ROAD TEST TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD
A
s luck would have it, I’d lined up an ‘Editorial meeting’ with The Ed at the t Café.
The deal was to hand over a disc containing images and a bike test, have a cuppa, plan our b inevitable takeover of the world’s in motorsports media and yack m about a bo motorcycles.
He was in the KR truck; en-route to pick up the Triumph Thunderbird and the Aprilia Mana. I was only trying to help the man out, honest. ‘Oh, can I do the Thunderbird bit for you?’ All nonchalant like, trying not to let any bung fizzage show. An hour later I had been home, changed into my old skool No.9 Triumph riding kit and was pushing the silver and black beastie out of the Triumph depot with as much calm disposition as was possible. Keen as. The Stretch and Big Dave show had done the original shake-downs and run-ins on the first batch of press bikes, but this was my first chance to have a fang on a ripe, ready-to-rev motor. And what a peach it is. I also have a feeling that blokes like me have been saying that about Thunderbirds for a very long time. (See sidebar story) A LEGEND RE-BORN Have a quick look at the specification sheet from Hinckley’s third incarnation of the Thunderbird and at first glance it looks almost conventional. ‘Get on a legend reborn’ proclaims the web site….if re-born is the right word for a Hulk-like transformation from spindly sixties all-rounder to muscle-bound, liquid-cooled DOHC 270 degree firing interval, parallel twin-powered monster ready with the presence of one of those buff built body-builder types bulging out of their too-tight T-Shirts outside nightclubs! In fact, if you physically look at the bike, before reading the specs, there isn’t anything to give you much of an indication how radical it really is. It’s just very handsome in an understated, unobtrusive kind of way. “It hasn’t even got Thunderbird written on it anywhere,” observed Osborne as he was taking the detail shots. 26 KIWI RIDER
Even just the thought of a 1500+cc parallel twin engine is daunting….yet as Big Dave found out there’s more to Triumph’s new Thunderbird than its 2XL engine capacity. WORDS: Big Dave PICS: Geoff Osborne
ROAD TEST TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD
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ROAD TEST TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD
third gear and ‘pin it.’ This, I found out (as I experimented!!) is because there is quite a large gap between second and third ratios and to get the best out of the T’Bird I found it best to follow sports V twin practice and leave it in the higher gear. The engine isn’t without vibration – you can certainly feel those big pistons going up and down – yet conversely, the vibe is nothing like that of the aforementioned V-twin. If anything it is… like that of Triumph’s smaller capacity parallel twins, being noticeable but neither intrusive nor annoying. Quite the opposite, in fact, as I found myself enjoying the feel of what was going on with each revolution of the engine. SURE-FOOTED
“Check the Speedometer, old boy,” I replied in my best clipped British accent. The speedo being the only place we could find the model designation. It’s when you ride the bike and study the numbers more closely that the link to the past becomes entirely romantic. NUMBERS GAME Just say we take the first two T’birds – 649cc Twin and 885cc Triple – and we average the capacity: 790cc. The 2010 incarnation displaces 798.5cc in each of its twin spark plug cylinders! The 1597cc twin has a bore and stroke of 103.8 x 94.3mm and is a delightful engine, and one – I must say – which is more conventional in character than the one which powers Triumph’s other heavy hitter – the Rocket III. And although both machines are agile, T’bird hides its 339kg wet weight particularly well. Getting along, one of the first things you notice is that the 6-speed constant mesh gearbox and belt final drive system is geared tall, meaning the big ‘Bird won’t trundle along at 1,100rpm in top gear like the Rocket. It has bundles of torque nonetheless with the peak figure (146Nm) produced at just 2750rpm. That’s right, peak torque at just 2,750rpm! Meaning, fellow members of short-shifters anon, that this is an engine for you. One with (and I checked) the equivalent of the pulling power of a Norton Commando…from each cylinder. That said the big parallel twin powerplant does rev out quite nicely too. When I eventually found the tacho (in the tank-mounted instrument cluster) it made sense of the claimed max power output 28 KIWI RIDER
