The Thunderbird is a cruiser that Triumph hoped would fill an important gap - and it has, writes
Geoff Hill
WHEN TRIUMPH decided to call its latest model the Thunderbird, it contacted Ford to check they could borrow the name – only to find that Ford had done exactly the same thing with Triumph before the firm launched its own T-bird in 1955, six years after the bike. With such a wealth of history behind it, the latest Thunderbird would have to be something special.
It is. Four years in the planning, the Thunderbird has already been named Cruiser of the Year by Cycle World, the biggest bike magazine in the US, and within a decade Triumph hopes to be second to Harley in the world cruiser sales market.
That’s according to the Hinckley firm’s principal design engineer, Stuart Wood, who’s been with them for 22 years but looks so young he must have joined straight from playschool.
And what a huge market that is: in spite of sports riders dismissing cruising fans as wusses, 250,000 cruisers were sold in Europe and the US last year, compared to just 160,000 naked bikes and 100,000 sports machines.
Fifty per cent of those cruiser sales were 1,400-1,700cc bikes, so the logic was clear: it was time Triumph produced a motorcycle to fill the gaping hole in between its 865cc Bonneville America and the 2.3-litre Rocket III, which they had hoped would take on Harley but was just too big and idiosyncratic.
And fill it they have: the brainchild of LA design specialist Tim Prentice looks stunningly low, sleek and muscular, like a Bonnie America that’s been fed on gym and steroids for a year.
Even the instrument panel is a lesson in design, with anal-ogue speedo and discreet tacho, an unobtrusive digital information display and the word Thunderbird in a stylish typeface.
Faults? Only that the headlight was too small, butI think that about most Harleys and, even if you agree, you can add a couple of complementary sidelights from an accessories catalogue the size of a phone book.
Start it up and you realise Triumph has done a sterling job of mimicking a V-twin sound by tailoring the firing pulses on its brand new parallel twin; an impression that gets even better on acceleration and deceleration, with the short pipes on the bike I rode at the launch producing a delicious symphony of over-run pops.
The forks are set steep enough to allow countersteering, meaning precise cornering and much better handling than any of the mid-range Harley cruisers, and I say that as a long-time fan of the Road King.
At first I thought it was too low, but the fun of cruisers is seeing how long you can keep the pegs on the road at roundabouts and during normal riding you won’t have a problem.
Gear changes, thanks to helical cogs, are solid but slick all the way up to a sixth gear overdrive which leaves you tootling along at a mere 3,000rpm at motorway speeds and beyond, with a comfortable riding position and minimal windblast even on the naked version.
If you don’t like it naked, you can dress and chrome it up, comforting yourself with the thought that you’re just spending the money you’ve saved on fuel, with consumption up to 24 per cent lower than rivals.
And in the unlikely event of you wanting more oomph, a fitted big bore 1,700cc kit boosts power from 85 to 100bhp and torque from 108 to 122lb ft.
In short, it’s a winner, to the extent that I have an urgent message for Harley: Keep a careful eye on your rearview mirrors. That bike coming up fast behind is a Triumph Thunderbird.
Factfile Triumph Thunderbird
Engine: 1,597cc liquid-cooled parallel twin
Power: 146bhp @ 10,000rpm
Torque: 108lb ft @ 2,750rpm
Top speed: 115mph
Transmission and drive: six-speed, Kevlar toothed belt final drive
Fuel economy: 44mpg at 75mph, 55mpg in mixed riding
Fuel capacity: 4.8 gallons
Range: 210 miles
Seat height: 700mm / 27.6ins
Weight: 746lb / 339kg with fuel
Price: €13,499 for standard version, €14,249 for ABS model, €350 extra for two-tone. Contact Bikeworld, Long Mile Road, Dublin 12, tel: 01-456 6222; bikeworld.ie.
UK price £9,499 for standard version, £10,099 for ABS model, £295 extra for two-tone. Contact Philip McCallen, tel: 028-92 622 886, philipmccallen.com.