 Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,531
Loquacious
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OP
Loquacious
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Posts: 2,531 |
OMG...what fun....I love the Thunderbird ..the engine and over-all feel of the bike is absolutly marvelous. It actually reminds me of my Bonnie-A after the engine work etc. This engine is a winner and with the factory "up-grade" for the engine....just dang ! ......HOWEVER ! That tank is butt-ugly and the pipes ?  yes I know, buy a bike and start re-doing....but has anyone seen or put different cans on the T-Bird and what about that fuel tank ? Will an old ('95ish) Thunderbird tank or one of ours fit on the new T-bird? Even my wife (who doesn't ride) liked the bike but commented of the un-appealing nature of the tank. If the bike had a tank as attractive as one of our teardrops the darn thing would have been ridden home yesterday !!!  So, are any modifying thes items as of yet, haven't found any evidence in my web serches ( but I'm technically challenged any how) ??? 
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 Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 18,825
"Lighten up, Francis."
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"Lighten up, Francis."
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 18,825 |
I can't believe the tank is the only thing holding you back if the bike is that good. I doubt any other tank will work. They probably stuffed all the EFI electronics in part of it like the EFI America tank. That would probably be the only tank that had a chance to work, and it's ugly too. I bet a custom bike builder could fab you one up from scratch to fit the bike for a couple grand.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,028 Likes: 8
New Tires
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New Tires
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,028 Likes: 8 |
I don't like the tank either, reminds me of my littlest brother's older 600 Honda Shadow's tank. But, I think if Triumph provided a more traditional looking badge it would be an improvement. If they are smart it's in the works.
I can live with the pipes. I'll buy one sooner or later.
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
H. L. Mencken
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 373
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 373 |
See if Junior up in Orange County, NY can build you a nice tank for it, I hear he is unemployed now.
'06 America, Raask foot controls, the bike use to be Graphite and Silver, now its Red and Black.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,681 Likes: 1
Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,681 Likes: 1 |
I actually don't mind the wide tank. All the better to hold almost 6 gallons of go juice.  I agree they need a bigger more traditional Triumph badge, though.
"Catching a yellow jacket in your shirt at seventy miles per hour can double your vocabulary" Author unknown
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3
Old Hand
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Old Hand
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 8,639 Likes: 3 |
HD managed a 6 gallon tank on my Night Train without making it ugly. Hmmm, it's fuel injected too, maybe one of those tanks could be adapted.
Let's hope there's intelligent life somewhere in space 'cause it's buggar all down here. -- Monte Python
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 711
Adjunct
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Adjunct
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Finally saw a T-Bird this past weekend at the Brit Bike show in Manassas, VA -- while it's prettier in person than in the pix, well... it's trying too hard to be a Harley. Too big. Too "generic," which is surprising given the engine config. Still, it reinforced my preference for the (old) Speedys and BAs. Triumph would've done better to just take the Bonneville engine and bore it out to a 900cc or 1,000cc displacement. Triumph's original pitch was "performance through minimalism." Keep the bikes smaller, lighter, quicker, and squeeze as much juice out of the engine as you can. Instead, they're drifting into the "there's no replacement for displacement" school, which is unfortunate. That said, I really dig the matte-green scrambler with the blacked-out Arrow pipes -- those things are gawjus.  --Jaeger
NEUTIQUAM ERRO
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 208
Adjunct
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I agree with the Friar, the tank shouldn't hold you back. I wanted EFI, but didn't like the newer tank on the Americas & Speedies. Now, I actually like it and glad I don't have the older style tank.
I also agree with Jaeger. To me, the America and Speedmaster have the soul of a Bonnie. Definitely Triumph lineage. The T-Bird is a whole new animal, trying to reach I'm not sure which market.
Perhaps, however, it's us nostalgic type Triumph lovers who like the Classic line, the Americas and the Speedmasters, and it's the Triumph folks who like the new or different who go for the Rockets and the T-Birds.
Me, I can't conceive of ever riding anything but my America.
Jim F
Salisbury NC/York SC
"Are you a Mod or a Rocker?"
"No, I'm a Mocker!"
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 18,825
"Lighten up, Francis."
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"Lighten up, Francis."
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 18,825 |
Just exactly which Harley is the Thunderbird trying to look like? A V-Rod? A Deuce? A Fatboy? I don't get it. Just how friggin unique does a cruiser have to be? How unique can it be? If you think our bikes are that unique you're high. Then Victory goes crazy with their styling to look unique and everybody complains. Some people are never happy. Just like when I put the belt drive on my bike and every other a-hole would say, "Why don't ya just buy a harley and get it over with?" Me: "Hey, why don't you go F yourself?"
I wonder which Harley the Rocket III is trying to look like...
Last edited by FriarJohn; 10/05/2009 2:16 PM.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,096 Likes: 2
Fe Butt
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Fe Butt
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 20,096 Likes: 2 |
Quote:
I wonder which Harley the Rocket III is trying to look like...
Come on now John, I thought I had answered THAT a few days ago around here!!! 
Why, ONCE AGAIN, the answer to THAT question is: The brand new for 2010 Harley-Davidson (.)(.)-Rod!!!!  
(man...your memory IS fading fast lately, ISN'T it dude???!!!) 
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)
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 738
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 738 |
Couln't put it better myself good Friar!
The individual mods we make our bikes are unique to us - I could careless if others don't like my ride (and many don't) neither do I by the way. I love it!
One day as a tiger is worth a thousand as a sheep
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,531
Loquacious
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OP
Loquacious
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,531 |
Quote:
Couln't put it better myself good Friar!
The individual mods we make our bikes are unique to us - I could careless if others don't like my ride (and many don't) neither do I by the way. I love it!
