Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge is power a problem with sppedmaster or america

im looking at getting a speedmater or america will i have a problem at all keeping up with 1200cc or bigger bikes and what about if i have a passager and some lugagge,and how comfortable are these bikes for 2 people

Look at the folks who road the the GA. rally quite a few two ups 1800 miles in 4 days I think they will tell you haw great the bike does. Get a new seat though.

I,m the only Triumph owner around here that I know, all I ride with are harleys and i don,t have any problem at all keeping up. I ride 2 up alot, my wife weighs 110, no problem, a little down shifting in the mountains but everyone else seems to be shiftin too, My bike has no performance mods yet,[it runs so good I hate to mess with it]Seems pretty easy to gain a few hp if you want.

The one thing I can add is that the pad for the speedmaster is very uncomfortable. I was on the back of my bike the other day (very long story). And every review that said the seat isn't for passengers wasnt kidding.
Dill

I have the Triumph touring seat on mine, no complaints from passengers.

I have no power problems at all either.

Soren

The only Harleys I've ridden with that I can't keep up with are a hot-rodded T-sport belonging to a local HD mechanic (and that's when he is riding 2 up and I'm riding alone), and my buddy's high-compression chopper. I have a friend with a V-rod but we haven't ridden together.

My experience so far with two up riding is that I prefer to ride alone. The wife and rode from the valley floor to 10K altitude pretty much a constant ascent of twisties and I could tell the bike was somewhat impacted by the additional 125 pounds of wife on the touring seat. It was still fun though. Most of us are not going to be into agressive riding with a pillion on board anyway especially on a challenging highway.


The bike is AOK on the flat with her on board though. When she leans back into the sissy bar it seems like she is not there at all on a straight and level slab at 60-65 MPH.

The touring seat got no complaints from my wife.

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from the valley floor to 10K altitude

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Was it the wife on back or the 10k altitude that slowed ya down?

Well now ...I'd say the ascent would have been more exciting with a lack of 125 pounds additional on the back.

But I think most bikes performance would be aggrieved by a passenger and a combination of a stiff ascent save those bikes with a lot more ****** in em.

I would not want to run for an extended tour with two up with this bike. Just my opinion though. I realize many do tour with it with a passenger and luggage.

I wonder ...do those with the big bore and all the extra horses feel a stronger comfort level with a pasenger for any period of time?

I have ranted on this before.The "BIGGER" bikes may have more engine but are also lugging on average 150 pounds more weight.As regaurds to passengers unless you go gell there is no such thing as a comfortable passenger pillon regardless of the CC's of the bike.

I wouldn't be too concerned about touring two up. I mean, even though I'm a svelte 215-220lbs, I didn't feel any problems with it on a ride to Missouri and back (with full saddlebags, a full tankbag and 104 degree nonstop heat to boot. Granted, I didn't climb up to 10,000, but even through the smaller mountains of NC/GA, never had a problem. Just my 2 cents...

Good point. My wife only likes short hauls anyway. I'll never get her to go on a long trip on the bike. She is too atypically a woman and does not at all fit the mold of a "biker chick" She aint the rough and ready for adventure type as it were...not beyond a half hour to 40 minutes of riding.

I really like riding the Speedie one up as a preference.

My brother has a Harley he and his wife ride in season (Sturgis area of South Dakota) He wants a "road king" for the highway. His wife rides and I told him ..."Buy two Triumphs" and both of you can ride. She still wants that Harley though.

I always have rides with my RAT pack only me on bonnie america the rest are sport or tourist bikes and never had problem to keep ride with them even with pasenger

I ride 2-up with my wife and all Harleys every time we ride. My friends have HD Deuces, Road King, and Softtail Deluxes. I can leave all of them when riding by myself and have no trouble keeping up riding 2-up. With the 17T sprocket you can probably leave them behind you even riding 2-up. I may go back to the 17T if my wife keeps riding a lot. The 17/42 combo that the bike comes with makes it quicker off the line than the 1400cc HDs. The 18T is better at crusing speeds, but I miss being the quickest bike in the group.

This is just my opinion and you know what they say about those.

If it's 2-up short hops or very lightly loaded or you don't routinely get in a hurry, this should do you.

If you're riding is mostly 2-up with a lot of baggage and distance to cover you may want to consider something with a little more power. These are listed stock as 61hp but that's in a marketing guys dream. A larger cruiser (06 Vulcan 1500s can be had for about the price of a Speedmaster) or a sport tourer with a hundred or so hp would be better suited to 2-up loaded for distance.

What were you riding 2-up before?

I don't even bother putting the postillion (I will use this term instead of the Harley term since this is a "family site) on, as little as my wife rides, and honestly, I prefer 1 up most times (part of the reason I love the bike is it is good for getting AWAY from the world for a little while). And quite frankly, unless my wife was the kind of biker girl who liked riding metal fenders on choppers (so NOT the case!), she certainly wouldn't be happy on the stock rear seat for more than 30 minutes. Don't think probably anybody would, and even less on the Speedy rear seat! Should we ever decide to ride cross-country together (highly doubtful, I'll spring for something more along the lines of a Wing or BMW that has a big comfy seat for both passengers, since anything less would mean very short runs between stops, or constant poking in the ribs!

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She still wants that Harley though.

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Maybe you should forward him that joke I posted about the horse and needing a Harley to pick up chicks...

i wouldnt ride 2 up that much maybe 5-10% of the time if that,i might take a 2-3 hour ride to beach or mountains for night stay,i realy want this style bike i have a triump tiger that i have had for only 3 weeks that im selling to buy one,i love the style of the speedmaster and america and it sets great

I have an '03 America and my OL has an '05 Dyna Lowrider. Both bikes have the same mods, aftermarket pipes, opened up breathing, lightbars, bigger jets (remapped FI on the HD). Because it has a lot of torque (the one advantage of 88 cubic inches) the HD is quicker for the first 15 - 20 feet. After that, Triumph wins. Top speed is about the same. Throw in a few curves and I have to stop and wait for her because HD handling is, being as kind as possible, 'majestic'. The sad part is that the HD cost a last year leftover America and a new Rocket 3.

I was exactly a post like this - a question somebody else asked about speed and two-up power, and the answers like this that I read - that convinced me I did NOT need or want the VTX1300 I thought I did, and that the 790cc air cooled, chain drive English cruiser with all the SOUL was really what I wanted. I don't ride two-up, but know I can if I want (would have to buy a touring seat). I always ride in the front 2-3 bikes in any group I've ever ridden with, including Monsters, Thruxtons, KZ1000s, H-Ds, ST1300s, or anything else they want to bring. Not racing, mind you, but if you don't want to keep up, you don't have to. Nobody leaves me behind.

I never had to ask the question - I had just discovered this sight (the old site back in 2003), and was just starting to explore what Triumph had to offer. All I did was start reading posts on this forum and it was quickly apparent that these are superior machines at an affordable price. Things haven't changed a bit.