Triumph Thruxton - Meh...

akmnstr · February 10, 2009, 03:14:23 PM

QuoteBut if you had a Triumph thing ... and you just had to have one ..... maybe cause a kid in high school back in 1967 you were so jealous of, had one - and it just killed you every time he went by - on that beautiful British racing green 650 Bonneville.

Not sure many of the list members were around in 67. But I was and I knew the dude you are talking about. And Yeah, If I had had that bike
I could have gotten all the girls and maybe lost my virginity before I got to 40.

But now I have a 67 Bonnie and I got the girl too and all is good.

No need for a thruxton

[moto] [moto]

NekkedChic · February 10, 2009, 03:24:18 PM

Quote from: V-twin on February 10, 2009, 02:47:45 PM
A friend of mine has got one, had it now for about 4 months, sold his ST4s for it! yeah so he's alot slower these days when we go out riding . We just did a track day here and he pushed the bike to it's max scraping feet and pegs and he had a blast, he has upgrade the rear springs and done the exhaust, has yet to put the carb kit and air box mod on and the bigger rear tire, a 170 for the back and harder front springs etc to go in. Not a bike for me, is fun and a change to ride from the Monster and ST2, but that's all it is for me, must admit he wasn't the slowest guy around the track, he was doing well to keep alot of the Japer's at bay. I like the look and style of the old school cafe racer look, but not for riding them
http://hardout.webs.com/redlinetrackdays.htm that's a link to his bike, scroll down and you will see him, the only one there!
Once all his mod's are done we will go back out on the track and see if it was worth it etc.

Tim, my SO, did quite a few mods on his including airbox, exhaust, and gotta admit, I am liking it more n more since those now. AND he is enjoying railing it in the corners with our local sportbike riders! He is NOT anywhere near the back of this group on the Bonnie on these rides! It IS an "old skool" kinda bike to be appreciated for what it is, he enjoys being able to swing a leg over and flip it around so easily AND sit comfie, but not sure he could have JUST the Bonnie on its own and be without the Triple. Now he would be even happier if I would throw a leg over 'er and ride her for change also. In time, just enjoying my Beasite Boy too much still here.

Craig Thomas · February 10, 2009, 04:02:37 PM

Sold her to buy the 696. She was good, loud, and a looker. A bit portly though compared to the Monster. Would have kept the bike, but only have room for two.

NekkedChic · February 10, 2009, 06:15:02 PM

Quote from: Craig Thomas on February 10, 2009, 04:02:37 PM
Sold her to buy the 696. She was good, loud, and a looker. A bit portly though compared to the Monster. Would have kept the bike, but only have room for two bikes.

A BEAUTY! Sorry not able to keep her. GOTTA show my SO-he will DEF appreciate her.
My SO actually claims his Bonnie will turn EZ and far easier than my Monster he says.....turning radius-wise. Just had this conversation today in fact....reminded me when you said "portly".
Should dig up a pic I have of Pink on her Bonnie also!

dbakes13 · February 10, 2009, 06:51:25 PM

I was looking for a new bike, and I was very focused on the Thruxton. The bike's cafe style plays right into my lust for all things retro. It was pretty sweet looking and it's a Triumph; all I needed was a test ride to seal the deal. I was riding a Suzuki DR 650 at the time, so nearly any bike would have been an upgrade-- so I rode my DR half way across Ohio after work to a Triumph dealer on the east side of the state, where they had a black '07 on sale! It was a sign, I thought.

But.

When I told him that I wanted to ride it, he asked what I did for a living. I'm a high school teacher. Then he asked what I wanted to put down on it. I said a grand plus trade the DR if they'd have it. Meanwhile, my brother was looking at a Monster and being ignored. When the guy asked him what he did for a living, he said "student." He didn't have time to mention the whole "ex-army, GI Bill, plenty of money lying around" thing. By this time, the place was closing in thirty minutes, and the guy said we'd have to stop back by after the weekend to run some numbers and that if we could afford the bikes, he'd let us test our respective choices.

Miffed, we left and went straight to the Duc dealer about 20 miles away. My brother wanted to ride a "new" '07 SR2 800. Even though the place was shutting down in thirty minutes, the guy said "go for it." I asked if anything else was prepped so I could ride along; I wasn't even curious about the Duc until we left the Triumph guy. He had a used '06 620 dark ready to go, so I took it. He said that he'd stay at the shop until we were back and to take our time. After running them all over the Cuyahoga Falls area for about 45 minutes, we made our way back to the shop. I had to admit that I'd wasted about 44 1/2 minutesof the guy's time because I knew I was buying the bike as soon as I was out of the parking lot. The lord works in mysterious ways; I don't care if I never sit on a Thruxton again, and after reading many of your reviews on handling and performance, I'm pretty sure I won't.

Travman · February 11, 2009, 04:22:37 PM

Check out Flynbulldog's Thruxton. This may be the best looking new Triumph I've seen. I love the look of the polished alluminum that is also painted.

flynbulldog · February 11, 2009, 05:49:52 PM

Thanks for posting that Travman. For some reason I couldn't make it work.

I know the Thruxton does not handle as well or have the power of an s2r1000 but the bike has a charm and character of it's own.
I've done quite a bit of work to this bike beyond the obvious and it does handle quite well for what it is.
Personally I couldn't compare my Thrux to a monster ( I just sold mine and I'm waiting for the streetfighter), in my opinion they serve different rolls.
I love this thruxton

Travman · February 11, 2009, 06:04:11 PM

Where did you get the tank and fenders? I assume they are handmade aluminum. Is there a thread which reveals all the work done on your Thruxton. If so, I'd love to read it.

On a side note, I wish somebody would put a polished aluminum tank and fenders similar to this on a Ducati Sport classic. The current wide plastic tank and tail don't do it for me. It would be cool to see a SC1000 that looked something like this:

The Don · February 11, 2009, 10:25:56 PM

Maybe it was at the tank shop
http://www.thetankshop.com/

flynbulldog · February 11, 2009, 10:57:55 PM

The tank and seat were hand made by the only guy (that I know of) in the US who still builds hand-formed alloy motorcycle parts - Evan Wilcox
www.wilcoxmetal.com
I have a thread on the bike on the Triumph Rat forum
You can read about it here: http://www.triumphrat.net/club-cafe/96033-not-retro-enough-i-m-long-winded-sob.html
You may have to register to see all the pics

Travman · February 12, 2009, 05:08:42 PM

Quote from: flynbulldog on February 11, 2009, 10:57:55 PM
The tank and seat were hand made by the only guy (that I know of) in the US who still builds hand-formed alloy motorcycle parts - Evan Wilcox
www.wilcoxmetal.com
I have a thread on the bike on the Triumph Rat forum
You can read about it here: http://www.triumphrat.net/club-cafe/96033-not-retro-enough-i-m-long-winded-sob.html
You may have to register to see all the pics

Thanks for the link to your Triumph Thruxton thread. It is a beautiful bike and probably the best looking cafe'd new Bonnie I've ever seen. It is the only one I have ever saved the picture with the exception of this Trackmaster-framed street tracker new Bonnie:

flynbulldog · February 12, 2009, 06:36:26 PM

Wow!

That bike is pretty gnarley - a little more radical than mine for sure
Actually it looks more like a different bike with a bonny engine, sweet though...

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Triumph Thruxton - Meh...