Tag: Triumph

The Triumph Trident Makes a Return

Posted on | by Salli Griffith

New look for an established name. Triumph’s middleweight for Spring 2021.

This is the first look at the full features of a bike which has been under wraps for the last few months, with few teasers to reveal its size, spec and pricing. October 30th was marked as the reveal date and I was signed up to get the rundown of this new model to compete against my Yamaha MT07 and the Honda CBR and the like and steal some of the Japanese market in middleweight motorcycles.

The Triumph Trident 660 has now been unveiled as a new entry-level triple that by Triumph’s own admission is designed to knock Yamaha’s MT-07 off the middleweight top spot. Many were thinking it would be a re-worked Street Triple S but for a start the engine is completely different and while they might share the same capacity, the bore and stroke are different as are the rest of the integral parts, so new piston, new crank, new cylinder head, new cases, new clutch, new liners, new camshafts…

We have the great combination of low down torque, a reasonably fat mid-range and a decent bit of top end. The chassis is all new, with Triumph saying that it delivers the typical ‘roadster’ handling we’ve come to expect from them. What’s especially nice is that even for the price point, it’s got nice bits of kit as standard, including 41mm Showa Separate Function forks, Nissin calipers and Michelin Road 5 tyres.

Where it really begins to look special is in the tech department. The Trident comes with a ride by wire throttle, so it’s got two riding modes – Road and Rain, that change the characteristics of both the throttle map and the traction control. ABS is standard. There’s some optional extra tech too, including a quickshifter/autoblipper and even tyre pressure monitors.

All of the tech is controlled through Triumph’s colour TFT display. Unlike other colour dashes that just give funky colours to the tacho, the dash on the Trident can be paired with a smartphone (if you buy the connectivity module) unlocking phonecalls, music and a satnav if that’s your bag and you don’t already have it set up as I do with a TomTom and Sena Bluetooth.

To keep running costs down the service intervals are every 10,000 miles, which is a fair bit higher than most of the competition. Then when it does go in for a service, Triumph have made an effort to reduce the time it spends in the workshop, with a service time nearly half that of some competitors. Lastly the Trident comes with a two year, unlimited mileage warranty. And all this for a basic £7,199. I’m very impressed and have my test ride booked when Bulldog Triumph get their test bike in January, and perhaps before, as December was muted as an earlier date but with the new lockdown who knows!

Now for the important stuff – it comes in 4 colour variants, personally I favour the silver grey and diablo red with a large Triumph logo on either side of the tank. There are plenty of extras already listed for whichever model you choose, with heated grips, tank and tail packs, tracking devices, engine protectors, lasered valve caps etc which certainly mount up the price as I specced what I would like, reaching nearer £8,000.

If you want to see more, head over to the Triumph website – www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycles/roadsters/trident and have a look for yourself.

Salli G – Editor

First published in Slipstream November 2020

Information from Triumph Motorcycles, MCN and Jason at Bulldog Triumph.

All images © Triumph Motorcycles 2020

Triumph Factory Visitor Experience

Posted on | by Salli Griffith

Triumph has been around since 1902. In its heyday the company was one of the world’s most successful motorcycle brands, but following sustained periods of low of investment and the arrival of Japanese competition in the 70s, the business collapsed in 1983. John Bloor, a property developer who had attended the auction to buy the land on which the old factory sat, decided instead to buy the name and rebuild the company.

The new Triumph ‘Hinckley’ range was launched in 1992 and the Phoenix was reborn.

They now make around 65,000 machines a year, and expect to produce their millionth motorcycle this year.

My visit started early with full wet-weather gear to get to Beaconsfield services in the pouring rain for an 8:30 briefing by Nigel Winstanley, who had organised the visit and was also trying his hand at being a run leader for the first time. His own KTM was off the road, so he had borrowed a replacement bike. With torrential rain forecast, a last-minute change of route was also in order. Given all these challenges it was perhaps surprising that the only thing to go wrong on the day was that Nigel couldn’t figure out how to get the tank bag off his loan bike to fill it up. Fortunately one of our group suggested he look for the key inside the tank bag.

