Triumph

Triumph expanded its “Modern Classics” lineup ahead of MY2019 with the new-for-’19 Speed Twin as a tribute piece that pays visual homage with all the modern yummy-goodness you’d expect tucked away under the hood and out of sight. The result; a clean-looking classic with gobs of retro appeal, and that’s an important detail because the newest generation of riders has shown themselves to have an interest in the old-school looks, much to their credit. So let’s take a closer look at Trumpet’s newest Speed Twin; not the first of its name.

Triumph enjoys some of the deepest roots around, and it takes advantage of them with the new Bonneville T120 ACE. The “Ace” comes loaded with retro styling and old-school custom flavor for a double-whammy of dated British style. Under the hood, the Ace is a thoroughly modern ride with a robust electronics suite and powerful engine to go with contemporary comforts and convenience.

Triumph expanded its Bonneville Street Twin family a bit to include the new-in-2017 Street Cup. The SC brings the café-tastic vibe of the Thruxton to a smaller engine bracket with a 900 cc mill, thus opening up the club-racing world to entry-level riders and offering experienced riders the option of downsizing for convenience without giving up too much in the way of fun. Sporty and quick, this ride seems to be everything one would expect from a contemporary café racer.

Triumph Motorcycles bills its new Scrambler 1200 XC as an “all-road” machine that’s got what it takes to tackle everything you throw at it. Not quite as off-road-tastic as its sibling, the 1200 XE, it nevertheless delivers top-shelf performance by anyone’s standards. Adjustable, long-stroke suspension components join a “scrambler-tuned” engine and wire wheels for the brown-top work, and for the blacktop, there’s a whole slew of electronic safety goodies that give the “XC” its split-personality. Bonneville power and classic looks come together in the XC, so today I want to dive into the details of this Gemini ride.

Continue reading for my review of the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XC.

Triumph brings classic scrambler looks and modern performance together with its new-for-MY2019 Scrambler 1200 XE. The “XE” carries itself with plenty of the old-school standard DNA on display and an off-road bias that leaves no doubt as to how it’s meant to be used. Proper “any-road” hoops deliver the goods on just about any surface, but it’s the top-shelf safety electronics that really sell this Bonneville-powered ride. Triumph promises a machine with a true dual-identity, so today I want to test that claim and see how it stacks up against one or two prominent competitors.

Continue reading for my review of the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE.

Triumph polished its off-road chops ahead of MY2018 with a new Tiger 1200 XCx that rocks more of what you want and less of what you don’t in an adventure bike. The “XCx” is looking trim at the scale after a Summer at fat-camp, and that trickles down to turn in improved handling and performance from the improved chassis and significantly upgraded powerplant. Adjustable ride-quality controls ride alongside layered electronic safety features to make this XCx quite flexible and capable of fitting a variety of roles and riders. The Tiger moniker has always set a high bar, so today let’s see how Trumpet measures up against its own yardstick and check out the likely competition.

Continue reading for my review of the Triumph Tiger 1200 XCx.

Triumph Motorcycles reprises its Street Twin model ahead of MY2019 in a bid to maintain the momentum it garnered in ’18 with updated looks and performance to match. This is Trumpet’s most popular unit within its modern-classic lineup, so the pressure is on to give everyone more of what they want. New, first-in-class technology works under the hood to make your rides safer, and improvements to the engine boost the fun-factor by something in the neighborhood of 18-percent for a difference that will definitely register on the old heinie-dyno. I’m curious to see how it hold up to closer scrutiny as well as how it holds up against a likely opponent, so let’s get to it.

Continue reading for my review of the Triumph Street Twin.

Triumph’s Street Scrambler made a splash when it hit the market a couple of years ago, and the factory rolls out a fresh, new generation for the 2019 model year. That’s right; the “SS” brings more yummy-goodness to the table with an updated look to go with a whole passel of improved electronic features that turn this classic into a thoroughly modern ride. It isn’t all about the visuals and hang-on gear either, the powerplant generates 18% more fun (or power, if you insist) for your riding enjoyment. Really, it would almost be easier to tell you what isn’t new, but that’s not why they feed me, so let’s dig into this new Trumpet and see if we can find a suitable competitor for it.

Continue reading for my review of the Triumph Street Scrambler.

For some people, adventure is about finding your way through the unknown to see things no one has and doing things most haven’t. But unless you plan on walking, you need the right tool to get there. This is where these adventure touring machines comes in and sweeps you off your feet in the most humble and matured way.

Here are our top ten adventure tourers of 2018 that come with some impeccable versatility to trout the lands across the globe. With the looks and utility of a capable off-roader and the balance and handling of a sport-standard, adventure motorcycles are a bipartisan look at how to tackle paved roads and dirt. Big and powerful engines, long travel suspensions and a higher riding position with multiple rider aids adorn these machines.

Minimalism and understatement do not always go hand in hand. In this case, it is the whole point of the design. Bringing the designs from their history books and fusing them with cues of early performance models, manufacturers catered to the ’bob-job’ from the 1930s through 1990s custom scene.

Stripping excess bodywork from a motorcycle, shortening the fenders and having a bob-tail, here is our list of the top seven Bobbers of 2018 that run on huge engines yet harks back to a different time – ostensibly the post-WWII era when returning servicemen stripped their bikes of all unnecessary weight for the sake of going faster.

