Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes The Thunderbird

The latest TRIUMPH magazine has a great pic of the new Thunderbird.

What did they do?!?

Like therre weren't enough threads about the new Tbird already

first new t-bird I've seen.
thx for the post
Scott

p.s. don't know if I like it??

If it didn't have the Triumph name plate on it, I wouldn't look twice. Looks like a Japanese clone. I need to see it in person. Anybody heard about the price?


---Bob

Any mention on any of the posts about electronic cruise control?

jerry

1 million yen

I like it. Hopefully it will also look good in person. I'm sure others have seen it too, you see a new bike and it looks good in the picture but when you get up close in person it doesn't look so good. The new Thunderbird is on my short list of retirement bikes.

love the looks of that bike but for goodness sake why can't triumph learn how to make a seat? the person designing those pillions should have been neutered.

I doubt I'll be tempted until a Thunderbird Touring version comes out without a bobbed rear fender, straight pipes, hard bags, etc.

If the America looked like that, I would have bought another Harley. The new Thunderbird stands as a symbol of nearly everything I don't want in my garage. It's a huge mistake.



Jack

How about if the T'bird came out with all the stuff we go on about here. Then we'd be just like every dentist with a CVO. How about we look past the standard and try to imagine what is possible. I think it's a great basis for some tasteful mods. I've put my money down and I'm waiting for the call.

/end rant

lol cruise control

I thought the pic was good, but the bike STILL looks like a Yamaha/Honda hybrid. Whatever happened to "Go Your Own Way"?

Dealer said it will have multiple versions, and be in mid 09.

That radiator looks hideous.

The more I look at it I see things I like but over all I wouldn't buy one.

MOO!

Give me a 1999 Thunderbird anyday. That's what a Triumph should look like.

sharp looking bike I love it..

triumph did a great job with this bike

Ed

I hate the water cooling and lack of fins on the cyl. plus that FUGLY rad up front. I don't like the short rear fender or HD clone looking gas tank and dash or the belt drive and pulley cover. I don't like the jap looking cam cover or the up swept pipes, the list goes on. The few things I do like a little.

Why don't we just wait to see it in person before we condemn it. Personally, I'm liking 1600 CCs of Triumph cruiser. If I cn't deal with it, then I'm buying a Tiger....

my legs are too short for the Tiger and similar bikes..so a cruiser it is.I love my america 95% of the time..the 5% has to do with being a little lite and blowing arround on the interstate..I too will withold judgement till I see it in person and ride one...dont care for a Rocket but those Rocketeers love theirs!!

When I bought my 06 America I also ordered Raask foot controls which brings the forward foot controls back 6". Hopefully Raask will have some for the new Thunderbird so that I can reach the foot controls because I plan on buying one.

I know Triumph really wants to get more of the HD cruiser market, but they needed to stick with their own heritage. Another bike that looks like "all the rest" is not going to sway a HD customer - even with the name Triumph on it.

I'm a little bit confused here....

The first "Jap" bikes to hit the USA and compete looked like, er, Triumphs. Now you say the latest Triumph design looks like a "Jap" bike...?
All of the classic design bikes - BSA, Triumph, Norton, etc., were copied by the Japanese manufacturers to get their foot in the door in the USA. They looked similar and were a lot cheaper at the time. And we (the USA) rebuilt their country and their manufacturing base so they could beat us at our own game.
Today, except for the sport bikes, all the "Jap" cruisers look like HD's. I'm thinking they got their sport bike start from copying the cafe racers, though I may be wrong there...
So Triumph comes out with a new model and you think it looks Japanese? You should have seen the early Jap bikes... they sure looked "British".

I think it's a nice looking bike. It's a Triumph. I like it.
Whether I can afford to buy one or not, I don't know.
I still love my 03 America.

I think it looks like a jap bike that's trying to look like a HD sheet metal wise and the engine looks like a Kawasaki engine that I saw recently. (top end anyway) The primary reminds me of HD. I like the 100HP vertical twin idea in 1600cc but not in the current incarnation. As far as the jap bikes trying to look HD I don't see any HD in the Honda 750four and that was the one I think made it big and took sales from Triumph and HD at the start.

