I had the great opportunity to test ride the new Thunderbird this past Tuesday. I'm not in the "must have" market for a new bike just now, as I have "helped" (meaning I pay, they ride) my two sons purchase bikes in 2008, then again this year, so I'm the proud owner of three bikes until they pay me back. I know they will, so no problem, and it's nice to ride with them all the time. Anyway... I'm torn right now between a new Road King, and ... something else.
First off, a big $#@&% to the Illinois Highway folks, for shutting down route I23, and creating a bizzare and wasteful "Detour" that takes one roughly 40 miles off route. Inconsiderate, taxpayer money wasting Morons. Oddly, neither Mapquest nor Google knew this. Should have used the wifes GPS!
Anyway, arrived about 1/2 hour late, but no problem. All road testing was done with my wife riding pillion. We ride from 11:00 Am untill 3:30 Pm with a half hour lunch-break, over a ton of country twisties as well as about two miles or so of big slab just for kicks. Here goes.
1.) The bike is absolutely beautiful. This one is in Gloss Black, as my choice would be, and is very nice to look at. Chrome and finish are faultless, as would be expected of Triumph, fit and finish excellent. Shows like a much, much more expensive bike. We sat at a window during lunch, and all passers by stopped and had a second look, even obvious non-riders. Excellent pose value.
2.) The key is in a convenient position, and easy to reach - take note, Bonneville design staff!
3.) Speedo has a "function" feature that changes to different Trip Odometers, and all sorts of other options. Nice. The Speedo Background is sort of "old Skool" tan with white and black numerals, looks great.
4.) EFI bike starts instantly on the button, idles smooth - well, for a 270 degree bike anyway. Sound with the shorty pipes is a tad above my taste, but those inclined to such things will love it. You hear the pipes up to about 50, then the sounds levels out and weakens.
5.) Torque, torque, and more torque. This bike had the "Shorty" pipes on, and still had more torque than any sane person would ever need on a public highway. Zero to sixty faster than you can look down at the Speedo to see where your at. Sixty to 95 very, very quickly. No stop watch or instruments handy, but speedwise, or passing wise, you'll never have any problems whatsover with this bike.
6.) This bike reminds me of a guy maybe named "Sven" from "World's Strongest Man" competition hoisting a cup of tea. Loads of torque, 100 ft./lbs., and it's usable... and you can feel it. A 4 cyl Honda CBR or a Hyabusa will seem very busy, hard working and twitchy by comparison, even though they might have the high RPM Horsepower. This is more like a Clydesdale mated to a Thoroughbred on Steroids.
7.) I only had her up to 95, as the Dealer noted to me it only had 42 miles on it, and asked me to "take it easy", which I did respectfully. Speedo says "120" tops, but you would swear she could do way more. We'll see.
8.) For a 750 pound or so bike, this one handles extremely easily, is very, very easy to ride, and feels from the seat like a much lighter bike. I'll opine that the center of gravity is strategically low, seat height is low at 27", tires are wide, handlebars are waaaay wide (Like Texas Longhorns!), and obviously the Triumph Design Engineers did a great job in balancing things out.
9.) Handling is... I'll say 8 out of 10? Handles well though some twisties, leans over well, the footpads and pegs are mounted forward and high, so you'll scrape the exhaust silencers before most anything else. I don't think folks will buy it for road-racing, so maybe that's a moot point, but she'll lean and whatever anyway. In a tight, suburban mall parking lot where we went for lunch, she handled very easily at slow, turtle-ish speeds. Must be the low center of gravity again. Nice.
10.) Motor is not even trying on this bike. No worries ever about stressing out this engine, as it seems to barely even raise a pulse as you go. Although I didn't try it, I have no doubt you could leave a nice long strip of rubber, then "chirp" the tires through each gear as you approach 80 or so. Very nicely done Engineering on this one. Good job.
11.) Dealer told me (I haven't verified it, so hold off on the flaming!!) that this has the heaviest crank counterweights and flywheel of it's class, and this was to smooth out the engine, and balance things. That explains the smoothness, and the low down torque, but this thing accelerates like a bike with a much lighter rotating mass. Must be the breathing, and/or overall good design. I did notice that she DE-cellerates a little slow though, but maybe it's just me. Anyone else experience this?
12.) The shorty pipes had a very nice tone to them, which encourages fast accelerating, and what-not general hooliganism, so maintaining a good fuel economy will be achievable only by those possessing extreme self control.
13.) Rider comfort in the cushy riders seat is great, far forward foot pegs / pads are an acquired taste I guess. Obviously many like 'em that way, so great.
14.) All in all, a fantastic bike, hard to find fault. The feel is of... "Strength", and effortless momentum. Engine is barely breaking a sweat, and gearing is such that cruising at 65 turns the motor at a leisurely 2500 rpm or so in 6th. I would buy one in an instant, if I were in the market right now.
15.) Mind you, the entire test run was done with my wife riding pillion, so imagine a solo run! VERY IMPRESSIVE.
No report would be complete without some "con's", so here goes, although they are ALL subjective, and a matter of opinion / personal taste.
A.) Standard Pillion seat is horrid. Dealer noted this was standard, and you can upgrade to a better seat ($$$$). Unless your significant other looks like Olive Oyl, you'll need a bigger seat (on the bike!)
B.) Handlebars are too wide, maybe an inch or so less on each end, and too small in diameter. On a brutish bike like this, I would expect heavier (thicker) bars. Obviously just a personal thing. Increase the chrome bar diameter say about 1/8 to 1/4 inch to match the strong torque laden feel of the remainder of the bike.
C.) Lastly, I hate the headlight housing! Again, a matter of taste, but I would prefer an "old skool" roundish housing as on the Bonneville. The headlight looks too "Rocketeer" 1950's space age to me. It is such a predominant focus point when you are in the riding position, so it should be perfect. Again - strength, power, torque.. not pointy rockets, IHMO!!!
There... not too bad. Anyway, we were both very, very impressed, and yes, I'd buy one in a heartbeat but I'm three bikes in three years right now, so I'd have to sell one to buy another to be realistic. I may... we'll see.
Beautiful bike. If Triumph were smart (read treacherous), and less ethical, they would ride around Harley dealers blocks all day on these, and they would take away at least 70% of the customers. Tremendous value for the asking price. My dealer quoted USD $12,499 MSRP base.
Cheers,
Bob
Ride safe!
Triumph Thunderbird Test Ride, 04 August
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