Thunder Along to Capture a Sense of Quiet Elegance ; On Two Wheels Jane Omorogbe Tries Triumph's New Middleweight Cruiser - the Thunderbird.
Grimsby Telegraph › August 28, 2009
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Summary
TRIUMPH is officially the world's fastest-growing motorcycle manufacturer. Sales have boomed across the board, with a substantial 22 per cent of the company's 50,000 bike sales going to the US. If the British manufacturer is to continue that growth and encourage new buyers from across the pond, it needs to address some obvious gaps in its motorcycle range.
There are certain segments where Triumph isn't represented at all. There isn't a small adventure sport bike, for example, or a litre sports bike. But for now, the Leicestershire brand has decided to concentrate on filling the void between its entry-level, 865cc Speedmaster and the humongous 2.3-litre Rocket III. Statistics show a massive 50 per cent of cruisers are powered by engines between 1400 and 1700cc. So it's no surprise Triumph has invested a lot of time and energy into producing the perfect-sized plug to stem the flow of escaping bike sales. Of course, that means competing directly with the king-of-allcruisers, the legendary Harley- Davidson, but Triumph is quick to point out it is by no means expecting to knock the established Americans off their proud pedestal, or even challenge them to a head-to-head of bike sales. Triumph is more concerned with expanding its own range and offering an alternative to the Japanese low riders. The first step was to dismiss the notion of using an air-cooled V-twin engine (the traditional choice for a cruiser). In order for the Thunderbird to stake a realistic claim on the market, it had to be individual and not just another Harley clone. It had to show dedication to the British heritage, which is largely a world of parallel twins.See the full content of this document
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Thunder Along to Capture a Sense of Quiet Elegance ; On Two Wheels Jane Omorogbe Tries Triumph's New Middleweight Cruiser - the Thunderbird.
So, Triumph has built a new parallel twin, which is liquid cooled and displaces a massive 1597cc.
US designer Tim Prentice was also...See the full content of this document
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