New T-bird, first whitewall radials
At just shy of 1700cc, it's just been launched at the EICMA Show in Milan, Italy and will join the Triumph range of cruiser motorcycles. It's called the Triumph Thunderbird LT. And yes, it's another variant on the Harley-Davidson big fat tourer clone theme.
In some eyes, at least.
But Triumph has (arguably) shifted the goal posts a little and has provided some welcome relief for anyone who's OD'ed on V-twins over the past ten or twenty years.
What makes this bike particularly newsworthy to classic bikers is that Triumph tells us that it's wearing the world first whitewall radial tyres for a motorcycle, and we can see those tyres appearing on a lot of specials if the price is right (and even if the price isn't right)
The engine is the familiar 1699cc 8-valve, DOHC with a 270-degree crank as found in its antecedent, the Triumph Storm (as opposed to the 360-degree crank found in the standard Hinckley Bonnie and all Meriden Bonnies). And what that means is that it looks like a parallel twin, but sounds and feels more like a Harley. Triumph refers to this crank as having "authentic cruiser character".
In some quarters, the engine is being described as a long stroker, but at 107.1 mm (bore) x 94.3 mm (stroke), it looks to us like a short stroke motor (relatively speaking). Either way, it knocks out 93bhp at 5,400rpm and supplies 111lbft of torque at 3550rpm. Final drive is via belt.
The front brakes are Nissin fixed calipers gripping 310mm floating discs. The rear is a floating Brembo on a fixed 310mm disc. An anti-lock mechanism is fitted as standard.
The forks are 47mm Showa, ditto the rear shocks with 5-way pre-load adjusters. The frame is tubular steel, twin cradle. The fuel capacity is just shy of five gallons (Imperial).
Also new at EICMA is the Triumph Commander which offers the same specification, but with fewer frills.
And the price for these bikes? That hasn't been announced yet. But we are told that the machines will be available in the spring of 2014.
— Big End
Triumph Bonneville:
World's Coolest
Motorcycle T-shirt
Copyright Sump Publishing 2013