The weather gods were looking down on us as the rest of the journey stayed dry. We had a very pleasant stop for breakfast at Reg’s Café in Banbury, a nice biker-friendly place with good food. We all arrived at Hinckley by 1pm in good time for our factory tour.

The visitor centre is an impressive new facility, opened in 2017.

Next to the café is a well-presented exhibition on two levels illustrating the history and technology of Triumph Motorcycles up to the present day.

Our guide Robert gave us the full 2 hour tour. It can be done in 90 minutes, but we asked far too many questions. The factory was not operating at the time, but it was obvious that they had set up with visitors in mind. There were video presentations in all the key areas, and other static displays, typically showing examples of the manufacturing process that key components go through.

Triumph is now a global business with factories in Thailand and final assembly plants in India and Brazil. Thailand is where they have their diecasting plant and injection moulding factory, as well as final assembly of selected models such as the new Rocket 3 and the Bonneville range. The Hinckley plant produces around 15,000 machines annually, mainly Tiger 1200s, Tiger Sports and Speed Triples. In order to avoid high local import tariffs, the factories in Brazil and India assemble finished bikes from kits of parts shipped from the UK.

The Triumph Rocket 3R

Robert explained that they build most bikes to order, with a mixed model line depending on demand. The only time they make a large batch of the same bike is when they build launch stock to introduce a new model.

Much of the Hinckley factory is dedicated to machining engine casings and crankshafts, plus the finish grinding of camshafts and cranks. We got a strong impression of how important consistent quality is in the manufacturing process. They take samples of crankshafts after they have been cleaned and washed. They pass the cleaning fluids through a fine filter and measure the amount of dirt particles trapped. Robert reckoned that a well-maintained Triumph engine is good for 250,000 miles, with many customers who have achieved this.

There was a large screened-off research and development section where they develop new machines, with around 400 people employed in R&D. Regular employees are not normally allowed inside, and they only get glimpses of new machines as they are taken out on test rides. The dedicated road-testing team may look to have the dream job, but they ride out in all weathers, doing several hundred miles a day. It would soon lose its attraction to all but the most ardent rider. It typically takes Triumph three years to develop a new model from scratch.

At the end of the tour we were shown an area where bikes were prepared for journalists to test.  There were around 20 new Rocket 3s ready for the world’s press to try in November. Although supplied with tyres pre-scrubbed in by Mira, the journalists clearly take every chance to explore their limits, and one pre-production bike had already been back in the workshop for repair after one tester slid it down the road.

If you’re interested in modern production methods, or are just into Triumph motorcycles, you’ll find the factory tour a fascinating experience, a real study of precision manufacturing and global logistics.

My thanks to Andrew Whiteman for his help with the article.

Nigel Winstanley

First published in Slipstream January 2020

Triumph Tiger 800 XRT

Posted on | by Nick Tasker

It’s safe to say that Triumph and I have had our differences over the years. My 2013 Street Triple R is the only motorcycle I’ve ever bought brand new, and the brand’s response to my textiles scuffing the paint on the tank within a few hundred miles was that it was my own fault for not paying extra for the paint protection.  I paid many hundreds of pounds on maintenance to maintain the official service history during the first two years, and when I began to experience a hot-starting issue as the warranty drew to a close they refused to even investigate until I’d paid another £1,000 for the 24k service, 3,000 miles early. I gave my dealer the finger and did the work myself.

Beyond that, I’ve reviewed a number of Triumph‘s bikes in the years since, with mixed results. Still, time moves on and Triumph has been working as hard upgrading their Tiger 800 as I have upgrading my own V-Strom 650. Strange as it may sound, there are some things you can achieve with an entire engineering department, a couple of factories and hundreds of thousands of pounds that I can’t match with my meagre resources.

What’s more, contrary to the impression I may have given with the likes of my BMW R1250GS review, I’m not a complete technophobe. My disdain for the integrated electronic gadgetry increasingly infesting modern motorcycles is based on my overwhelming impression that they are primarily intended to improve manufacturer profit margins rather than the rider experience. In some cases, they actually seem designed to fix self-inflicted problems. For example, user-selectable engine or throttle modes (too much power), electronically-adjustable suspension (too much weight) and full-colour TFT dashboards (too many of the aforementioned throttle and suspension modes). It’s little wonder that many people are favourably comparing the genuinely old-school Royal Enfield Himalayan with bikes four times the price.

