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Regrettably, despite probably being truer to the ideal of an Adventure bike, I think our collective wishes, needs and preferences are waaaaaaay down the list of prorities for a bike company who have or will invest £$£$ in a development program. The only adventure bike that has sparked my interest for its potential recently was the new Ténéré 660 a couple of years back. |
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I dont think its going to be much if any bigger than 800cc, the side casings in the pics look like a 675 and also the 1050 triple is getting very long in the tooth now and it would be difficult for it to meet stringent new Euro 4 noise and emission laws.
I would imagine Triumph will probably release a 1200 triple in the near future but we will see that in a tourer first and maybe later on in a larger adv bike? Also Triumph will be trying to keep costs low on this new bike, im guessing 7 to 8 grand stg. This would be hard to do if they are using a newly designed engine, which is why I think they will use a stroked version of the 675 (common Triumph practice) with similiar casings and cyl head etc. The 675 has been subtly developed over the past 4 years to make it quiter/cleaner etc to the point that many of the internals from a 2006 675 motor will not fit into a 2010 675 motor, even though they look virtually identical from the outside. Whereas the 1050 motor has not. I spent 8 days riding around France last year and was amazed at the amount of BMW tourers and Triumphs (mostly bonny's and Tigers) I met on the roads over there, I hadnt expected to see so many. And the whole closing businesses on a Sunday/holy thing is pretty common across Europe, allways has been. I really hope this turns out to be a great bike, I would be tempted to buy one if it is. |
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Triumph Tops UK Sales | Ash On Bikes The UK buys under one fifth of Triumph's output. They are now bigger than Ducati (in terms of bike production), nearly as bike as KTM and around half the size of BMW. One of the things that has kept them afloat in the UK is exchange rates. The £ has been weak against other currencies, so anything imported (like a Honda, or a Ducati) has gone up in price. Triumph were already fairly reasonably priced, but now many models look like a real bargain compared to competitors offerings that cost 15-20% more. |
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Not a trick question, just interested in your opinion. |
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It is not a feather, by any accounts, but it is pretty light for a bike that you can essentially get on and ride straight off. Other singles that seem popular, such as the DR 650 are no doubt good, but they lack a fairing, FI (which is an advantage despite the CPU fears sometimes expressed) as well as tank capacity. The 800GS fairs well in terms of weight, but lacks that tank size. The Yam's price is also good, although it has gone up since its release, and every penny not spent on a bike can go on accessories or, better still, miles. More importantly, most of the first hand accounts I've read or heard have been positive and that carries more weight than a spec sheet. Compared to the Triumph? Hard to say because most of what has been written here is hearsay and speculation: Triumph have hardly been forthcoming, it seems. That for me sounds like trying to big-up the hype before a release, but the lack of specs is maybe because it will be another road bike in Enduro clothing. I'm not saying it won't be good, but I don't think it will be what many on here hope as our needs don't sell bikes for the majority of the customer base. Ultimately, this is my own hearsay and speculation as I have never ridden any myself. |
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The biggest question in my mind about the new Triumph is the ground clearance. I think that on weight, tank size and price the new bike will be competitive, but they may have to keep the engine a bit lower to avoid a 'too high' CoG. The Tenere was priced very keenly (at least in the UK) in it's first year, but the yen exchange rate hasn't been favourable to it, and it's now looking rather expensive. We'll have to see what Triumph unveil in October, but if they can keep the weight, complexity and price down, I think they might be onto a winner. Certainly having two versions is a good move, since they go for the V-Strom and F800GS markets at the same time. |
Ground Clearance and Weight
I'm thinking Triumph can solve the ground clearance issue in two ways:
1. Suspension By adding travel, ground clearance will be increased. It's likely one of the models may use a 21" or 19" wheel. This too will raise ground clearance a bit. I'm hoping Triumph give this bike at least 10" of travel. A heavy-ish bike needs long travel to work off road. My DR650 single has 8" of travel and is STILL the lowest stock dual sport single in production. 2. Rather than move the motor UP, Triumph could do what the most innovative off road bike manufacturers are now doing: Tipping the motor either forward (a la Husaberg) or back (a la the new Yamaha YZ450F) Husaberg and Yamaha did this for handling reasons, shifting COG and mass centralization. Also, keep in mind, raising the COG really lightens up the handling feel of a bike. A low COG means slow but stable handling. In the last ten years race and sport bikes have all raised up the motors and the COG to quicken/lighten handling. This true with off road bikes as well. If Triumph simply build a Faux off road Adventure bike, suitable only for the Cafe circuit, them none of this matters. If they desire to make a true "do-it-all" travel bike, then other problems must be addressed. The 675 motor is ideal due to it's super light weight and small size. It's much smaller and lighter than either the F800GS or DL650 Vstrom motor. In fact, it probably weighs less than my DR650 motor, now a 14 year old design. |
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I would expect the 800cc bike to be far more like the 800cc GS, ideally with a bit more power and a bit less weight. What gives me hope is that the Daytona 675 (which has an alu frame) weighs 185Kg wet. |
mm as i am a short ar*ed guy 5ft 5 the BM F650GS i the right size the 800 too tall & high the 12 is ideal for a giant who is a rugby player,
Yam to tall by all accounts like to have a ride, KLM adventure ditto and heavy Triumph the Tiger ditto for bm & klm I just hope it is adventure bike to kick the germans with compertion |
Yesterday's MCN had a pile of data and pictures of the bike but didn't include the one bit of info I was interested in, which is whether the spoked wheels allowed tubeless tyres (a la 1200GS, Yam S10).
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Most Tubeless spooked wheels are expensive and soft. Will be interesting to see if Triumph end up using them as it will add to MSRP price. I believe only Behr and Akront make these and I think Behr own the patent.
John Bloor resisted going with these "cross spoke" type wheels on earlier Tigers because Behr wanted a hefty licensing fee. Both BMW and Aprilia use this wheel under license. Early versions were soft, dented easily in off road use. Perhaps later ones are stronger? The standard GS BMW no longer uses them. Note: the F800GS uses standard Steel spoked wheels. Heavy but strong. The last year of the 955i Tiger (2006) Triumph finally gave the Tiger cast Alu tubeless wheels. Customers had bitched about the spoked tube type wheels since day one ... took them 11 years to finally provide a "fix". Triumph no doubt lost thousands of sales because the Tigers had tubes, owners couldn't be bothered. |
[quote=Mickey D;298987] And don't blame Obama, this is all a Bush thing pure and simple.
quote] :offtopic: Political comment can be divisive and should be avoided. |
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