It's got potential - at least it's not a V-Twin. I'm sick of those variations on a theme.

Over all not bad. I guess my problem is that it does not scream Triumph. Kinda agree with the heritage comment. It is not bad it is just kind of...meh.

I agree with most, I am a dissapopinted in it, They couldve done so much better. I normally look at a bike and think what i could do to it to make it better or my own.
But that radiator WTF, cant get rid of it, your stuck with it, why couldnt they do something like the small oil cooler thats on the BA or Speedy, couldve worked around that, anyway my 2 cents

In looking at the bike I see most of the standard mods that many of us currently do, or wish to do, to our bikes...

Bobbed fender,
pull back risers,
smaller & relocated directionals,
cleaned up trees (no big speedo),
better cable retainers at the front fender,
layback taillight (which appears to be L.E.D.),
less lollipop like mirrors,
a front fender that hugs the tire,
matching side covers,
belt drive,
thinner less bulky forward pegs,(with some chrome please)
a sleeker more forward projecting head lamp,
un-shrouded front forks,
smaller less bulky rear peg hangers,
taller, thinner front tire, with dual disks (look for all the T-bird front hub threads on dual disck and relacing a 19" rim to them)
Fatter rear tire...(see the countless threads about "how wide a tire can I put on the stock rear rim"

They even got rid of that GOD-AWEFUL-FUGLY R3 radiator (that you have all griped about since it's first appearance) made it much narrower and turned it sideways, so it stuck out less and blended (as much as one can with a radiator capable of cooling 1600cc's) better with the lines of the bike...

They even increased the angle of the dash...so that that useless position of 'flat on the tank' is gone and the Gauge(s) will be more 'rider friendly/use-able'

For every item that they have incorporated in this bike I could find VERY specific examples of someone here who has done almost the EXACT same thing to their America/Speedy
AND in most cases the PART NUMBERS and DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS how you can do it to YOUR America/Speedy...

I guess you guys should have been MUCH more SPECIFIC when you were designing the New America and told them to do everything they did...but keep the engine looking EXACTLY the same. Just make it twice as big and twice as much HP...OH and be sure you double the size of the bore only...because if you do anything with an increased stroke you will have to loose that beloved tank style and have to raise, widen, and lengthen, the tank making it impossible to maintain that 'knee dish' that we all love...Oh and be sure it has the 'eyebrow' badging on each side

That's what I was thinking....

Triumph's interpretation of what we've been yakking about on here for all these years.

Good point(s)! The T-bird (would have preferred Speed Twin) will for sure be a success when it's released...

Great post Rob..
The ones that like it ..well they will buy it...
And the rest who really cares...!

In reference to Dale's comment, I could care less what the Japanese are doing or copying, but I do care what Triumph is doing. The Japanese bikes have done well by copying and better engineering what's popular. This may have started with Triumph in the 650cc range, but now it's all about the HDs and larger sized V-Twins now.

Rob, you made a lot of good points. I don't mind the radiator so much and I agree that they did a decent job of fitting one in. BUT, they could have done better keeping some Triumph design features over what everyone else (Japanese) is copying. The tank they already changed on the TAs and SMs, which I do think was a mistake.

I'm still hoping they will wake up and bring more Triumph into this bike. For now, I'm just on the sidelines watching. I love my America more than any new bike (including Triumph) I can buy now.

I am interested in the weight and handling. I see they left room (designed need for additional items) for customizing. I am paying attention to this one! If it handles as well as ours (one could only hope) it could be a hit! To me, a bit easier on the eyes than the R3 and if it handles as well as that bike...

Seat looks like it will give a little lumbar supports with the pillion snugged up to it. I know this is a functional and effective approach to this problem as seen in after market seats like Mustang. Maybe a little comfort right off the bat? I want to straddle one and reserve final opinion till then.