Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127376
~ IMPRESSION Trium h1200 Tro h against an unstrangled 134 bhp accordin g 10 the engi ne chart Triumph released last yea r for the engi ne. Mind yo u , every thing is relat ive, since the G erma n -homo loga te d version is fu rther rest ricted to 100 bh p, but th ere's no doubt the bike I rode cou ld have pulled an ex tra two or even three teeth off th e rear wheel if Triumph had wa nted to score top speed brownie points with the punters. In stead of which, they've basically op ted for h yper-punchy acce leration and an ultra-flat torque curve which peaks at 8000 rp m , where 86.2 ft.llb . are o n tap. This giv es the sort of speed off the mark offered by high -geared but ligh ter j a panese sports bikes, wh ose on ly topend adva n tage comes from revvin g a lot higher th an th e T ri umph 's n owa days co nse rva tive 9500 rpm redline but it is a longish -stroke 1200cc motor, a fact wh ich m o stl y ex p lai ns th e ma ssive torque. A relatively sport ing 10.8:1 co m pression ra tio - in spi te o f w hich t he bike r u ns o n regu lar unlead ed fuel- a lso h el p s th e Trop hy j u m p o ff th e mark. When Triumph revea led th eir new m ....... ..... l-< 0. ~ ra nge in prototype form to th e British and German press last july, th ere were some su btle asper sions ca st on their seemingly-quaint ch oice of a single tubular steel backbone cha ssis design servi ng every bike in the range, an apparently in co n gruo us throwback to th e Triumphs of yesteryear ex cept for the fact it no longer acts a s an o il ta nk , thanks 10 the wet- sump four-cy li nder motor. I know - I was o ne of the doubters, but I'm not as hamed to say I was wrong. Since all you can see of th e chassis is a black-painted upright forwa rd of each footrest , aesthetics don 't enter into it , and th e fact tha t Triumph has thankfull y bucked th e japanese-i nitiated fashion of painti ng the engi ne black is a positive vis ua l step, leav ing the on ly co nsidera tion that of whe ther it actua lly hand les p ro perl y. An d does it ever. It 's a long time since I' ve ridden a street mot or cycle eq ui pped for two-u p rid in g wh ich had suc h a taut, together feel to it, a nd moreo ver one which had s uc h tr u ly exc e ll e nt suspe nsio n res ponse over a ll types of su rfaces, a t any speed . Pl ease don't d ismiss th is The heart of th e Triumph 1200 Trophy is the 16-valve, four-cylinder 1I80cc DOHC water-cooled powerplant. Making of a Trophy winner ri um p h Mo torcycles' 90,000 sq.ft. factory on a 10-ac re si te northeast o f Bir m i n gh am is lavis h ly equipped wit h the la test a nd best in j apanese mach in e tools a nd Ger man robot pa inters as potent testimony to j ohn Bloor's de termination to u se on ly the finest machi ne ry a nd eq u ipment avai lab le to manufacture his bornagai n Triumph marq ue's new range, T his p hi losophy extends to sourcing the various components equipping the b ikes them sel ves, which are equally drawn from j ap anese and Germa n as well as Brit ish su ppliers. T he motorcycles wh ich Triumph are staki ng their fut ure on are designed o n a mod u lar basis with maximum emphasi o n shared compone nts. in order to facil itat e spares back- up as we ll as to ta ke a d va ntage o f th e eco nom ies o f sca le in terms of co m p onents cos t a t the man u factu ri ng level. Like its sisters, th e Trop hy 's 76 x 65m m , wat er -cool ed , ll 80cc, DOH C, four-cylinder , l fi-va lve engine has its cylinde r block incl in ed forward by IS degrees, w ith ca ms h a ft dri ve up the ri gh t side o f th e engine by H y-Vo chain . The la yout wa s ch osen becau se it a llows o ne or mor e cy li nders to be sub tracted a t will, to produce a wh ol e family o f engines based on th e sa me modu Jar prin ci pie. T 18 assessme nt as th e rose- tinted ravings of a Brit -bike freak, because if I'm honest I must o wn up to approach ing th e Triu m p h wi th more th an a usu ally crit ica l eye , simply because o f th e len gt h o f ges tation tim e needed to The en gi ne al so serves as a full-stressed chassis component for the backbone chassis th at features an aluminum swingann. All en g ines sha re th e sa me basic cylin der head design , with four va lves per cy lin de r (32m m inl ets a nd 28mm exha us ts) sci a t a IOtaI incl uded a ngle' to eac h other of 39 degrees. Co m pression ratio is 10.8: I for the longer 65m m -stroke ' models like th e 1200 Trop hy, 11.5: I for th e sportier shorter 55m m-stro ke vari ants, while a ll engi nes use the same 76mm bore size, fed by 36mm Mi ku n i CV carbs. Buckettype clearance adjustments, a nd th e same valve tim in g and ca m profi le is shared by a ll mod els. The unpainted a lu m in iu m en g ine "castin gs are beautifully