Had an interesting meeting with our Triumph RM yesterday...

[Nick Calne]

It seems so from the faq's.  I think there an option to add a poll to a new topic.  Just start a new topic and scroll down a bit to see where how...

[flux]

It seems so from the faq's.  I think there an option to add a poll to a new topic.  Just start a new topic and scroll down a bit to see where how...

Cool!  Got it!  Cheers!

Cast your votes!

[HappyMan]

Happy Man, I don't see why we shouldn't ask for what we want.  All Triumph is going to build is cruisers next year anyhow, so what's the harm? :roll:

LOL JetdocX.  You may be right.  I'm not a fan of cruisers but I do think Triumph makes some pretty cool ones.  I'm sure that I am biased, however.  

Flooding Triumph with a bunch of off the wall dreams would just make them ignore us.  But if we give them well thought out ideas even if some of them are out there a bit, I think they would take us seriously.  They can only do so much though so we have to be realistic.  I know I can't afford everything I want in my motorcycle.....

[HappyMan]

Currently she has a Versys, which I quite like, and ride more than her...........

Did you want to rephrase that or should we get you a counselor?     Or perhaps we all need to take a closer look at the Versys??

[EvilBetty]

I think the Bonnie, Scrambler, and Thruxton are bad ass classically styled TRIUMPH bikes.  But I can't grasp the Rocket, Thunderbird or America.  They look like they are trying too hard to be a Harley.  They might be great bikes, but I can't get past the "me too!" appearance.

I'm glad the lines are keeping Triumph a live, but I'll have to stick to my understanding that %98 of people are crazy or partially retarded.

[Advwannabe]

Hi Flux,

A couple of additions based on my offroading of all sorts of unlikely machines, including a Hayabusa!

Spoked wheels yes, but crossed spoked tubeless like the BMTroubleyous.

19" front is fine for all roads touring, this is not a full on dirt bike remember.

Likewise 200kg is light enough. Much lighter and your bike starts to pinball around on rough bitumen.

A decent rear shock and protection for the rear shock please. The oil in the stocker overheats after about 10 minutes of washboard. Presto! no damping!

Can we get the rear disk caliper back on top of the swingarm, out of the way of rocks etc.

Airbox access is woeful on both Steamers and Girlies. On our bulldust here in Oz it is prudent to pull the airfilter everyday and give it a dust and a clean, which is a pain currently.

If Triumph want to be really clever, why not take a page out of Ducati's new multistrada's book and run a number of different engine maps and suspension heights for different usage? I'm sure all of us who offroad their Girlies have discovered that 105hp is too much of a good thing on steep uphill washboard!

Our local mag AMCN is running the normal grainy Christmas rumour photos in the latest yearbook addition. These include and new 1100 Sprint, Daytona (another unlikely holy grail) and an adventure version of Tigger. To be honest you can't really see anythnig in the alleged photos, but its nice to dream!

[flux]

EB-  I agree about the America but you need to ride a Rocket 3.  I must say there is no other bike like it that I know of.  It's very well balanced, has TONS of power, and turns heads everywhere it goes.  To top it off, 'round March or April we are expecting the Rocket 3 Roadster with less chrome and even more power.  From pics I have seen it is actually a very cool looking bike.

Advwannabe-  Good points, and ones I've not thought of.  I can't imagine having to check that air filter every day.  Blech!  Any chance you can scan those pics in the magazine for those of us stateside?  Oh yeah, I will change my 21" front idea to a 19"... yer right about that.   8)

[brad1098]

The new poll is a great idea with rather interesting preliminary results.

I remember an interview with the lead designer when the 1050 tiger came out.  This prick said "well nobody that rides a tiger actually takes them off-road, so we took that part away"  Are you kidding me?  When I heard that I said to myself, well I guess Im not getting a new tiger!  :(

[Advwannabe]

EB-  I agree about the America but you need to ride a Rocket 3.  I must say there is no other bike like it that I know of.  It's very well balanced, has TONS of power, and turns heads everywhere it goes.  To top it off, 'round March or April we are expecting the Rocket 3 Roadster with less chrome and even more power.  From pics I have seen it is actually a very cool looking bike.

