Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Triumph Thunderbird...man, what a triple!

Rain came briefly, during the BBQ yesterday.
I darted for the driveway to move the bike into my buddy's garage. From the BBQ pit, he tossed me his key, too.
I moved his bike first.. a 2002 Thunderbird.
All I got to say is that 900, 3 cyl. is smooooooth.
And a 6th gear! What a crusing pleasure.
What happened to that engine? Did it get reincarnated into another bike?

Oh, and in case you're wondering how I found 6th gear, from the driveway to the garage... well, I guess I took the long way round.

Yes, I can't disagree. I have a '99 T'bird with high-lift cams, hi-comp pistons, pod filters, Super III ignitor box, upgraded suspension and brakes and a bunch of other stuff and it really is an excellent, tractable, reliable bike - if a bit heavy. I keep thinking I should trade it for something more modern, then I take it out for a ride and quickly forget that idea.

The guys at Triumph seem to think the engine was overbuilt (the engineers who developed the engine wanted to avoid regaining the reputation for unreliable, leaky bikes that Triumph had back in the 70's). It is supposed to be good for 100,000+ miles and apparently isn't helping the factory move people onto newer bikes. I don't think the engine is used anywhere else.

Chris

The T-Bird, Adventurer and Legend are some of the best-looking bikes Triumph has made. Never rode one though.
If I could find a used one I might consider picking one up.

I know someone on Staten Island with a black Legend they might be willing to part with...

I believe the T-bird sport is the only one with a 6 speed, and I also think that tripple was also the original Speed Tripple motor back in the day. Awesome bikes. WAY WAY faster than ours, and with some great features like monoshock rear end, adjustable front suspension, etc. And yeah, they look sweet too. I think of them sort of like those Ducati retro bikes that just came out. Modern bits with some classic tin.

I'm a lucky man. I have a Speedmaster and a Thunderbird Sport. When I got into a financial pinch this past spring, one was supposed to go. I put the Speedmaster up for sale, but luckily no one bought it. Things are tight, but we will survive without selling either. I just could not let the TBS go. I liken it to a gentlemens' hooligan bike. I have rowdy mufflers on her and that triple just sounds so good. When riding solo, I almost always take the triple(like today at work). When in a group or with the boss, I take the twin with the backrest. Love them both:I think the triple just a touch more.
Mike Sr.
Oh, and about the 6 speed? I still look for 7th .

Matthew McConaughey is on the cover of the new Texas Monthly with his Tangerine & Cream TBS. He's a major Longhorns fan, so I can see how the color suits him!

Standard T'birds '99 and later also got the 6 speed tranny.

Chris (6 speed 1999 T'bird)

Yeah, me and Mathew McConaughey..... two of a kind .

Good to know! What's the difference between a Legend and the Tbirds other than adjustable front suspension and the 6 speeD?

T'bird Sport has 17'' wheels (to fit sport tires), adjustable suspension front and rear, narrow bars, different mufflers, blacked out engine, rear-set pegs. No power difference in spite of the official product literature claims to the contrary. The cafe racer in the family.

T'bird has bigger wheels, more chrome, higher bars. Sort of a gentlemanly roadster.

Legend is kind of a decontented T'bird, with blacked out engine, single colour paintwork, lower seat height and wheels somewhere between the T'bird and the Sport. 5 speed only I guess. Your basic no-frills standard.

Adventurer - similar to T'bird but with Harley pretensions such as two piece seat, mini-apes (on the early ones), strange bobbed rear fender, funkier paint schemes and a lot of chrome IIRC.

The sub-frames differ slightly between makes and years as does standard equipment. Some small differences in the fenders. Kind of like the BA and Speedy - same basic bike (until the 900 engine) just different trim.

All great bikes with a wonderful bulletproof motor. They were rated very highly as new bikes back in the day, and the much-respected British "Bike" magazine gives them 4 stars and a v. good rating as a used buy. They were the best selling Triumph in North America for a while, I believe, but in the big scheme of things they are a niche bike that most people would pass up, so you can get great deals.

Chris

He had some random reality show where he traveled america in a motorhome promoting a movie for a while. Only saw a little of it, but it showed him grilling with some locals at a trailer campground. Seemed like a chill dude. Definitely cool to hang with.

As for the TBS, Tbird, Legend thing. sounds like the same basic bike with different components. Tell ya what, a Legend, black paint, looks sweet with some low bars in it!

Here's a shot of a sweet Tbird with some low bars on it. Really gives it an agressive look.

I have always liked the T-bird.Infact if Triumph were making our bikes and the T-bird I would have a hard time deciding which one to buy!Yes I can only afford to buy one!grumble..grumble

If Triumph still made that T-Bird Sport, I just may have gotten it instead. Thought about it at the time. I could only find one dealer in the Northwest that had one (as far as I could tell it was the last one on the planet). It was gone shortly after. Oh well, had to settle for a better bike

Soren

I had a 2000 T Bird before I got my America....sweet bike, lots of power, I just really liked the look of the engine on the America (more like the old Trumpets), plus the T Bird killed my knees after a while..

Lee

Yeh have to agree about the engine.I always like the engines that the old Brit bikes had.When I found out about Triumph and that they still had some P-twins that got my attention.Now I said that I would have a hard time chosing but after a little thought I would probably have to go with the P-twin over the in-line three.