you were younger.

The BMW R1200, R9T, and S1000rr do not have duolever suspension. They have forks just like everyone else. Which says that a modern pair of forks is just as good as their latest gimmickry.
 
#26 ·
I was deciding between an RT and a Thruxton for a while earlier this year. Unfortunately, I couldn't test ride a Thruxton, and wasn't comfortable buying blind even though the reviews have been stellar.

I found the beauty of the 9T to be its simplicity. Apart from the ABS, there's no other gizmos -- no traction control, no riding modes, etc. I can see how some people would see that as a huge negative, but I loved it. The downside of the 9T (and maybe the Thruxton, too?) was that it's really impractical for anything but short jaunts. And the upright seating position + wide bars turns the rider into a sail at speed. Maybe that's the kind of thing you'd get used to after a while, or maybe a small screen would help, but it was really uncomfortable at speed. But with all of that being said, leaving aside the torque and horsepower #s, there is something really visceral and soulful about that boxer twin. I highly recommend taking an RT for a test drive if you ever get the chance.
 
#28 ·
The Thruxton has you leaned forward so you are not as much of a sail, but wind and buffeting especially is always an issue on a naked bike. I can't handle the stretched out leaning forward position of the Thruxton for more than a couple of hours, but I'm getting more and more used to it, and am strengtheing my core which is helping immensely.
 
#32 ·
It's just that I've never this type of problem with Avons in the rain. But then I've never had anything with this much low and middle torque, except the Vincent Special, which has not run in the rain with the 1360 Engine. No TC or rain mode on that.
I was really surprised when the back end of the R slipped on light throttle in rain mode. I got a leg down but thinking about it, the TC probably prevented further problems before the leg even started to move off the peg.

Glen
 
#33 ·


Corsas are road/track tires. Tires are compromises. Anything which works OK in the wet will be compromised for ultimate grip.
 
#34 ·
#36 · (Edited by Moderator)
The bike also slid sideways when crossing two angled painted lines by a railroad track. That was at normal road speed so there was little I could do. It was like hitting black ice.
My buddy was ahead on his 2 year old but near new t100 with whatever the stock tires are. That bike tracked straight. He didn't feel any slip happen.
This was not a tiny slip for the Thruxton, I actually thought we were going down and then the bike straightened up. Both the front end and rear end kicked out.
All in a split second, no time to react.
I have crossed many of these at speed in the rain on the Vincents or Nortons with Avons fitted, never felt anything like that.
I think I need tires with more sipes. If there is a bit less dry traction, so be it. It's doubtful I'm using anywhere close to all of the available dry traction now.
There again, never had any problem with dry (or wet) traction of the Avons over many thousands of miles and all sorts of conditions, sometimes pushed pretty hard.

Glen
 
#42 ·
This was not a tiny slip for the Thruxton, I actually thought we were going down and then the bike straightened up. Both the front end and rear end kicked out.
All in a split second, no time to react.
I have crossed many of these at speed in the rain on the Vincents or Nortons with Avons fitted, never felt anything like that.
I think I need tires with more sipes. If there is a bit less dry traction, so be it. It's doubtful I'm using anywhere close to all of the available dry traction now.
There again, never had any problem with dry (or wet) traction of the Avons over many thousands of miles and all sorts of conditions, sometimes pushed pretty hard.

Glen
FWIW, had a wiggle on fresh line paint with Rosso II's the other day. In 5+ years of running Rosso's never had this black ice experience before. Maybe VDOT is using more plastic in their line paint recently? Old lines were OK. Thought of your comments when this happened.

BTW, son got tired of trying to find a Paul Smart as nice as the one he had to sell two years ago. Rode the personal R of a local dealer about 20 miles and was impressed but thought the seat marginal.

Anyway, they've had a Silver Ice in a crate for two months, so he's buying that when they get the fairing kit, brown comfort seat, brown strap and grips and tank bag and Barbour-looking pannier kits. Far from his first rodeo. Might even keep this one a while. :cool:
 
#39 ·
Here's a comparison review of the Thrux R v. R9T in Motorcyclistonline. Seems to be fairly well-written and unbiased and I found the personal evaluations at the end of the article interesting.
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/bmw-rninet-vs-triumph-thruxton-r
I don't know. His opening sentences are suspect.

"There are lots of responsible ways to spend $15,000. Mortgage payments. College fund. Even just in the realm of transportation there are a dozen cages you could buy, complete with air-conditioning and power windows, that will get you where you need to go using less fuel and in more comfort. When it rains you won’t get wet, and when you meet your friends for dinner you won’t have to say, “Can I put this weird, Darth Vader headgear over there next to your chair?” Oh, the convenience we could harvest if we didn’t ride motorcycles."

First off, why do people have to be responsible, when it comes to transportation? Life is too short. I wish he would have given some real world examples of everyday NEW $15,000 cars, that also get 50 mpg. Getting back to this "responsible" thing, if I were looking for a car, it would not be some boring econobox or hybrid. It would be something fun to drive, preferably with a manual transmission, and something that is fun. Wait, I already did. I drive a RSX Type S. 210 hp and a 8100 rpm redline and 6sp gearbox. Oh and it only gets 30 mpg, if you behave yourself, which I do not.
>:)
 
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