Flying the 'bird

FLYING THE 'BIRD

CW RIDING IMPRESSION

ABOARD TRIUMPH'S BORN-AGAIN THUNDERBIRD

ALAN CATHCART

SO, GIVEN THE FACT THAT TRIUMPH HASN'T YET officially announced that it's working on a Bonneville Twin, what is that firm's most eagerly awaited new model since the line was relaunched in September of 1990?

It has to be this one, the machine spearheading Triumph’s attack on the U.S. market. It’s the Thunderbird, a spectacular blend of old and new. Befitting the company’s marketing plans, it’s targeted primarily at U.S. sales, but judging by the response from all around the world, the T-Bird seems likely to become a universal hit.

After spending a week with a Thunderbird before its official press launch, I have only one conclusion: Triumph has a problem with this bike. There is no way the factory’s present 15,000-unit annual production capacity will allow the company to satisfy the likely demand for the T-Bird. It simply succeeds better than any of the other neo-classics now on the market when it comes to combining modem function with traditional styling.

The Thunderbird is really two motorcycles in one, depending on nothing more than the color. The fenders and fuel tank can be black, maroon or blue. Or, for an extra $260 over the basic $9995 suggested retail price, you can have a two-tone maroon and cream tank job with pinstriping. This gives the T-Bird a more rounded nice-guy retro look-Buddy Holly instead of Elvis. Whatever color scheme you choose, this bike has The Look.

Walking the fine line between pastiche and creativity is a hard act to pull off when designing a retro-cruiser that has to combine references to the past with present-day function. But better than anyone has ever done before, Triumph came up with a practical, technically modern and dynamically satisfying bike to ride, possessing reserves of performance substantially in excess of what its owners are likely to require. And at the same time, the Thunderbird delivers an irresistible sense of tradition.

Check the classic design motifs so cleverly incorporated into the T-Bird’s design-liquid-cooled cylinders finned to deliver a traditional appearance, polished sidecovers, 36spoke front and 40-spoke rear wire wheels shod wdth Akront rims, pea-shooter mufflers that say “It’s a Triumph” as soon as you look at them, the classically inspired fuel tank with the distinctive Triumph badge-all offer a host of reference points to Triumph’s glorious past. The attention to detail is stunning: Just admire the Triumph emblem cast into the rear hub and molded in the footrest rubbers.

Underneath the stunning styling is a heavily re-engineered mechanical package tailored expressly to the T-Bird customer. It is thus quite different from any of Triumph’s other three-cylinder variants and in keeping with the company’s claim that 80 percent of the Thunderbird’s parts are new, unshared with any other Triumph model. Inevitably, too, the performance of the 885cc engine-unchanged in bore and stroke from its sisters-has been geared to the demands of the U.S. market. Compression has been dropped to 10:1, w'hile power is down too, to a claimed 70 horsepower at 8000 rpm. But a combination of altered cam profiles and ignition timing has shifted the delivery of peak torque of 53.2 foot-pounds to just 4800 rpm, compared to the Tiger’s

60.7 at 6000 rpm, or the Trident/Sprint’s 61.4 at 6500 revs. With redline at 8750 rpm, the five-speed gearbox fitted is more than adequate.

This unstressed power unit should not only be good for many thousands of trouble-free miles without mechanical ailment-Triumph is rightly proud that its warranty claims are less than 1 percent total production-but it also keeps the rider unstressed, too. This is one of the most relaxing, easygoing rides you could imagine. Just straddling the saddle sets the scene. Whoever worked out the handlebar height and width, the angle of the grips, the position of the footrests, and their relationship to each other, really did his homew'ork. That retro-looking seat-itself a neat design > touch-is dished at the front to provide a really comfortable perch, with good passenger capability. For an everyday bike useful for short trips to town or for longer ones to faraway places, the riding position is ideal. The relaxed stance encourages you to ride the bike in a relaxed way, which the engine

perfectly accommodates, pulling cleanly from about 20 mph in top gcar-that’s just 1400 rpm—which gives a good idea of how flexible the Thunderbird’s power delivery is. It’s a bike that you can pop into top gear and leave there if you want, or else use the gearbox and ride the torque curve to get a bit more zip. You can buzz the motor to maximize performance if you insist, but if that’s the way you habitually ride and still want to do so on a Triumph, buy a Speed Triple.

In highway mode, the T-Bird will max out around an indicated 1 12 mph, but anywhere over 80 mph you’ll be holding on to that high-rise handlebar so hard in the wind, I defy you to claim you’re enjoying it. Cruising at 55 miles per hour, the engine is turning over at exactly 4000 rpm, ideally close to the peak torque mark.

The basis of the Thunderbird is Triumph’s standardized steel spine frame, with a 43mm Kayaba fork set at the same 27-degree head angle as on all other models, but with a bit less trail, thanks to the special cast alloy triple-clamps to which the handlebar is clamped via a bridge also cast in aluminum. The fork has triple-rate springs, which provide soft initial take-up that eats up road shock thanks to relatively soft compression damping, before delivering a stiffer response as the forks compress over bad bumps or heavy braking. The single 12.6-inch Nissin front disc and two-piston caliper might seem marginal for a bike with a claimed dry weight of 485 pounds, but the hefty 1 1.2-inch rear disc takes up the slack.

The rear suspension is less accommodating. It is decidedly on the hard side and offers no adjustment beyond spring preload. Even this adjustment must be carried out in the workshop. Riding along a concrete freeway exposes the bad manners that result from this choice of suspension values. Whereas the soft initial action of the fork irons out the joints between each section, the rear end is so stiffly sprung that it hops slightly over each ridge, sending the bike into a slight pitching mode fore and aft. Fortunately, rebound damping on the fork is set quite stiff, so it suppresses the pitching after a couple of cycles, but I would have liked a softer.

more progressive response from the single rear shock.

That apart, the T-Bird handles very competently, well within the expectations delivered by this kind of motorcycle. Of course, because of the excellent grip provided by the standard-issue Michelin tires, it’s easy to ground the footrests on either side, but this acts more as a failsafe earlywarning system than anything else. The only time you start to explore the limits of roadholding is when you hit a decent-sized bump while leaned well over, when the stiff rear suspension makes the rear wheel hop a little. Otherwise-safe cruising.

In introducing the Thunderbird, Triumph is opening up a new market for itself. In the U.S., its main competition is likely to be Harley-Davidson’s low-end models, especially the Sportsters. But the Triumph’s extra cylinder, its distinctive exhaust boom and its authentic Brit-bike styling make the Thunderbird stand alone.

Paradoxically, in launching the Thunderbird, a model unashamedly derived from the past, the new Triumph company has come of age. There are still many Triumph enthusiasts all over the world who have resisted parting with their money for a new Triumph until a model like the Thunderbird was produced. Gentlemen, your time has come. Step right up to the counter and get your checkbooks out. You won’t be disappointed with the result. This is a very good motorcycle. It is, in fact, a triumph. □