Ireland To India On A Triumph Trophy 1200 ???????

[Chris1200]

Folks

I have a 2003 Triumph Trophy 1200. It is in perfect condition with just 13000 miles. I have decided that I want to go to India in August or September 2008 and I find myself in a dilemma. So here goes........

Pros
It is a big bike
It is comfortable
So far it has been ultra reliable
It has plenty of power
It is reasonable on fuel
I like it very much


Cons
It is a big bike
It is a heavy bike
If needed, parts in other countries may be difficult to find
It is a big bike
It is a heavy bike
It could be better on fuel
It is a big bike
It is a heavy bike

So there you have it. I regularly read about what other people are using for such trips and most seem to be using single or v-twin enduro-type machines, and of those who are using Triumph no-one seems to be using a Trophy!

Does anyone have actual experience of using a Trophy on a long trip? It breaks my heart to think that I may have to sell it to get a small food mixer engined Jap machine! I would love to hear your views.

Cheers
Chris

[Walkabout]

No personal experience with the Trophy Chris, but, from memory, Nick Sanders made his early RTWs on the same bike - certainly a Triumph and I reckon it was the Trophy (but could have been a Daytona?).
He has his own webpages, but he is riding a Yam nowadays.

There is always the old saying; you can ride RTW\long distance on any bike.
(in fact Sanders first did it on a pushbike).

[Caleyman]

Hi

I cannot comment on using a Trophy but I can on using a Triumph. I left the Uk in May and have done 10,000 kms so far around Eastern Europe on a Sprint St.

The bike has not let me down but there are limitations on alot of the roads which has stopped me getting of the beaten track in some Countries, Romania, Albania in particular.

The downside is I have just had an accident and been told it will take 4 days at least for the dealer to get the part then another 10 days minimum according to DHL to send them out to Montenegro.

I did not want to sell my bike but in hindsight perhaps I should have cut my losses and taken something else, V strom or something like that as the further east and south you come speed is of no consequence due to the roads.

Good luck with the trip
Kev

[trophymick]

Robbie Marshall (RIP) did RTW on a 1200 Trophy (the earlier single headlight model) without any problems. His book is called 'Triumph around the world' published by 'Travellers Eye' it's a very good read, especially if you have a Trophy Go for it
I have done several trips to France, Spain and Italy on my Trophy (2001, 1200) and some very light dirt tracks (only short distances) and not had a single problem with it, these bike are bulletproof, but they are heavy (did you say that). I am in no hurry to get rid of mine, I've had it for six years, longest I have EVER owned a bike .
One of the guys on TriumphTrophy : Hinckley Triumph Trophy Online Community
has over 200,000 miles on his Trophy, and he hasn't had the head off it yet

Trophymick

Edit: Nick Sanders went on a 1200 Daytona;o)

[Simon Kennedy]

Seems an okay choice to me. No reason why not. It is tarmac road all the way. And pretty fast up to Pakistan. Plenty of potholes in the last third of the trip, but you can slow down/go around them. There is a couple on the road at present on ST1100s, and they are doing fine as far as I know.

The BMW1200GS is not really such a different bike to yours you know, looks aside. Big European tourers both.

It would make for a pleasant comfortable ride.

Given, your familiarity and affection for the machine, I would say, don't hesitate.

Simon

[Riq]

My main traveling bike is a pacific blue 1996 Trophy 1200 with about 70K km on the clock. The bike is fun, reliable and a pain in the backside if you want to ride on gravel or dirt. This combined with your other concerns could lead to a miserable trip so you need to decide what route you want to take, what you want to see and your tolerance for delays and inconvienience.

If my planned route is going to take me off of the hard stuff I take a different bike. I have just purchased a 2004 KLR to fill the second roll. I don't know that I would be in a rush to sell the Trophy however you could add a second to the stable.

Rick

[Chris1200]

I agree with you sir. The Trophy is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard when it comes to riding on gravel, dirt or anything else that is made of little bits! The sheer bulk of it makes it a crazy decision. However, it is my intention to stick to tarmac roads at all costs and I imagine I will plan my route to make this possible. I guess part of my concern is whether I will be able to make the trip in it's entirety on tar. I love the bike, but as I said before, everyone else seems to go for 600cc enduros. And of course the issue of parts concerns me too. I would dearly love to take the Trophy but some demons in my head are telling me to be sensible and take something more manageable. To date my trips have only involved Europe, the furthest point being the Black Forest in June past.

Chris

[Simon Kennedy]

Chris,

The parts question is not decisive - all parts, for all bikes, are near impossible to find outside the rich world. I would give some thought to replacement tyres, (they will be due replacement sometime in India). But - again - your tyres are just as difficult to find as anyone else's.

As I recall, the only dirt roads I went on between London and India were up in northern Pakistan on side roads off the Karakorum highway (entirely optional). Which is to say, you can have a great trip, and go nearly everywhere on that route without a dirt capable bike.

The bike is big for India certainly, but I found my Transalp oversize there too. Remember that lots of people tour India on Enfields, which are surely a lot more impractical - on oh, so many levels - than your machine.

Are you planning on staying on the subcontinent long? If you're stopping for more than six months then you might get a bit tired of hauling the tourer in and out of hotels. Otherwise, I don't really see the problem: the question is one mainly of taste, not practicality.

If you like the bike, know it well, and trust it, there's no point going to the expense of shelling out for another.

Simon