We've seen plenty of spy photos circulating the web of Triumph's long-expected parallel twin cruiser, so the introduction of the new 2010 Thunderbird is anything but shocking. We are a bit surprised, though, by how plain-looking the bike is, appearing very much like a modern Bonneville injected with steroids performance enhancing drugs. With its blacked-out liquid cooled parallel engine, the bike bares a passing resemblance to Kawasaki's rather ancient Vulcan 500 model... not good. In any case, we are counting on competitive performance from the rather large 1600cc engine, which should offer somewhat more than a hundred horses. Considering just how massive the shove one gets from Triumph's Rocket III cruiser, we have high hopes for this new cruiser mill.
Rumors indicate that more variations on this basic Thunderbird theme will come out of the woodwork in due time, including the now-expected touring model. All models will likely share the same basic frame, engine and six speed gearbox. ABS is said to be optional. We look forward to seeing more shots of the new Thunderbird, hopefully ones that show the bike in a bit better light.
Motorcycle Bloggers International is a group of 159 member sites that focus primarily on motorcycles or scooters. Each year, they release their awards, which recognize both greatness and serious lapses in judgment. After the members vote, those results are tallied and then the public gets a crack at it, too. The results are sometimes a bit surprising, but always interesting and worth a look. This year, the big winner for Best Motorcycle goes to Triumph for the Street Triple 675. Surprisingly, after sweeping the International Bike of the Year awards, Ducati's awesome new 1098 didn't even appear in the top three. Suzuki's new B-King managed to begrudgingly accept the award as Worst New Motorcycle, with Honda's latest CBR1000RR taking the tarnished silver medal.
Triumph has been bolstering their line-up of motorcycles at a steady pace over the last few years, drawing on their classic designs with machines such as the Scrambler while also offering cutting-edge bikes that compete with the best from the rest of the world, like the 675. There is a rather large gap right now in between their Bonneville line and the monster Rocket III. Spy shots seem to indicate that this missing link will soon be found in the form of a liquid-cooled parallel twin-powered cruiser. Although our only photo evidence is the grainy image on the right, we can clearly see that a styling link exists between the Bonneville retro-bike and this new machine, which some are suggesting will be known as the "Speed Twin".
Rumors that the engine will fall somewhere around 1700cc and punch out triple horsepower and torque figures. If you are interested in the idea of a Triumph Big Twin to compete with Harley and the metric brands, get your checkbook ready for what will likely be a 2009 model year launch.
Over recent months a collage of rumors surrounding a fourth brand under the BMW umbrella have been circulating, which may now be coming into clearer focus. With government fuel economy and emissions standards tightening both in the US and abroad, BMW, like other carmakers, is being forced to develop more earth-conscious vehicles to offset the fire-breathing monsters from their M division and the behemoths from Rolls-Royce.
The answer may be to go after arch-rival Daimler's smart brand, but rather than going super-modern, BMW is tipped to design its line-up of city cars around a retro theme. Isetta, which made tiny commuter cars in the 50's, has been touted as one strong possibility, more likely than the prospect of reviving Triumph into a smart rival when its roots are in roadsters. We reported on the Isetta rumor back in November, but according to AutoExpress, development of the new city-car is officially underway. Whatever badge the new BMW city cars would wear, insiders suggest that motivation would come from small turbocharged gasoline and diesel engines, while hybrids would be reserved for SUVs and other larger vehicles.
Triumph makes some of the most beautiful creations on two wheels, and they're latest release is... a t-shirt. But not just any t-shirt, this is the tee made famous by Steve McQueen, the dearly missed embodiment of the rough-and-tumble classic racing, and could be the perfect thing to wear under your retro Gulf Le Mans racing jacket.
To mark what would have been his 78th birthday, Triumph is launching a throwback edition of the iconic t-shirt popularized by the late McQueen. And they're not just capitalizing on the icon: the product is officially licensed by McQueen's estate. It's all vintaged-up, with the weathered Triumph logo on the front, "Steve McQueen Special Edition" on the back, and his signature on the sleeve. The 100% cotton tee is available from Triumph dealers in either black or white, both for those who want to be like McQueen (men) and for those who would have wanted to be with McQueen (women). It hits the market on March 24, after which Triumph will debut some summer styles too.
When I was a kid and British Leyland was still a somewhat going concern, the little UK automaker introduced a sports car called the Triumph TR7. The tag-line in its ad campaign was, "The shape of things to come." As it turned out, the folks at BL were less successful at predicting the future than countryman George Orwell. For a wide variety of very good reasons, BL faded into the annals of history, although some of the brands under the former BL umbrella soldier on such as Jaguar and Land Rover.
A few years after the TR7 went out of production, my high school auto mechanics teacher acquired a TR7 that became an ongoing shop project for myself and a few other students. With the TR7 we learned the fine art of balancing side-draft carburetors with a chunk of garden hose and a screw-driver. Today most of the TR7s (and the V8-powered TR8) have long since turned to iron oxide. A few remain, however, and the owner of one 1979 model eventually found himself craving a more modern (and reliable) powertrain. One of the finest engines of the last two decades is the Yamaha V6 that powered the first two generations of the Ford Taurus SHO. This TR7 owner managed to procure one and set about installing the normally transverse mounted unit in the rear-wheel-drive TR7. After two years and a variety of adaptations to make everything fit properly, including reversing the mounting of the intake plenum, he was successful. A decade later and more changes like removing the top and adding a supercharger sees a car that runs 13.7-second quarter miles and gets 25 mpg.
Originally intended as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Evel Knievel's unforgettable Caesar's Palace jump, U.K. bike dealer Jack Lilley has created a special edition of Triumph's on-and-off-road Scrambler. The choice of motorcycle makes sense because that original jump some 40 years ago was done aboard a Triumph T120 Bonneville. Although the project was started before his death, it has taken on new meaning now that the legendary stunt-man has passed and is a tribute to more than just that one jump. According to the dealership, the bike "is based on a Scrambler and has a superb paint job along with short front mudguard, Thruxton seat and hump, chrome engine cases, red cam cover and other small details." The one-off tribute bike will be sold with a signed picture of the man himself in mid-jump and will command a few thousand extra over the base price of the Scrambler. Um... yeah, and we want one.
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