Sorry Soren, but NOW I'm gonna disagree right back. The "Speed Twin" was NAMED the "Speed" Twin NOT because of any ability to "cruise" around on, BUT because it was one of THE hottest "roadburners" or "sporting" motorcycles of its era. AND, in fact, continured to remain so through ALL its many permuations from the early '50s Thunderbirds, to the later '50s Tigers, and even through to the Bonneville models.
Nope, Edward Turner's basic design philosophy for all his Vertical-Twins was NOT to make some kind of "American-styled Cruiser such as the Harley Knucklehead of Indian Chiefs of the time, but WAS to make as light and maneuverable and powerful a motorcycle as he could, and once again which IS the very antithesis of an American "Cruiser", even though that term of course hadn't been coined yet.
And besides, when did Triumph EVER in its long history make a motorcycle with standard forward foot controls(I'm talkin' WAY OUT forward like which come on BAs) until they came out with the BAs in '02? And, I don't think I need to remind you that that riding position is more conducive to "cruising" than it is riding in a more "sporting" manner.
(...and btw the very reason I've moved my foot controls back to the more "standard" position on my BA...yep, they're NOW right where they were on a 1937 Speed Twin, in fact!)
