Australian Bike Advice & News Blog

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The Thunderbird launched in September is enjoying huge sales success with over 200 sales already and strong orders going forward.

Triumph’s outstanding performance in Australia has also been mirrored internationally, receiving praise for the success in an otherwise distressed market. In a year where global sales dropped a staggering 31% for motorcycles over 500cc, Triumph sold the most bikes they have ever recorded. Complimenting their sales results, Triumph have increased their global dealership count with 39 new dealers and increased their market share in every country in which they do business.

Triumph’s Street Triple range continues to sell promising numbers and recently won ‘Readers choice Bike of the Year’ awards in Australia and Bike of the Year in Japan! Sister and engine donor of the Street Triple, Triumph’s Daytona 675 has also maintained its growth in the supersports segment representing 16% of all supersport motorcycles sold in the UK.

And its not all about the sports bikes. If you add up all Bonneville variants ‘Bonneville, T100, Thruxton, America… Triumph’s sales for the 865cc air cooled engine equates to over 1700 motorcycles sold in 2009.

With Triumph’s extensive range of motorcycles from the brilliant 675cc Street Triple to the powerhouse 146bhp Rocket III Roadster, there is a bike for everyone.

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Triumph has already enjoyed international success with its three-cylinder supersport weapon, with Aussie Paul Young winning the 2008 British title, and his countryman Garry McCoy finishing on the podium in this year’s world championship.

Meanwhile, Casella was seventh in this year’s Australian Supersport Championship as a privateer, acquitting himself brilliantly amongst a gaggle of distributor-backed machinery.

“We have been looking at how to best support some of our up and coming young riders and to put back into the industry,” said Triumph Australia’s marketing manager Mal Jarrett.

“Getting involved with the Supersport series, and in particular Andy & AARK Racing, seemed a logical way to do so. It’s with great excitement and anticipation that we look forward to the 2010 race season.”

The six-round 2010 Australian Supersport Championship will begin on February 26-28 at Phillip Island as a support class for the opening round of the world superbike title.

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To pay tribute, the internationally syndicated Mr Cathcart took two highly-tuned examples of the latest Bonneville back to its spiritual birthplace at this year’s edition, held between August 30 and September 3.

Riding a street-legal Thruxton Bonneville prepared by Matt Capri, owner of South Bay Triumph in California, Cathcart broke the 150 mp/h barrier to set a new two-way FIM world record for the flying mile at 152.678 mp/h, and another for the flying kilometre at 152.770 mp/h, with a best one-way speed of 153.150 mp/h.

These speeds set new marks for the FIM’s 1000cc Normally-Aspirated Twin-Cylinder Unstreamlined category.

In addition, Mr Cathcart established two more new FIM world records for the 1000cc Forced Induction Twin-Cylinder Unstreamlined class, riding a turbocharged South Bay Triumph Bonneville with a two-way speed for the flying mile of 165.405 mp/h, 165.672 mp/h for the flying kilometre and a best one-way speed of 171.624 mp/h.

The mile speed qualifies as a new AMA record too, with all records set by the air/oil-cooled parallel-twin British bikes subject to ratification by the relevant authorities.

Speaking about his record breaking week, Mr Cathcart commented: “We’ve been coming to Bonneville since 2007 in preparation for this, the Bonneville model’s 50th birthday year.

“Breaking the 150 mp/h barrier with the standard bike was always our main objective, and when the FIM established the new twin-cylinder category for speed records, it was great that we could claim official world records by doing so.

“Matt Capri is a genius when it comes to tuning bikes for the salt, at 4400 feet in altitude, and to set two more world marks with the turbo, which he’s developed almost as an afterthought and has spent very little time on, is just the icing on the cake.

“For sure this is a 180 mp/h-plus motorcycle with more development in its present naked guise, and with a fairing it’ll go much faster. Maybe we’ll be back next year to try to join the 200 mp/h club with it!”

