675 Tiger .....?

[eldiii]

The case with a lot of successful companies is that they can create a great product, do a crappy job of marketing it, wonder why they are not selling and  move on to the next fad (currently chasing the HD Road King crowd) aka the Touring Kited Rocket.

Another big mistake I see with successful companies is in forgetting your roots...dumping the products that made your company in the quest to capture new markets. In the case of 955i Tigers and Trophys which aren't sexy looking but captured the essence of British functionality with reliability.  They are utilitarian, their not great at any one task but do many tasks well.  I guess that doesn't sell motorcycles anymore.

From looking a current Triumph sales brochures, It seems that Triumph Management believes that its core customer is an early to mid twenties urban dweller with disposable income and a 17 year old girlfriend.  Funny, most of the Triumph riders (buyers) I know are 40-50 somethingís and actually have the earning potential to buy motorcycles, know the Triumph heritage but feel slighted when Triumph either stops making motorcycles that have serve their needs, i.e. real off road / touring capabilities.

As I close on my rant I find some comfort in knowing that Steamers and Girlies will be living long lives and the after market industry will thrive for some time.  And for those with the engineering aptitude will find a way to fit a 675 in a Girly but I find it hard to believe based on Triumph's current market approach that we will ever see an off road/touring 675 ADV type motorcycle.

eldiii