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Triumph Thruxton / Street Triple?

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Old 02-12-2010   #1
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Thruxton / Street Triple?

Here's a dilemna I've never quite understood.

Deus Ex Machina - Gallery / 904 Thruxton

Someone buys a Thruxton, then spends at least another 8 grand or so, to end up with a bike that looks very much like a Street Triple, or a typical modern naked sportbike. Why?

Why spend all that time, effort and money to end up still with a <100 HP mid-performance bike that is possibly stressed out structurally and mechanically.

The Street Triple has been tuned from the factory to have mucho more performance, looks almost exactly like the end result of the restructured Thruxton, and has the framework, brakes and bottom end to easily handle the +100hp from stock. A few mild mod's on the Speed, and you've got a real bike?

Yes, I understand the love of tinkering, and the challenge - there are many Royal Enfield Bullet and Hinckley Bonneville folks out there doing just that - but to spend all that effort, time and money seems fruitless. Note that you'll never, ever get that invested money back. At best, you may get 5-10% more than the Bluebook listing. Pluis - oddly - these same Triumph owners always say they love the "classic" look. Huh? Then why turn it into a modern naked sportbike. Compare the photo above to say a Ducati Monster as well. Same thing, but the Ducati has way more performance, and for less money overall. And a warranty to boot!

Arguably (!) the curve is set nowadays at about 100hp as being the bottom end of the HP/Torque limit, if you are to refer to the bike as a "Performance" model, and some of these entry level style bikes can only barely reach that with an unbelievable amount of modification and huge influx of cash. And... the off-the-shelf sportbikes usually weigh significantly less.

I suggest politely that a person always should buy a bike that is at least about 95% near the performance level they seek, for the structural and economic reasons noted. A few minor - and practical - tweeks, and you can ride forever.

Ride safe (and Smart!)

Bob

Footnote to this post: My two sons, 26 and 25 yrs. old, ride also. I COULD say that I own a Honda CBR600RR and a Suzuki SV650, as I "helped" them purchase these bikes in 2009 and 2008 respectively, but be that as it may - The CBR600 has tons of mods - re-Mapped, Fast road cams, gas flowed heads, aftermarket cans, suspension work and much more. All installation work and head-work done in-house. Total investment? Maybe $2200. We use this one for track days at Balckhawk Farms Raceway. That said, If I want to go super fast, I always have this option.

My Bonneville has a highly modified Air Intake Silencer, which now acts somewhat similar to an Airbox, carbs re-jetted, P&P heads, intake manifold, and spacers, and baffle-ectomied cans. All done in-house, total investment? Maybe $400, mostly in replacement gaskets, dremel tool bits and velocity stacks. I like the Bonnie for what it was originally designed for: Tooling around the backroads and twisties, shorter trips, fun outings, etc. The CBR would run circles and then some (after a lunch-break!) around even the highest of modded Bonnies, no doubt.

Point is: Instead of dumping another $8 grand into an $8 grand bike, buy another, real high performance bike as a spare for when you really want to experience "High Performance" and speed. Add to that - try it at the trackday outings, where you can really open 'er up... legally!

Bob
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Last edited by The Prophet; 02-15-2010 at 10:14 AM.
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Old 02-12-2010   #2
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Re: Thruxton / Street Triple?

I think it's because such bikes look cool. Now that the economy is turning back around, maybe riders will be ready for some pain

93_thruxtonside.jpg
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Old 02-13-2010   #3
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Re: Thruxton / Street Triple?

Quote:
Originally Posted by motowebmaster View Post
I think it's because such bikes look cool. Now that the economy is turning back around, maybe riders will be ready for some pain

Attachment 109
I negleted to point out that negative feature as well. How long do you figure a guy could ride this thing? Say 20 minutes before the butt and back pain make it unbearable? So... you take a perfectly good bike, dump say $9 Grand into it, and now you have a twenty minute (albeit "good lookin') bike that has the powerband way the heck up in the 8000 RPM range (as most of these end up!) and is not particularly enjoyable to ride... but it sure is loud... and Kuwel!

Question always is: Do you want maximum power... or maximum performance. Two totally different goals.

Ride Safe!

Bob
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Old 5 Hours Ago   #4
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Re: Thruxton / Street Triple?

Well, interesting opinion, but I'm not sure what the dilemma is! There is no comparison between the Street Tripple and the Thruxton. One is a modern hi-tech screamer, the other is a 1960's retro-styled café racer.

Although I love both bikes, I prefer the café racer style. To say the Thruxton looks like one of these "naked" style sport bikes is absurd! They share NOTHING similar mechanically besides the obvious two wheels and engine. The engines are not even similar, the frames couldn't be more different, and, frankly, share NOTHING in appearance or mechanism.

Every bike I've ever owned, be it an RD 400, KH 750, Norton Commando, or whatever, I have allways, almost immediately after purchasing them, went after the easiest, cheapest BHP (exhaust, intake, air filters, carb jetting, cam shafts), not because I bought a bike below my requirements, but like everybody with a bit of adrenaline in their veins, just had to squeeze every little bit of power out of what we had. It's true of the guy who buys the Honda Civic, AND the guy who just bought the $400,000 super car! It's called tuning!

As far as spending thousands of dollars tuning your new ride goes, if you have it, why not spend it? I like the Thruxton so I bought one. Over time I've changed things here and there to make it my own. I didn't think "oh shit, I should have got the Street Tripple! In fact, if I had purchased the Street Tripple, I would have tuned the shit out of it also! And NOT have thought, man, should have got the rocket III! IF I want to spend 5 grand on top of what I paid, so what?

To call a Thruxton an "entry level" bike is obscene. It is a 900cc twin, has Pleanty of torque and jam. Far from being an entry level bike, it's the pinnacle of technology as British Twins go! You have to compare apples to apples. I've had many Triumphs, Nortons, BSA's, etc, from the late 50's models up to the 1980's. when I switched to 750 kawasakis, and the sort. Two of the fastest bikes in the 80's were both 900's, and there was that 350 that gave them a run for their money also, but their 1100 cc counterparts were just a little too heavy and just a little more unwieldy. But getting back on track, ride an 850 commando, or a 750 Bonnie,( once the fastest bikes in the world) then jump on a Thruxton! It's so much better than what was, and with the carbs, coil / overs, single front rotor, chain drive, a fair comparison. It blows the older ones out of the water!. You can't compare the performance to a St. Triple, however, and you shouldn't, but as far as the Thruxton being entry level, forget it.

People love to get the most out of their rides, be them cars, bikes, boats, whatever. Some people have more ambition than others, and are willing to put a bit more money ino their projects than others, it doesn't make them wrong! I just paid $2800.00 for two distributors and a pair of rotors. They happen to be the only ones available to fit the car, no aftermarket at all! But I choose to own that car, so be it!

I don't understand why it's a dilema for you. To each his own. Others do a lot of things we don't understand, but that's OK, right? We don't have to let it bewilder us! Clebrate our differences, think of all the cool custom bikes out there because some people think" that bike is cool, but mine is going to be cooler!! There are more customs around than factory, it seems!

Stay cool man, don't let other people's decisions get you down, just do your thing!
Cheers!
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