of just 63kW (85hp) which is produced at 4850rpm. It’s just a sweet, easy, unstressed large capacity engine. CHASSIS-WISE Chassis-wise the 1615mm wheel base is supported on Showa 47mm forks with 120mm travel up front and chromed (again Showa) twin shocks with 5-position adjustable preload, offering 95mm rear wheel travel, at the back, the smooth, compliant action merely confirming how much of a fan-boy I am for Showa suspension. Combined with the delightfully easygoing nature of the engine it is, in fact, very easy to ride around grinning like the Fonz when you’re in cruise mode on the T’Bird, Even when you take it out of cruise mode and get into some more sporting road conditions the engine is an absolute delight – particularly if you just leave it in
The sure-footed nature of the handling package helps as well. Remember when Cruiser style motorcycles were all a bit vague in the handling department? Now I’m comfortable calling it sure-footed. Put it back into ‘cruise’ mode and it purrs along with just the slightest tick evident from the engine. I quite enjoy the note from the standard, upswept pipes too. It’s got some lovely lines, as in Geoff Osborne’s Beach Café pic, I found myself enjoying the classic swoops of the bodywork and chrome and the comparatively Spartan appearance of the engine. There is a liberal application of chrome to the engine and the view from the rider’s seat is of one of the nicest looking Strong, silent-type look and feel disguises a real spring in big new T’Bird’s step. Bike is happy in either kick-back or push-on modes….just like tester Big Dave really.
ROAD TEST TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD
BRANDO, THE FONZ & PAMELA ANDERSON
By Big Dave
As many KR readers would know, the first Meriden Triumph T’bird was introduced in 1950 and since Marlon Brando rode his own 649cc twin in the cinema classic ‘The Wild One’ the name has had significance in motorcycle lore.
Hop online, Google and bookmark ‘Ian Chadwick’s Triumph Timeline’ for a more in-depth look at the period. See also British Motorcycle Industry: Decline and Fall of. Fast forward a generation and the
‘The Fonz’ even rode a modified T’bird for a few seasons of Happy Days.
second incarnation of the T’bird was
The US version, the ‘toughened up’ Blackbird, was a huge seller. Even the totally weird models from various later releases were surprisingly popular.
Triple displaced 885cc and was
Nacelle, and even the Bathtub versions of the machine, sold in bigger than you would expect numbers. (I mean c’mon you old boys, what’s up with the instruments mounted in a nacelle? The only other vehicles to embrace it are small capacity scooters!)
from the third Triumph factory. Hinckley’s first T’bird, the 1995 also significant as the new firm’s first departure from the ‘modular approach’. Up until the release of its more traditional lines, the early Hinckley range had consisted of virtually the same machine dressed in different clothing or with an extra pot added. The 885 T’bird won several bike of the year awards and made numerous media and film appearances as well
However trippy they went in the 50s and 60s the first Thunderbirds evolved into the very capable forerunner of the Bonneville. One of the greatest bikes ever.
– although Harry Potter and Pamela
Streamliners that broke land speed records also started life as T’birds.
better disclose that bit of prejudice
Anderson’s Barb Wire ain’t exactly The Wild One! One still resides in my shed, so I as well. I’ve had a lot of very special rides on a T’bird.
front ends on a motorcycle. Yanking the handlebars up a few inches from standard helped them fit me nicely too. I had some of the air cooled V-twin crowd complain about the look of radiator. It’s one of those things that looks bigger in the pictures – I rarely notice it when I look at the bike and I found stopping to look at the bike was almost as pleasurable as riding it. The stopping is taken care of by a combination of twin Nissin front and Brembo rear brakes. Good brakes. PLEASANT MANNERS I put them and the rest of the package through their paces on a very enjoyable run through my standard Bombay Hills and Hunuas test loop. The open road manners are very pleasant. The machine is happy to just trundle along, or be ridden a little more aggressively – that ‘leave it in third and hammer’ thing. It got quite a workout doing laps of Geoff during the photo shoot too. Pin it, ride past photog, brake hard, U-turn, pin and repeat. ‘It’s a happy sounding thing too!’ he said.