Modifications....show me a bike that don't get'em and I'll show ya a cookie cutter !......Now on this Thunderbird...1st, a more traditional Triumph tank, a set of hard bags and trunk (I'm looking for a bagger you can tell) then the floor board kit and that Summer wind screen kit...maybe a set of reverse cone pipes but not as loud as the Sceptors on the Bonnie-A....I know everything is possible, but just want to see what some folks have done with the tank, or if our tanks will fit ( shop didnt know) ah yes , as Deb said in Napolian Dynomite ," the possibilities are endless"
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,048
Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,048 |
Quote:
Just exactly which Harley is the Thunderbird trying to look like? A V-Rod? A Deuce? A Fatboy? I don't get it. Just how friggin unique does a cruiser have to be? How unique can it be? If you think our bikes are that unique you're high. Then Victory goes crazy with their styling to look unique and everybody complains. Some people are never happy. Just like when I put the belt drive on my bike and every other a-hole would say, "Why don't ya just buy a harley and get it over with?" Me: "Hey, why don't you go F yourself?"
I wonder which Harley the Rocket III is trying to look like...
Hoorah!
01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000 <3
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4
Complete Newb
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Complete Newb
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4 |
I was in the dealer last weekend. My 02 America is getting tired and I want a bigger engine on the next bike. I had the trade in negotiated but I could not get past the butt ugly tank on the T-Bird with the underside swoop. The pipes aren't the greatest either but you could at least change those. Sorry Triumph, a Superglide is basically the same price. I may be one of many instead of one of the few but it's tank doesn't make my testicles want to crawl up into my stomach.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,150
Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,150 |
Hey John, is that avatar a real picture of you? If it isn't, the way you talk makes me think you should look like that LOL  . Good response though in your last. Personally I don't think the T-Bird looks like anything out there but a T-Bird. Sure there are similaties cos that's what people want in a cruiser. One other thing, personally even if I did have the bickies to go out and buy one, I'm still not a fan of the bigger is better club. Mind you, I think I might have mental anguish issues if I had a test ride 
Staintune Pipes, K&N Pods, 45 pilots, TBS needles and 145 mains.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 7,705 Likes: 23
Monkey Butt
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Monkey Butt
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 7,705 Likes: 23 |
Quote:
Then Victory goes crazy with their styling to look unique and everybody complains.
Nobody that owns a Victory is complaining. I actually like the tank on the T-bird.
I try to aggravate one person a day. Today may be your day.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 119
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 119 |
Quote:
Hey John, is that avatar a real picture of you?
If it isn't, the way you talk makes me think you should look like that LOL .
Good response though in your last. Personally I don't think the T-Bird looks like anything out there but a T-Bird. Sure there are similaties cos that's what people want in a cruiser.
One other thing, personally even if I did have the bickies to go out and buy one, I'm still not a fan of the bigger is better club. Mind you, I think I might have mental anguish issues if I had a test ride
i agree,i don't think that the T-bird looks like anything other than what it is.park it next to anything in Harley's 2010 line up and it will not blend in.that being said i don't like the badges i think that they are just to small,they would be better served with badges similar to the heritage badge,the one that just says Triumph on the 02-07 BA's and Speedies.i do think that the short off road pipes look pretty cool,and the dual upswept pipes at first didn't appeal to me but now i do like them,they also help to distinguish from "every other cruiser clone".
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 124
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Oct 2009
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I have to agree with everyone on this...Love the bigger engine, and the wider stance (without having Rocket-itis) but the overall look and feel was a little to close to Harley/Honda/everyone else...it just lost it's Triumph feel.
Rode both the Thunderbird and the Speedmaster...the Speedy was the easy "right" answer.
2010 EFI Speedmaster,AI Removed,Polaris Belmouth,K&N,Long TORs,Rivco Risers,a clock and a Roadster screen.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 18,825
"Lighten up, Francis."
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"Lighten up, Francis."
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 18,825 |
Quote:
Hey John, is that avatar a real picture of you?
If it isn't, the way you talk makes me think you should look like that LOL .
A better compliment I have not received. My avatar is Bill Hicks, super-dark, super-cynical, super-intelligent comedian who died in the early 90s.
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 192
Adjunct
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Adjunct
Joined: Oct 2008
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Just buy it! Once it's yours, it'll be like a newborn baby . . . ugly to others, perfect to you. You'll be in love and insufferably proud.
'08 America, AI removed, National Cycle windscreen, bags, tach, dresser bars
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 639
Adjunct
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Adjunct
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Hey guys. I've been absent for a bit, opened a new office on my own so have been busy. Finally had a few minutes to wander thru the local Triumph dealership and to my surprise they had a T-bird. I was excited to see one in person. And I wasn't all that impressed either. I agree with the rest of you guys that the tank looks oddly like a Harley. The upsweeping pipes do nothing for me and I like the looks of my America's engine a lot better. More detail and "intimacy" with it. It always makes me feel good when I walk through dealerships, no matter what the brand. I walk away thinking there is no better bike out there for me than my beautiful blue and white America.
Blue/White, Battery Relocated, 155/45's, AI removed, Cocktail shakers
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 517
Adjunct
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Saw a pic of a 'Bird where the owner removed the tank badge and put a Triumph decal in it's place-a good sized one. It REALLY improved the look of the bike-way more than it sounds like here.
After seeing this picture I'd think it would be the first thing to do to all of them. Did i mention it really inproved the look of the whole package-LOL?
Who is cleaver with photoshop?
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Re: Thunderbird Test Ride !
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,681 Likes: 1
Bar Shake
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Bar Shake
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 6,681 Likes: 1 |
That's a good idea. I'd like to see a picture. That little badge on the T-bird looks dumb. 
"Catching a yellow jacket in your shirt at seventy miles per hour can double your vocabulary" Author unknown
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