As a result, it was with mixed feelings that I took note of the newly-updated Triumph Tiger 800 at EICMA in 2017. In showrooms last year, it demonstrated that Triumph had spent the eight years since the launch of the original 2010 model nipping and tucking, rather than completely redesigning the bike. Some changes, such as the fashionable new TFT dashboard, I regarded with suspicion. Others, such as the new LED headlights, cruise control and upgraded front brakes were very welcome indeed, and I’ve been meaning to arrange a ride ever since.

 

But which one would I buy, in theory? Like many of their European competitors, you cannot simply walk into a Triumph dealership and select a bike anymore; you also need to choose a trim level and then pick from a list of optional dealer-fit accessories. A lot of glowing reviews from professional journalists fail to mention that the version they enjoyed on the press launch would cost a paying customer thousands and thousands of pounds more than the advertised retail price.

A base-model Tiger 800 XR can technically be bought for £9,200 but this is a price-point model so poorly equiped that even Triumph doesn’t expect anyone to actually buy it. Choosing the XRX version instead adds another £1,500 to the price tag and the XRT you actually want is almost £13k with a set of crash bars fitted. Adding the three-box luggage set means you’ll be riding home with a £14,000-sized dent in your wallet. Given my well-documented history of criticising the likes of BMW and KTM for similarly inflated pricing, why would I even entertain such an expensive motorcycle?

Setting aside the substantial price tag for a moment, we could have a perfect V-Strom replacement on our hands here. Regardless of trim level, you get very similar weight and dimensions as the Suzuki, the same cast 19″ / 17″ wheel combination, good weather protection, and a comfortable, upright riding position. Assuming you ignore the bare-bones XR trim level you get higher-spec Brembo brakes on the front wheel, solving one of my main criticisms of the original bike by dramatically improving braking performance. The suspension is also of higher quality, and Triumph claim to have improved the fuel economy through internal friction reduction and throttle management.

Spend enough money to get the top-of-the-range XRT model and you and your passenger are treated to heated seats, with the rider enjoying heated grips and full LED lighting. Many of the upgrades I made to my own V-Strom 650 (and would make to a new V-Strom 1000) are now standard-fit on the Triumph with other niceties such as cruise control, back-lit switchgear, tyre-pressure monitoring, self-cancelling indicators and traction-control thrown in for good measure. What the Tiger 800 lacks compared to its German, Austrian and Italian rivals is electronically-adjustable suspension, keyless ignition, hill-hold assist, a quick-shifter and an electric screen. For me, at least, that means it offers everything I want, and nothing I don’t.

Of course, if you’re of the 21″ wired-wheel persuasion there’s a mirrored set of trim levels available for you with the XCX and XCA versions. You also get slightly higher bars, a skid plate and taller, softer WP suspension.

Personally, I wouldn’t bother; the bigger wheels are heavier, blunting braking and handling considerably, with the only advantage being greater resistance to damage from high impacts off-road. But let’s be honest, here – if you’re taking a 230kg motorcycle out where that sort of situation is likely, then dented wheels are the least of your worries. Buy a Honda CRF250L instead.

Before I hit the road, I had the Triumph salesman take me through the new full-colour onboard computer – it took nearly twenty minutes. There are four riding modes, each of which can be customised with varying levels of traction control, ABS, several throttle maps and even three different dashboard layouts. While tachometer, speedometer, current gear, air temperature and time of day are ever-present, a small joystick underneath the indicator switch allows you to toggle between two trip meters, each with average and real-time fuel economy and range, coolant temperature and more. Separate buttons switch through the various heat levels for heated grips and seats, riding lights can be switched on and off, and cruise control can be enabled and adjusted in 1mph increments all the way down to 30mph.

I strongly recommend anyone buying one of these to set aside an afternoon with the owner’s manual to learn how to access all the various pieces of information, but it’s certainly true that you could simply hop on and ride the bike as-is. The default Road engine mode, unlike on many bikes, is just fine and the factory suspension settings are well judged across a variety of surfaces, something that can’t be said for many, far more expensive, systems. The brakes are good, if not quite as sharp as a set of four-piston calipers would be, but are nonetheless a far cry from the wooden, squishy mess that most two-piston systems offer.