The South Bay Triumphs were shod with Pirelli rain tyres supplied by the Italian tyre manufacturer’s road racing division.

“The Pirellis gave us great traction, especially in the first two days, which many teams sat out due to slippery conditions after rain the week before,” said Mr Cathcart.

“This allowed us to get in several setup runs and after the salt dried out in the Speed Week sunshine, we had great grip and good stability from the Pirellis, even with the violent pickup of the turbo through the gears when it comes on full boost. That was a key contributor to our record-breaking speeds.”

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Powered by the critically-acclaimed 675cc three-cylinder engine producing 126bhp (93.8kW), the Daytona 675SE is mechanically identical to the standard Daytona 675, which has received universal praise since its introduction at the start of the year, winning several road and track based group tests against its supersport class competitors.

The circuit-developed machine embraces the very latest chassis technology, including highly sophisticated and adjustable suspension both at the front and rear. These suspension units, adjustable for both high and low speed compression damping, give unparalleled levels of control for the sporting rider while offering a plusher than expected ride on rough road surfaces.

A full range of official accessories are available for the Daytona 675SE, giving owners an opportunity to personalise both the looks and performance of their machine. Discerning track day enthusiasts are well catered for with a number of accessories, including numerous lightweight carbon fibre parts, a ‘plug-and-play’ quick shifter set, and exquisite race-style rear set footrests and silencers developed in cooperation with Italian race specialists Arrow Special Parts.

Triumph’s association with another high-end Italian brand, Alpinestars, has also developed a range of performance garments, gloves and boots designed specifically for the needs of both male and female Daytona 675 riders.

The Triumph Daytona 675SE is expected in dealerships this coming August, pricing is yet to be confirmed.

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Early, and yet modern, incarnations of the Tiger firmly had the BMW GS customer in mind. The spoked wheels, trail-ish tyres, fork boots, 19-inch front wheel and general all purpose look ensured that the Tiger would be sat side by side with the GS in the buyers mind.

The Tiger was, and is, cheaper, more powerful and more modern than the GS, but the tried and true Beemer was still the winner.

So Triumph did the logical thing. It moved the Tiger into a new hunting ground to call its own.

The new Tiger has a 1050cc three-cylinder motor that is shared across many other Triumph models and cleverly tuned this one to suit the bike and the buyer.

The torque curve is like a bad opera singer- it comes in early and is flat. In an opera that’s a bad thing, so I’m told, in an all purpose road bike it’s just about perfect.

The looks and styling went more towards Yamaha’s FZ1 and the fittings went very road. Gone were the fork boots, replaced with snazzy upside down numbers; the seat was lowered to prevent it being unceremoniously dropped by persons under six-foot; and the pillion seat went from a nice place to live to a short holiday destination only.

In some ways, the Tiger is really all about That Engine. The chassis and running gear simply serve to provide a stage for the 1050cc’s of glory to shine.

The gearing is about perfect – no 170km/h in first gear here, just a sensible ratio blend that works brilliantly with the engine to give you a right handed torque tap.

Want more? Turn on the tap. Coupled with the updated version of the 1050’s fuel injection – a vast improvement on previous models – with still some way to go before it is a smooth and simple as a Japanese bike.

There’s a little chain snatchiness on slow roundabouts, and also the odd stall after a cold start. Despite these small issues, the new fuel injection mapping and ECU is miles ahead of all of the old 955 Triumphs.

When you have an engine as versatile and fun as the Tiger has, it could easily mask poor handling but this is not the case.

Both the Tiger and the venerable BMW GS can, in the right hands on the right day, publically pull down the pants of many a sports bike.

Naturally it’s horses for courses, so perhaps a track day at Phillip Island or Eastern Creek would not be the ideal locale for a Tiger, but your friendly local twisty bits could see the Tiger leading the pack.

Best of all, it’s effortless. The wide bars and upright riding position prevent tiredness as well as they promote good riding.