executed and sta mp th e engine with its own, distinctly non -oriental cha rac ter. a nd are ma chi ned from raw castin gs in-house a t Triumph on a total o f 15 j a panesemade CA M machines, of which seven are assigned 10 cy lin der head work, th e rest to crankcas es. These ar e horizon ta lly split, with the cylin de rs ca st integra lly wi th th e upper ha lf Ior ex tra strength (and fewer o il lea ks!) whi le cast iron wet liner s ar e em p lo yed, with a n it r id ed c ra n ks h a f t. Engi n e bal ancer s are fili ed 10 a ll moto rs, permittin g th em to be mounted rigidl y in th e chassis ra ther' th an rubbermounted , a nd in th e case o f th e fours like th e 1200 Trop hy , th ere are ac tua lly tw o balancers, o ne o n th e cra n k a nd th e o the r o n th e gea r prima ry dr ive. both running a t tw ice engine spee d . The triple ha s a single engine-speed bal ance shaft filled 10 th e front of th e eng ine a nd geared to th e cra n k, at th e cos t o f o n ly a 4.4 ยท lb. weight penalty. japanese-made di gita l electro n ic ignition is em p lo yed . All models are fill ed with the sa me Japanese- sources six-s peed ge a rbo x and stra ig h t-cu t primary, with a larged ia me ter o il-ba th clutch, in sp ite of th e bu lk o f which th e Trop hy en gine mea sures just 465m m across. Mounting points are th e sa me for a ll th e wet sump engines, which a ll serve as fullstressed chassis co m pone nts with th e high- tensi le ro bo t-welded tubul ar steel backbone ch assis, wh ich loops ov er th e to p o f the engine, which is underslung fro m it. T his des ign a llows Triu m p h to use a modular ch assis design as well . and together wi th the Trophy 's a luminium swingarm is entirely made in h ouse at Triumph. The chassis weighs 27.5 lbs. with a ll brackets , a nd is filled on the Trophy with 43 mm Kyab a forks with no extern a l adjustment, wh ile th e patented 'T riL in k' risi ng rate rea r lin kage a lso has a Kayaba si ngle gas ch a rge shock with rem ote adj usters fo r preload a nd rebound dampin g, an d grease n ipples a t every point o n th e linkage. 17-inch front a nd 18-in ch rear ca st alloy whee ls a re fitted , shod o n the Trop hy with Dunlop radials . and fitted with twin 296 m m Ni ssin brakes and four-piston ca lipe rs a t the front . and a sin g le 255mm rear disc, also with four- p isto n ca liper. Dry weight is a clai me d 528 Ibs., while th e 125 bhp a t 9000 rpm deliver ed by th e engine in UK-market form is su fficie nt to propel the bike to an unofficial top speed of 155 mph and a sta nd ing quarter-mile time in th e low elevens. bring it to market . In other words, if Bloor's ba ckroom boy s co u ldn' t get it right over a seven-yea r stre tch , what hope was th ere for Triumph in th e lon g term ? I def y an y rea sonabl e pot ential purch a ser to tak e a test rid e o n this motor cycle, a nd not be equall y im p ressed. T he 43m m japanese forks (Kayaba , I bel ieve) an d th e com pan ion rising-ra te rear linka ge provide a q ual it y of ride which B oa ts th e big , hea vy bike over mi nor road irr egularities, and irons o ut the wor st of major ones. The cos t of th is is a soft in iti al for k ra te which ca uses th e fro nt en d to dive a fair bit u nder brak in g , but not so soft thatit u psets the hi gh-speed h andl ing , wh ich is sim ila r ly irreproachab le: the T ri u m p h tracks rock steady round 100 mph-plus sweepers, sh ruggi ng o ff bumps a nd ridges like Mik e T yson deal s with op ponen ts. Like T yson, this is a well-muscled heavyweight wi th a knockout punch and an a weso me power delivery which th e backbone frame is well abl e to handle - no flexing, no weaves, just su perb tra ction and ultra-stable handlin g. With co n ser va t ive st eering geome try, in corporating a lazy 27- Specifica tions T riump h 1200 T rophy Engine type Water-cooled, DOHC, lfi-va lve, in-line fourcylinder. four- stroke Bore x stroke _ 76mm x 65mm Displacemen t 1180cc Compression ration 10.6:1 Carburetion .. __ Four 36m m Mikuni BST nat slide CVs Claimed horsepower 125 bhp Torque _.... __ .82.6 ft.llb/8000 rpm Valves per cylinder Four Ignition Digital electronic Lubrication _ Wet sump Redline 9500 rpm Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet multi-plate Primary drive __ Straight -cut gear Front suspension 43mm telescopic fork Front wheel travel 5.85 in . Rear suspension Gas cha rged mon osh ock Rear wheel travel 4.68 in. Fro nt brakes Dual 11.5 in. disc Rear brake 9.9 in. disc Fro nt tire . _ 120170 x 17 V280 Dunlop radial Rear tire 160/60 x 18 V280 Dunlop radial . Clai med dry weight. 528 lbs. Overall length 85.1 in. Overall width 29.1 in. Wheel base 58.7 in. Overa ll heigh t 48.4 in. Seat heigh t 31.5 in. Fuel capacity (incl. reserve) 5.5 gal. Suggested retail price .. . ~ $1\,900