I think you made some good observations there Ryan, however there's a couple there that I think you may be just off the mark.(kind'a like the T-bird here)...

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Overall, as someone who is in marketing, I completely see both sides of the picture. Triumph needs to be true to its heritage and brand, but they also need to evolve. Being 100% true to the Meriden heritage didn't really work out for the previous regime long term, and the Hinckley crowd, to their credit, have been able to grow with new, innovative designs like the 675 and Speed Triple. Hey, if they were just going to sit around and make air-cooled twins, they would get criticism for not being innovative like everyone's favorite pin cushion Harley Davidson. Heck, my Sprint isn't exactly retro, and I still love it. It is a fantastic motorcycle. So is the Tiger. Does it look like a 1967 Tiger? No way, but it is still fantastic.
I am as unhappy as anyone on here who would like to see the Bonnie tank and the spoked wheels, but to survive you have to make some concessions to the mass market.




Seeing as how you appear to know the individual demographics involved with what sells to each of those demographics, you should know that cruisers by far tend to appeal to the more conservative and traditional crowd out there. As an example, H-D still sells far less V-Rods to their customer base than they do the rest of their Big Twin lineup, and most probably because their line of air-cooled cruisers ARE more "conservative" in design. And so, if Triumph's target with the T-Bird IS that crowd, as I've heard and read many times about this particular model, then in that case I think to NOT make it look as "retro" and "air-cooled as possible" would be a big ol' mistake on Triumph's part.

And while I agree that Triumph's lineup of street motorcycles is probably the widest and most diverse of any brand out there today, and has in the past pushed the envelope a bit over the years by offering "out of the ordinary machines" such as the Speed Triple and the 675, which appeal to a whole different demographic, if Triumph's attempt is to take a bite out of H-D's ENORMOUS Big Twin sales, then they should have gone MORE "conservative" with this design.

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I am as unhappy as anyone on here who would like to see the Bonnie tank and the spoked wheels, but to survive you have to make some concessions to the mass market. Triumph did this with the R3 Tourer...They have made huge improvements to the R3....




Yes, they did. They made the R3 Tourer more conservative and more H-D looking in design than the standard R3 in an attempt to sway the more "traditional" H-D riders away from purchasing a Road Glide, didn't they?! And that's kind of my point here.

Yep! Just like a good Single Malt Scotch, you might call me "an acquired taste" TOO.(among the many OTHER things you may care to call me, of course)