Hey folks, I know I hardly ever post here unless it's something important, but figured many might like a techs view on the 1600cc engine I just did the training for.
Once again, it looks llike Triumph engineers have a winner with the 1600 twin that will power the Tbird. This is no Bonnie engine on steroids, and has some nice design features
Starting with the gear box, the new six speed box has straight cut first and sixth gear sets. Second through fifth are conical cut to reduce noise. Between the new gear designs and the belt drive, it makes for a fairly quiet drive line.
They have moved to a hydraulic cam chain tensioner for reasons of quiet operation, and now have an idler gear in the bottom end to run the cam chain, giving a quieter top end. Because of the mass of the engine (800cc per cyl) they have added compression releases to the exhaust cam for quicker cranking and giving it easier starting and less abuse to the battery.
They are running a duel spark for a strong flame front, and emission reasons. As with all the curent Triumph engines, it has secondary air injection, but there's a bit of a twist. With the Euro 3 standards in place, the engine runs so clean, the SAI is non operational. Future virsions of the bike may not have SAI at all, dependant on 30K testing their in the middle of right now.
You might say, how can they release the bike prior to the testing..... They havent. The testing for the standard configured bikes have all been done, and passed. The testing is for the engines that have the big bore kit installed. In another first for the company, triumph will offer a factory big bore kit. The kit will bring the bike up from 85HP to 100, and from 108 to 115 torque. The parts, which will be pistons, pins, liners, cam shafts, gaskets, bolts, and performance air filter will retail for around 900 USD. It will not be a factory install set up, and they estimate the cost to the customer willl be around 2K parts and labor as a dealer upgrade. If the SAI is needed, a quick remap, and the bike will be ready to rip.
The clutch is the biggest Triumph has used to date, even larger then the one used in the Rocket. They had gone to a ratchet type clutch lifter / accuator for an outstandingly smooth pull. Tey are running a 40 amp charging system, so adding all the bull ****** people love to put on their bikes will be no issue.
It's a 270 firing crank, and I was taken back by the mass of the crank on the sucker. It's friggin huge. Some have said that you cant hear the bike with a full face on. They must be friggin deaf. I'd have to say, it one of the best sounding stock exhaust systems Truimph has come out with. No, it's not loud and agressive sounding, but your not going to sound like your on an angry sewing machine either.
All in all, they did a great job with this engine. I also have to give props on the overall package. While they made it a bit hard for the techs to do some of the work on it because of how well they hid dam near everything.
The world wide press gig started yesterday in Spain, so you should be seeing lots about the bike any time now. While I won't be running out to get one, I expect to see lots of used America, and Speedmasters on the market by mid summer.
Cheers !
Last edited by Sightglass; 05/13/2009 7:57 PM.
