2010 Triumph Thunderbird

Triumph Motorcycles Ltd is the largest British motorcycle manufacturer has been producing motorcycles since 1902. In 1885, Triumph Engineering Co Ltd was formed based in Coventry. The name rights were eventually bought by a new company Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. in 1980s when the original company became defunct. The company headquarters is located at Hinckley, Leicestershire, UK.

The original Triumph Thunderbird was launched in 1948. It was in production till 1966. The Thunderbird was later re-introduced in 1994 in the American market, making it the first classic Triumph motorcycle to be launched by the Hinckley based company. The Thunderbird entered the American Cruiser bike market as an alternative to the legendary Harley-Davidson, setting a new standard in cruiser bikes. The new Thunderbird comes with a liquid cooled 1597cc parallel–twin cylinder engine. The engine employs a multi-point sequential fuel injection system with progressive linkage on throttle. It features a double overhead camshaft with 4 valves per cylinder. This engine also uses two spark plugs for each cylinder to deliver better fuel efficiency and cleaner exhaust while increasing the reliability. The delivers 85bhp of power and produces a torque of 108 lb-ft. This engine has good amounts of low end torque for effortless highway cruising.

The 1.6 liter engine is paired to a six-speed constant mesh helical type gearbox powering the rear wheels by a maintenance-free toothed belt drive.The chassis essentially consists of a twin spine tubular steel frame and twin sided steel swing arms. It has double 310 mm disc brakes with twin calipers at the front and a single 310 mm rear disc  with twin calipers along with optional dual channel ABS. It uses multi wet plate clutch. The five spoke cast aluminum wheels 120/70R19 front tires and 200/50R17. The rear suspension with 5 adjustable positions gives the Triumph gives it extremely comfortable ride along with good overall dynamics especially considering the fact that this bike is 2.35 meters long.

The instrument cluster sitting atop the 5.5 gallon fuel tank consists of a speedometer, tachometer and a digital LCD display. The display includes an odometer, two trip meters, fuel gauge as well as a range-to-empty display. The LCD display is to read. The self canceling indicator is a nice and useful function.The liberal use of chrome goes well with this bikes retro cruiser styling.The design of the bike was inspired by the original Thunderbird. While dials for the speedo and tacho meters are modern and very with both kmph and mph readout, I would have preferred a more conventional set of twin clock which would go in tandem with the retro styling. The seats are supportive for long distance cruises. The exhaust notes have been tuned to imitate a V-twin.

The bike has can be customized with various accessories as well as cosmetic upgrade. The bike is set to be reach the American shore in late 2009. This bike presses all the right buttons to become an instant classic.