2010 Triumph Thunderbird: truly a triumph
Rick Romanyk for the Toronto Star
One of the Thunderbird’s greatest attributes is its ability to fly around corners. The Triumph bike handles with ease and is surprisingly light for its size.
Close your eyes and think "Big Cruiser." Do you see a motorcycle with fat tires, a long and low chassis, big fenders and, of course, the prerequisite V-twin engine?
Across the pond, Triumph sees things differently – must be the warm beer or something.
Everyone and his sensei shoehorns V-twin engines into their cruisers but Triumph stays with what it knows: the time-tested parallel twin. The fact it had never made a parallel twin bigger than 850 cc before didn't faze the company one bit.
How big is the engine in the new Thunderbird megacruiser? How does 1,600 cc grab ya? That's right. Two huge cylinders, side by side, stretched across the frame, making the engine a design focal point.
Swing a leg over the $14,899 Thunderbird and it appears long, although the 1,615-mm wheelbase is actually shorter than many other big-bore cruisers. The rigid chassis makes for easy cornering and steering is light for a motorcycle with a 308 kg dry weight.
My first impression was that the wide seat had a nice contour but it seemed hard. A half hour in the saddle confirmed that, "Yep, it's definitely hard." Triumph offers an optional "longhaul" seat that presumably (because it's made for the long haul), is more comfortable. Why don't they offer the comfortable seat as standard and see how many riders order the "discomfort" seat?
My test unit came all gussied up with optional leather bags, highway pegs, gorgeous two-tone, blue paint with white accents and a too-low windscreen, bringing the list price to a still-reasonable $17,550.
Thumb the starter button and 1,600 cc of refined power springs to life. Horsepower is a respectable 85 or so, but the 108 lb.-ft. of torque kick in at a low 2750 rpm, which is right in the usable, daily riding range. The crankpins are 270 degrees apart, not the traditional 180 degrees (where one piston is up and one is down) so the engine feels and sounds suspiciously like a V-twin – which won't alienate "traditional" cruiser riders. The engine is incredibly strong and even at freeway speeds, a twist of the wrist in sixth gear has the T-Bird rocketing away from traffic.
No, that's not a misprint. The Thunderbird has a six-speed transmission, which makes for relaxed highway use and is probably a retaliatory salvo against Harley-Davidson's six-speed box that was introduced last year.
The Thunderbird really outshines "normal" cruisers in the handling department as this Bird really flies around corners. Steering is aided by the 120/70-19 front tire, which allows a quick turn-in and when pushing hard, the footpeg feelers will drag but nothing hard or dangerous will touch down.
The preload-adjustable twin rear shocks boast only 95 mm of travel but have above-average damping as frost heaves and potholes didn't transmit any major jolts through my spine. The front, likewise, was well controlled over its 120-mm range of travel.
Braking too, is a strong point with dual 310-mm rotors up front squeezed by Brembo four-pot calipers. A two-piston Brembo and a 310-mm disc brings up the rear, allowing the T-Bird to shed speed with ease. The front brake lever is adjustable but adjusting it requires a 10-mm wrench and a Philips screwdriver, which seems overly involved for such a routine task.
Controls are surprisingly light, the clutch pull being progressive and smooth and the gearbox is a joy whether going up or down. The low seat (700 mm) allows riders of all stature to firmly plant both feet on the ground at a stop and the bike is well balanced at rest.
Instrumentation consists of an analog speedo mounted on the tank console with a smallish tach in the lower quadrant of the speedo. A handy bar-mounted switch operated by the right thumb cycles through the tripmeters, odometer and clock.
The T-Bird's self-cancelling turn signals are the best in the industry, signing off 1.5 seconds after completing the turn. They don't go on for blocks as do most others.
The optional bags are relatively easy to access. Some of the luggage space is compromised by clearance for the mounting brackets, but overall there's enough capacity for a weekend trip.
With measured fuel consumption in the 5.2 to 5.5 L/100 km range (54/51 m.p.g.), the 22-litre tank should give well over 350 km before you have to look for a gas station.
And, to satisfy cruiser riders' insatiable desire to personalize their machines, Triumph is offering hundreds of accessories including a 1,700 cc big bore kit that adds 15 horsepower and bumps torque to a pavement-rippling 115 lb.-ft.
The Thunderbird raises the bar for big cruisers in acceleration, braking and especially handling. If potential customers can wrap their heads around the concept that cruisers don't necessarily have to be V-twin-powered, they'll like Triumph's Thunderbird.
Freelance writer Steve Bond reviews motorcycles for Wheelsstevebond8@yahoo.ca
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