The touring windshield fitted to the XRT is adjustable by grabbing it with one hand and then pulling it up or down and in the highest position is almost tall enough to push turbulent air right over my helmet. A clever arrangement of winglets, designed to work in conjunction with the mirrors and handguards, means that there is zero buffeting around the sides, suggesting that we finally have a maker who is paying attention to something the aftermarket has been fixing for years.

Throttle response is much improved over the first-generation Tiger 800, the new ride-by-wire system smoothing out the off-idle throttle transition extremely well. Even Sport mode is not as snatchy as the previous cable throttle and there’s noticeably more bite to the power delivery as you climb up the rev range. One downside of a fully electronic throttle manifests itself as a slight dip below 4k, as though the computers are just taking the edge off my inputs in order to satisfy noise and emissions requirements.

A look at a dyno chart reveals something else interesting however: a horizontal line as soon as the output hits the 94 horsepower mark. That is the maximum allowed if you want to be able to restrict a bike for 47 horsepower A2 license holders and the ECU is clearly holding power steady from this point on, even as the revs rise the rest of the way to the redline. It honestly looks like there’s another 5-10 horsepower waiting at the top-end for someone who’s willing to visit their local tuner and have such restrictions removed.

Beyond that, the riding experience is rather unremarkable, which can be taken as a compliment or a criticism, depending on your point of view. A snarling, roaring beast of raw fury and adrenaline the Tiger 800 is not, though there’s significantly more character than there was in previous models. Build quality on modern Triumphs is generally very impressive; fasteners are stainless steel by default and metal finishes are tough and should shrug off a salty winter with aplomb. Painted plastics still scratch like any others so it will be interesting to see how the optional matt blue paint would stand up to daily use.

Fuel economy was mid-50’s on my relatively conservative ride. My father was able to average better than that over two years on his 2012 example and Triumph claims that significant improvements have been made since. Controls are of good quality and satisfying to use, with the possible exception of the indicator switch; the fashionable modern microswitch design means that it barely moves when you press it, much like on modern BMWs. In thick gloves, it might be hard to tell whether you hit it or not. Another odd move is that both heated seats are now adjusted via the handlebars, which means that your pillion will have to tap you on the shoulder if their bum gets cold.

Ergonomics are good, although with my short arms I’d ask my dealer to fit a set of risers to the handlebars. Lower seats are available for the short of leg, although you’d lose the heating option, and all seats have two different height settings that can be switched without tools. For the truly vertically challenged, you can even order a version of the Tiger 800 XRX with lowered suspension, although ground clearance suffers and a centre stand can no longer be fitted. I’d encourage interested parties to try the low seat first – it makes a big difference. With my 30″ inseam I actually found the standard seat in the high position to be perfectly manageable, with the added benefit of reducing the bend in my knees.

Aesthetics? Well, adventure-tourers are never going to be the prettiest of motorcycles; upright riding positions and tall fairings/screens can make for ungainly proportions, although Triumph‘s designers have done their best to build a very angry, angular structure into the front end. The matt blue paint on my tester looked even better in the flesh, and the metallic silver or white, which are the other two options at this trim level, look suitably sparkly in the sunshine.

Behind the tank, things quickly descend into a mess of scaffolding and black plastic, with the seat floating on top as though the designers just sort of gave up half-way through. What’s more, choosing your colour has no effect on any part of the rear half of the motorcycle. Still, I’ve seen worse, and there’s no denying the practicality of having so many bungee points available. I’m sure the Italians would be horrified at the focus of function over form, but I could probably learn to live with it.

At the end of the day, I find myself rather taken by the Triumph Tiger 800 XRT. Sure, it’s expensive – a full £2,000 more than a Suzuki V-Strom 1000, which is a closer match in terms of power, suspension and braking performance. But I have to say, you do get quite a bit for your money – the materials and construction on current Triumphs simply ooze quality.

As for me? Well, I’d have to make a choice. The base-spec XR model almost achieves price parity with Suzuki’s V-Strom 1000, though with its more basic brakes and suspension it can’t quite match it for performance and loses much of the electronic gadgets that would make the Tiger 800 such a nice bike to live with. Where the Suzuki really wins, however, is simplicity and reliability.