The radial front brake is simply wonderful. Two fingers and you have all the stopping power you need. The forks could have been a little firmer for my liking, but then I’m 190cms and 100kgs, so possibly at the upper end of what the standard preload settings can cope with.

The rest of the running gear is better than average. The clocks, speedo and tacho are well lit, well placed and very simple to use. You may not get much use out of the lap timer, but the dual trip meters and the shift lights are easy to see and immediately intuitive.

Your pillion may wish for something more comfortable and possibly a little longer in the leg, but all you need do is point at a Japanese sports bike and say something like “I was going to get THAT!” and you’ll have them raving about the Tiger in no time.

On open roads the Triumph’s engine shines once again.  The torque controller that is the throttle hand is so versatile that you can select one gear in a twisty section and just surf that torque curve right to the shore.

In built up areas, the 1050 does not hunt for a little more throttle so staying under the speed limit is thankfully easy, and these days cheaper too.

Daily commuting on a Tiger is a breeze. The bars are a little wide for the old filter-to-the-front at the lights, but the stable mirrors and general visibility from the bike make to and from work trip a safer and simpler part of your day.

“So who’s the buyer?” I asked the guys at Triumph as I was picking up the all-orange beasty.

I own both a Triumph Speed Triple and a BMW GS and I could not work out where the Tiger was placed in that sort of company. It dawned on me later that the Tiger is perfect for those who want a/ but don’t want b/. As follows:

If you want a bike that performs in a sporty manner, but don’t want to be bent over all day, the Tiger might be for you.

If you like the size and comfort of a BMW GS, but don’t plan to go off road, the Tiger might be for you.

If you want a bike that has panniers and top box as standard and don’t want to go to the hassle and expense of getting after market boxes, the Tiger might be for you.

If you are a big guy and find most bikes make you feel like a giant spider on a tricycle, the Tiger might be for you.

So why would I buy a Tiger? If I was doing a longer asphalt-only trip such as around Tasmania for instance- I’d take a Tiger over an ST.

If I needed a bike I could nip to the shops on and then go for blast with the lads in the afternoon? Tiger.

Oddly enough Triumph’s narrowing of the Tiger’s focus has broadened its appeal. And therein lies the genius of the Triumph Tiger.

Ratings:

BikeAdvice Overall Rating:
How does it Ride:
How does it Look:
How does it Go:

Specifications:

• Brakes (F): Twin 320mm discs (4 piston)
• Brakes (R): Mono 255mm disc (2 piston)
• Clutch: Wet Mulit-Plate
• CO2 Emissions: TBC
• Engine: 1050cc DOHC three-cylinder (12 valve)
• Final Drive: X ring chain
• Fuel Consumption: 6.0 litres per 100km
• Fuel Tank Capacity: 20 litres
• Fuel Type: 91 RON Unleaded
• Induction: Multi-Point
• Performance (0-100): TBC
• Performance (Top Speed): TBC
• Power: 85KW @ 9400rpm
• Suspension (F): 43mm USD forks
• Suspension (R): Monoshock
• Torque: 100Nm @ 6250rpm
• Transmission: Six-speed manual
• Warranty: 24 months / Unlimited Kilometre
• Weight: 198kg (Dry) / 201kg (ABS model)
• Wheel (F): Cast Aluminium 17 x 3.5-inch
• Wheel (R): Cast Aluminium 17 x 5.5-inch

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“We were made aware around October last year that there was a Rocket getting around with 185,000km on it, as it was in Perth dealership JCS for a service,” said Triumph’s Marketing Manager Mal Jarrett. “I spotted a Rocket in one of our Tasmanian dealerships, Northwest Motorcycles, a couple of weeks ago with 270,000km on it, and I wondered if it was the same bike, but discounted it, as it would have meant the owner had completed 85,000km on it in only seven months! But lo and behold, it’s back in at JCS in Perth for its 275,000km service. As you can see from the picture, he has fitted a number of Triumph accessories to the bike, which as with the bike, are performing flawlessly.”

We’ll follow with interest the next 25,000kms.

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