Advwannabe-  Good points, and ones I've not thought of.  I can't imagine having to check that air filter every day.  Blech!  Any chance you can scan those pics in the magazine for those of us stateside?  Oh yeah, I will change my 21" front idea to a 19"... yer right about that.   8)

EB, I took a R3 touring out for a ride a few weeks back. Nothing like a Harley, in fact the most unique experience I've had riding a bike in ages. Give one a go.

I'm out on my folks farm at the moment, will scan the article when we get home after Christmas. We only have to check the airbox daily when riding powdery bulldust, but it is a pain. I've been thinking about installing a foam prefilter in the airbox intake.

Good to see Triumph may be listening a bit

[oxnsox]

I'm with Nick about the style of bikes, but I think that it's very country specific.  US of A is definitely Cruiser country but hey that keeps the concrete pump builders at HD in leather handlebar tassles...

Europe though is not only made up of lots of smaller countries, but they also have a roading system that is loosely based upon routes that evolved perhaps before the wheel was invented then later refined by the Romans and the widths of their Chariots. Which also defined the now narrow village road structures....  Which makes for a different type of roading system suiting different types of bikes.

All manufacturers make for the markets they can sell the numbers to, and world wide the numbers aren't in the big capacity market but in the sub 125cc one....  but hey I ain't complaining.


Since this topic is a general 'about how to make better' it's been in the back of my mind when I've been out on the Girly in the last few days.  And it got me focussed on the gearbox. I found that there really are 2 gears I use most often, 4th and 7th....   Meaning that round town and in the hills I like 4th, you're sitting in a good spot (RPM wise) to power up or down and the noise is just pure Tiger.  And when I'm on the open road its surprising how often I'll look for 7th...

[EvilBetty]

Hmm... I'll have to give the Rocket a chance it seems.  I watched couple of videos last night on the Thunderbird and Rocket.  I have to say they sound amazing.  Watching people put the front end of that rocket in the air is impressive :)

I'm trying to find that AU MCN article.  Someone scanned it and posted either here or on Triumph Rat.  Wasn't scanned very well, hard to make anything out.

[Bixxer Bob]

Can't remember where I saw this offroader, might even have been on here, anyway, it's right up there with the Yamaha R1 version i posted a few months ago:








It used to be a Valkarie.....

[MikeBenzon]

Right on.

We can't forget that we are really the minority, at least here in the US.  
We are riders that care about what we ride, how we ride and we ride out of passion and in many cases because it's our main form of transportation.  In my opinion the majority of cyclists in the US ride because they want to look cool or it's a nice hobby for the weekend.  They don't ride far and they don't spend much time learning to ride or learning to improve their skills.  I'm not cutting them down and they are a legitimate part of the market force.

However, while we may be important to Triumph they still need to sell to the market willing to pay for their bikes. After all, people with disposable incomes have disposable hobbies and are willing to spend the money that's needed to put food on the table of Triumph's employees and it's re-sellers.  I'm a capitalist and I get that!!  I'd sure love some of that disposable income....but I digress.  

I do believe our voices can be heard and it's important to let Triumph know how we feel but we need to keep it realistic or they will never listen.  It just becomes white noise.  As a business owner myself I listen to plenty of committees and each of the individuals have their own wish list and their own ideas about what they want but in the end they have to come to a consensus on what they agree to and go with that. They can never afford their dreams.  Or at least not all of the committee member's dreams at one time.  It's still good to dream so we have an idea of the big picture but then we've got to come back down to reality and build on that.  

We need to look at this the same way but be realistic.  As stated earlier, building off of the same frame with options is the most likely thing to happen and quite frankly the smartest thing a business looking to stay alive financially can do.  So let's give them good ideas but not pipe dreams.  Give them something that would make us happy but don't expect the perfect bike.  After all, that's really why we have after market companies.  It's not because the manufacturer couldn't do it.  It's just that the mass market couldn't afford every detail and the consumer would never agree on those details.  We buy accessories because we want to get the bike closer to our dreams.  I'm glad I have that choice.

[/quote]

[tett]

but I'll have to stick to my understanding that %98 of people are crazy or partially retarded.

So where do I fit in this??

[coachgeo]

but I'll have to stick to my understanding that %98 of people are crazy or partially retarded.

So where do I fit in this??

Crazedtard?