Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes THE CREME/GREEN NEEDS A STABLE MATE !

I've come to the conclusion that the 02 TBA doesn't fit all my needs. Is this rationalizing ? I want something that has more poop when I'm feeling like a punk and more comfort on longer rides. Heck I might impose on "modelmaker" for a weekend or visit friends and family in S. Texas. I've looked at everything from a Turkeywing, Beemer, ST1300, FJR1300, ZZR1200, Sprint and Concours.
The machine that fit these aged bones the best and met my criteria is the sadly defunct 1200 "Trophy" of which my dealer still has two unsold ones in stock! I only have one acquaintence who has one and he swears by it. I've been reading various reviews online and it's been pretty much the greatest MC ever produced or a two wheeled version of the YUGO. Resale sucks, but what the hey, I can get into it for about $9,000 and still have the two year warranty. Anyone on board have first hand experience with this model ? I'd really like to stay with Triumph, but I don't want a pig-in-a-poke either. My second and third choices would be the Concours or ST 1300.
Enlighten me bretheren !

No experience with a Trophy 12 but $9k new sounds like a good deal. Of course sport touring doesn't come cheap. You could get a new FJ for $13.5 or an ST for $14, the again a brand new Connie goes for only $8.5. But honestly, I came off a 95 Trident (same ergos as a Trophy) because my back got so bad I couldn't spend more than 20 minutes on it. One ride on the BA and I was hooked. I've added an extra 3.5 gallon tank so I can sit in the saddle for 4 hour stretches and it's great. Made trips from VA to TX and NV and back without a hitch. But if I were going for a sport tourer (love that HP, range, and speed), it's hard to beat a Connie for the price. Hardbags and driveshaft would seal it for me.

Hey Maurice. I don't know if I'd buy a new-leftover Trophy 1200 when you can get them cheap on the used market, but then I'm frugal minded. Here's one in Wisconsin for $5,199 with only 8,856 miles on it.The money you'd save could be spent on some nice trips.

You'll have much better luck at Triumphrat.net in the Trophy forum if you're looking for owners opinions.

My dealer sells both, so it's mox-nix to him which I purchase. I flat out asked the owner and his lead wrench which is the better machine and both said the Trophy. Their reasons were kind of obtuse, leastways to me, the Connie's frame uses the engine as a stressed member which leads to a "buzz" thru the bike. The Kaw has a higher repair incidence and the technology is 20 years old. What I've been able to determine on my own is, the Trophy is 77lbs. lighter, has 183 more cc's, 19 more bhp, 9 more lbf's, approx. 3" less wheelbase. The Kaw has 1 gal. more fuel,is a shaftie and is $500 less. Both rides have bags, 6 speeds and are carbureted. Triumph has a 1 yr. longer warranty, Kaw (obviously) has a better dealer network . Here's what I find telling, our TBA's have a power to weight ratio of .12 The Connie's is .14 and the Trophy is at .20 A Sprint ST is .26 and the ZZR1200's is .27 ! Of course all of the aforementioned is not as important as a few hours aboard each.

I was seriously thinking about buying Trophy for a while. I'd really like a sport touring bike. There were two things I didn't like about the Trophy. The seat seemed uncomfortable, and the styling is kind of old and clunky looking. I suppose the seat could be fixed, but then that's extra $$$. The styling seems to me like they were going for the 1956 sports car look. Personally, I like the retro look in a cruser bike like my Speedy, but I want modern styling and technology in a sport bike. One the other hand, I know one guy who owns a Trophy and he loves it. He's had it all over the country and claims he's never had a bit of trouble.

I wish that Triumph would find a serious replacement for the Trophy. Yamaha thought the FJR1300 wouldn't sell so they only produced it in limited numbers. They couldn't take orders fast enough to keep up. Now they are making one with an automatic (yuck). I think sport touring is a growing market. It's catching on with the younger Boomers and I think it will be big as today's kids (the sportbike set) gets older and wants more luxury on their rocketbikes.

Cody

Unfortunately the emphasis on Sport-Touring is on Sport. The exceptions being the Trophy, Connie and ST1300. Certainly style is personal and the seat is a well known problem. The Triumph saddlemakers dropped the ball from the git go on most of their models.

The Trophy, definitely one bike I wish Triumph would have continued building. From what I understand, they stopped because they were unable to build that motor anymore. However, they could have shoved the 955i motor in the thing though. A true touring bike like the Trophy is definitely the one bike that is missing from the Triumph line-up to make it a complete line of bikes. I am hoping that they will come out with something to replace it in the next year or so.

Soren