Left: Don’t mess with me fella! Marlon Brando made the first-generation Thunderbird (in) famous courtesy his role as motorcycle gang leader Johnny in The Wild One. Right: Heeeeeey! The Fonz from TV show Happy Days was another high-profile T’Bird owner back in the day.
It also makes a good urban weapon. It’s not as narrow as a Speedmaster for lane splitting duty and the handlebars are quite wide, but its manners are like the Speedmaster on steroids. Very comfortable to bang around town and I had some excellent waterfront cruises as well. Physically it’s more Speedmaster than Rocket III, a low KIWI RIDER 29
ROAD TEST TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD
ma machine with the seat height a mere 70 700mm. A big part of the marketing a approach Triumph have taken with the bike are the customisation and accessory options. It almost harks b back to the original Hinckley theme of turning one platform into several dif different bikes. FULL OPTION PACKAGE
There are full touring options, gel seats, luggage and screens available. Or you can turn it into a power cruiser with the factory 1700cc kit, which ups the power output to 74 kW (100hp). The full range of accessories and options are on Triumph’s funky ‘Create my Triumph’ web site. You get there from triumph.co.uk/nz. On which subject I’m also keen to try on the new ‘Brando replica jacket.’ Crossed pistons and all. Where I got after a week putting the bike through its paces was ‘put me down as a big fan of the new T’bird.’ I understand why Triumph are crowing about all the awards and accolades the machine has won. Don’t jump on one thinking it’s a sportsbike, it’s still has cruiser clearances, but it’s very tidy and very trustworthy till it reaches them. It’s great looking and a great feeling bike to ride – both physically and emotively, its original namesake is steeped in bike lore. Black is $23,990, blue and white or silver and black are $24,590 and ABS adds about a grand. Check with your dealer for availability. I was talking to Patrick at AMPS about that, and we also talked about some of the history and the ‘greatness’ of the Thunderbird name. NUMBERS GAME ‘You know, at its peak the Meriden factory made around 49,500 bikes per annum. Last year Hinckley made 52,000.’ That’s great for starters. I also think the Silver T’bird is one of the bikes the Fonz would ride today. He’d customise it a bit and strip it down some but this is one coooool bike. Demos are at your local Triumph dealer now and I thoroughly recommend a spin. I wonder in 59 years time will they be saying ‘Big Dave rode a T’bird’? Perhaps not. But a man can dream can’t he? KR 30 KIWI RIDER
SPECIFICATIONS TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD ENGINE Type: Liquid-cooled DOHC parallel-twin, 270 degree firing interval Displacement: 1597cc Compression ratio: 9.7:1 Bore x stroke: 103.8 x 94.3mm Fuel system: Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection, progressive linkage on throttle Clutch: Wet multi-plate Transmission: 6-speed constant mesh, helical type 2nd – 6th Final drive: Toothed belt FRAME Type: Tubular steel twin spine Swingarm: Twin-sided steel Front suspension: Showa 47mm forks. 120mm travel Rear suspension: Showa chromed spring twin shocks with 5 position adjustable preload. 95mm rear wheel travel Brakes: Twin 310mm floating discs w/ Nissin 4-piston fixed calipers front & single 310mm fixed disc w/ Brembo 2-piston floating caliper rear Wheels: Cast aluminium alloy 5-spoke 19 x 3.5 in. front & 17 x 6 in. rear Tyres: 120 / 70 R19 front & 200 / 50 R17 DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 1615 mm Rake: 32 degree Trail: 151mm LxWxH: 2340 x 800 x 1120 mm Seat height: 700 mm Wet weight: 339 kg Fuel tank capacity: 22 litres RRP: $23,990 Test bike: Triumph NZ Ltd GEAR Helmet: Arai Jacket, pants and boots: Triumph
Don’t let the conventional look fool you. Some serious engineering has gone into the engine to make it as smooth as it is tractable with an emphasis on torque rather than outright power (which Triumph is leaving to the optional big-bore 1700cc version) producing an urge and thrust which has to be experienced to truly be believed. Chassis also gets top marks, as does quality Showa suspension componentry and top-shelf (Nissin front/Brembo rear) brakes.