The last chinks in the Triumph‘s armour are the running costs. The official maintenance schedule dictates minor services at 6,000 miles, with prices between £300-400 for each visit. At 12,000 miles the checklist for the mechanic is extensive, and includes an extremely time-consuming check of the engine’s valve clearances. Assuming everything is in spec, you can expect a bill of around £800, and it gets far worse if any of those valves actually need adjusting.

I suspect that most Tiger 800 owners cover more than the UK-average 4,000 miles per year, so it’s worth doing some calculations to determine just how expensive things could get for you before signing on the dotted line. At my rate of 25,000 miles per year, I’d be looking at paying my local dealer a hefty £2,400 annually just to maintain the warranty. I’m sure you can see why I tend to do my own servicing these days.

Like my own V-Strom 650, a new V-Strom 1000, or any of the other 800cc road-focused Adventure-Tourers, the Tiger 800 XRT is an effective way of crossing countries quickly. The top speed won’t make headlines, but the focus on rider comfort and compliant suspension matched with a real-world fuel range approaching 250 miles per tank means that the miles just fly by.

Cruise control takes the stress out of the motorway stretches, and the wide bars and light handling make easy work of curvier roads. By focusing on genuine, practical improvements rather than flashy but marketable gimmicks, Triumph have succeeded in turning the previously disappointing Tiger 800 into a motorcycle I can wholeheartedly recommend. I can give no higher praise.

Nick Tasker

First published in Slipstream June 2019

Triumph to BMW – What was I thinking?

Posted on | by Salli Griffith

I have been riding Triumph Tigers of various descriptions for 25 years. I have covered many thousands of miles on my various Tigers, and every time I have changed, I have used the opportunity to try other similar bikes and to be happy in my own mind that I was still happy with my choice of ride. I also had a very good relationship with Bulldog Triumph and their chief mechanic, Chris Powers, who has been looking after my Tigers for all that time.

So now I have switched to an R1250GS Adventure. For a start, my last two Tigers were Explorers and they are really nice bikes, and plenty powerful enough, handle well, brakes are ok, and good fun solo, but a bit top heavy with a pillion on board. So I have a new girlfriend who likes riding pillion, therefore my new ride had to be more pillion friendly. I tried the new Tiger 1200 which didn’t feel a great deal different to the older Explorer. Yes it had a fancy digital display, better brakes, semi-active suspension and a reworked version of that lovely triple engine, but it still felt the same.

I then tried the new R1250GS Adventure. That also has a fancy digital display, active suspension, a reworked engine, brilliant brakes etc. etc., but it feels very different to the Tiger. The biggest difference is the weight. Yes, on paper, with a full tank of fuel (30+ litres) it is physically heavier than the Tiger (which is now lighter than the Explorer), but it doesn’t feel it. Not even pushing it around. Riding the BMW, it feels even more balanced, especially with my girlfriend on board.

It also has that wonderful tele lever front suspension, and linked brakes that I really like, and a better mounting for the GPS (the new Tiger has the mount on the handle bars which precludes the use of a tank bag).

So I bought one.

I have now done 1500 miles in all conditions, and do I still think I made the right move?

The BMW is a very comfortable bike to ride, very comfortable for my pillion as well. It is more economical than I was expecting, the suspension is brilliant, and the gearbox is very smooth (much better than the BMW’s of old.  I haven’t felt the need to change too much other than fit a taller screen. The Triumph engine is more exciting and doesn’t shake you from side to side, but the 1250 engine on the GS is more exciting than that on the 1200 – it has those few extra ponies in there.

I am not sure that there is much in it from the rider information. The Triumph display is adjustable, and you can change the display.  It is also getting connectivity like that on the BMW (but hasn’t been released yet), and the Triumph’s illuminated switchgear is neat, and an electric screen which is probably a bit of a gimmick (the BMW’s adjustable screen can be easily controlled on the move, by hand).

The only big downside of the BMW that I can see at the moment is the reduced service intervals (6,000 mile to Triumph’s 20,000) and that the dealer isn’t quite as close Bulldog.

Simon Whatley

First published in Slipstream June 2019