Being the closest thing to flying without leaving the ground, Cruisers have been the incarnation of the ‘30s to ‘60s American lifestyles. Large motors with plenty of low-end torque, forward set footpegs, and a laid-back reclined riding position define any modern-day cruisers. Traditionally, large V-twins ran under the hoods, but inline engines have become more common these days.

Here is our list of the cruiser motorcycles of 2018 that gets us to simply cruise, at one with our bike, taking in the sights and smells, the cool air washing over, and supposedly cleansing the soul. Basically defining the concept of motorcycling, cruisers keep us wandering off with just a twist of the throttle to the unknown.

Timeless designs that take you back to the pre-’60s era, heightened feeling of riding free-spirited machines and the sense of freedom. This is what a modern-day classic motorcycle offers without that knuckle bending fixes and ghastly scenes of oil dripping everywhere. Here are our top ten standard/classic motorcycles of 2018 that take us back to the time from the ’60s.

Recalling the past glories, these neo-classic motorcycles have still managed to retain the charm and posterity of minimalistic elegance along with providing modern day mechanicals and the bits. They run on efficient high output engines that are both reliable and powerful and are equipped with state of the art suspension and brake setups that will bring the bike to a halt not far from their point of application unlike the yesteryears.

Reinforced for off-road duty, Scramblers of today hark back at the South-West California and the Mexico’s Baja scenes in the ’60s and ’70s. They were fitted with engines displacing upwards of 500cc and stripped off anything that is nonsensical to run on roads or no roads. Featured on these were off-road tires, wheels, and spokes and were given modified suspension systems and engine skid plates; a trademark indispensable in shielding the bike from rocks, stones, and the unforgiving desert terrain.

Here is our list of Scrambleresque motorcycles of 2018 that promise to churn out rugged, stripped down, vintage fun resurrected from its heyday during the 1960’s and earlier. Aiding it will be a torquey motor with high mounted exhaust pipes and knobby tires to take it on terrains otherwise not possible.

Racing on bikes from café to café before a song could finish was the most therapeutic thing to have happened for motorcyclists in the ‘70s. Inspired by this culture, people and manufacturers started building motorcycles with minimal components to take them the distance in the shortest time. It embodied the classic café-racer cues taking us back in time with modern design bits and sophisticated packaging.

Here is our list of the best ten motorcycles of 2018 that remind us of that ‘70s. Round headlights, debonair half-shell fairing, humped seat, rear seat cowl, extended wheelbase, and the low-slung handlebar, it’s all in each one of these machines:

Although not an official segment of motorcycles, our lifestyle for daily transportation in urban communities have given rise to street motorcycles that are lightweight and nimble for the concrete jungle. Being an agile handler while looking the part is how we need our commute through the asphalt.

This is our list of the machines we think can handle those demands better than any other. A motorcycle with an upright riding position, lacking plastic fairings for that narrow lane splitting ability and a lightweight construction for the ease of flickability is what we are looking for, and here are our top ten:

This is the second teaser we received in a span of a couple of weeks proving that Triumph is on a path to rule the popular scrambler category with their upcoming brand-new weapon, the 1200 Scrambler. This second teaser shows us more of what we can expect from the Hinckley chaps.

The 1200 Scrambler boasts of the new high torque engine used on the Brit’s Bonneville lineup, and to handle all that additional power, this Scrambler gets equipped with bigger wheels, bigger brakes, and bigger suspension.

The numbers are in for July and at the top of the list, Triumph comes out as the king of sales in the U.S. market in the 50 cc and up, on-road category.

Continue reading for more on Triumph’s success.

Rumors of a 1200cc Scrambler from the Hinckley chaps were floating the web for some time now. Triumph has finally confirmed this gossip when they released a teaser video of the “The all-new Scrambler 1200”. This is Triumph’s efforts to prove that they still can rule the popular scrambler category.

The 1200 Scrambler boasts of the new high torque engine used on the Brit’s Bonneville lineup, and to handle all that additional power, this Scrambler gets equipped with bigger wheels, bigger brakes, and bigger suspension.

Triumph Motorcycles has long been a frontrunner in the race to the top within the adventure-bike genre, and the all-new Tiger 1200 XRt is a perfect example of why that is. This is Triumph’s top-shelf ADV model with all the available bells and whistles built right in. That’s on top of an already-extensive rebuild that the factory says brought in over 100 improvements over the outgoing model, so this ride is totally up-to-date with cutting-edge technology of both the comfort and safety variety. Join me while I check out Triumph’s flagship model for the road-centric ADV market and see how it stacks up against some other likely candidates.

Continue reading for my review of the Triumph Tiger 1200 XRt.

Triumph Motorcycles revamped its large-displacement Tiger family ahead of MY2018 with a host of improvements that include a significant weight loss — both inside the cases and outside — for quicker spool-up and livelier throttle responses. The electronics were buffed as well with more rider-controlled options on top of the already top-shelf gadgetry. New cast wheels carry it all with a sporty new spoke arrangement and blackout treatment. Trumpet packs in even more yummygoodness, so let’s dig in, shall we?

Continue reading for my review of the Triumph Tiger 1200 XR.