Honey, my Black/Yellow '06 T100, had her first service yesterday and I had TOGAs fitted at the same time as having the AI removed.
My first impression, when I started her up outside the dealership was "'kin 'ell! That's loud!". I noticed they'd not fitted the baffles, so got them to do this before riding her away, though to be honest I don't think they actually lower the noise level a lot. On startup, the deep growl is definitely louder than TORs but doesn't have quite the same sharp 'crack'. Definitely deeper and more throaty though and decidedly reminiscent of older Triumphs I've heard.
Riding off on the Bonnie with the run-in restrictions finally off my mind I could open her up a bit and hear the pipes roar. Woof! The sound is excellent, though again I think the note you get from the TORs, which I've tried twice on the dealer's loan bike, has a slight edge (when you can hear it - usually only when gunning it) as it has a rasp which the deeper and louder Norman Hyde pipes don't. Time will tell as the Togas are bound to change tone a little as they bed in.
Overall, apart from at 2250-2500 revs in town, where the deep rumble from the pipes hits a level and tone that my ears don't appreciate, I love the sound (I've already learned to change gear to avoid this and it stops me from chugging along in 4th anyway). As I'm still taking it a little easy until the engine loosens up, I've not been much above 6k revs yet, but when accelerating hard and shifting at 6k the bike really kicks out some impressive noise from the rider's point of view. :-D
In town, I'd say the Togas are a good compromise between horribly loud and loud enough to let other road users know you're around. I think I can probably *just* get out of here in the early work day mornings without annoying people, though I'm going to have to cut my warm-up time to the minimum and wheel the bike out into the lane before starting up so I can move straight off with the choke on.
They look the part, that's for sure! I like the shorter, more elegant shape and the slight upsweep. They are also chromed to at least the same quality as the original peashooters. Sweet!
Power gains? Dunno. I had the 115 main jets put in at the same time, and had the cross-headed carb screws replaced with stainless allen-headed bolts. You'd think I'd notice some difference, but as the engine is still fairly tight and I only had 570 careful run-in miles before fitting the Togas there's no way to know whether the bike feels better in low, mid or high range than before. This is no big deal for me, though, as looks and sound were what I was after with this upgrade and Norman Hyde has delivered both in spades.
I took a run in the Peak District today and at one point was sitting in the Cat & Fiddle pub (a biker pub on an infamous twisty road that's now taken its name from the pub) looking out of the window at my bike sitting alongside some race bikes in the car park. Rider after rider came into the car park and gave Honey a good look as they rode past. I didn't buy the bike for the approbation of others, as I don't give a ***** what anyone else thinks about my ride, but knowing others are looking and thinking "yum!" is a nice bonus.
When I left the pub, it was also the first time I was able to rip it away from there while laying down a truly loud British twin sound and it felt great!
As our colonial cousins are wont to say when elated "yeeehaaaa!!!".
My first impression, when I started her up outside the dealership was "'kin 'ell! That's loud!". I noticed they'd not fitted the baffles, so got them to do this before riding her away, though to be honest I don't think they actually lower the noise level a lot. On startup, the deep growl is definitely louder than TORs but doesn't have quite the same sharp 'crack'. Definitely deeper and more throaty though and decidedly reminiscent of older Triumphs I've heard.
Riding off on the Bonnie with the run-in restrictions finally off my mind I could open her up a bit and hear the pipes roar. Woof! The sound is excellent, though again I think the note you get from the TORs, which I've tried twice on the dealer's loan bike, has a slight edge (when you can hear it - usually only when gunning it) as it has a rasp which the deeper and louder Norman Hyde pipes don't. Time will tell as the Togas are bound to change tone a little as they bed in.
Overall, apart from at 2250-2500 revs in town, where the deep rumble from the pipes hits a level and tone that my ears don't appreciate, I love the sound (I've already learned to change gear to avoid this and it stops me from chugging along in 4th anyway). As I'm still taking it a little easy until the engine loosens up, I've not been much above 6k revs yet, but when accelerating hard and shifting at 6k the bike really kicks out some impressive noise from the rider's point of view. :-D
In town, I'd say the Togas are a good compromise between horribly loud and loud enough to let other road users know you're around. I think I can probably *just* get out of here in the early work day mornings without annoying people, though I'm going to have to cut my warm-up time to the minimum and wheel the bike out into the lane before starting up so I can move straight off with the choke on.
They look the part, that's for sure! I like the shorter, more elegant shape and the slight upsweep. They are also chromed to at least the same quality as the original peashooters. Sweet!
Power gains? Dunno. I had the 115 main jets put in at the same time, and had the cross-headed carb screws replaced with stainless allen-headed bolts. You'd think I'd notice some difference, but as the engine is still fairly tight and I only had 570 careful run-in miles before fitting the Togas there's no way to know whether the bike feels better in low, mid or high range than before. This is no big deal for me, though, as looks and sound were what I was after with this upgrade and Norman Hyde has delivered both in spades.
I took a run in the Peak District today and at one point was sitting in the Cat & Fiddle pub (a biker pub on an infamous twisty road that's now taken its name from the pub) looking out of the window at my bike sitting alongside some race bikes in the car park. Rider after rider came into the car park and gave Honey a good look as they rode past. I didn't buy the bike for the approbation of others, as I don't give a ***** what anyone else thinks about my ride, but knowing others are looking and thinking "yum!" is a nice bonus.
When I left the pub, it was also the first time I was able to rip it away from there while laying down a truly loud British twin sound and it felt great!
As our colonial cousins are wont to say when elated "yeeehaaaa!!!".
