Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1995 Triumph Trophy 4 pulls extremely h a r d off the bo ttom and con tinues to do so as you wring ou t the somewhat buzzy four-cy linde r m otor . It's fun to short-shift the Triumph and take a dva ntage o f it s as to u n ding torque , w hich rea lly co mes in h and y o n th e freeways . Th e engine turns a mell ow 4000 rp m while motoring alo ng a t 60 mph, but instant power is only a twist of the right w rist away. It doesn 't mat ter how man y revs the eng ine is turnin g, o r wh at g ea r you' re in, th e Triumph respond s instantly whenever the throttle is turned, makin g lane cha nges a br eeze. However, there's a sma ll p rice to pay when yo u open up the thr ottle, as your . spee d increases, so d oes the qu anti ty of vibrati on th at can be felt through th e h andl eb ars an d sea t. It ' s th e hi gh -frequ ency kind of buzzin g that tingles the rider's fingers, bu t n ot to the p oi nt whe re it's a major problem . The funny th ing was that, on the bi ke we test ed, th e rig h t h and lebar seemed to vibrate more than the left. . Th e six-speed transm ission has no probl em tr an s ferring th e Triumph ' s awesome power from on e ge ar to the other. Each shift was smoo th and precise with no clunking or strange noises to be heard. The bike could be upshift ed jus t fin e with out the benefit of the clutch, but downshifting with the clutch is still a must. The Trophy 4 handles and corners a lot better th an one might thi nk from a b ig, 510-pound sport to u ring b ike. It takes little input from the rider to ini ti- ate the tu rns, as the Trium ph seems to want to "fall" in to the corners and then stay right where. it is sup pose d to. The b ike carves th rou gh th e sw it chb acks w ith relative ease, th ough it is by no means a GSX-R750 in terms of "flickability." But then again it wa sn 't designed strict ly for the track, which makes thisbike certai nly more ridable for everyd ay use than a racer-repli ca. At speed while le aned over, th e T riump h wallows a round jus t a lit tle bit over ro ugh groun d, which really is not unh eard of for a b ig s port tou r in g moto rcy cle. Nonetheless, the Trophy 4 can be ridden as har d as most peop le's talent w ill let them, including ours. . For everyday riding and commuting, th e Tri u m ph is m a rvel ou s . Its h ea vy weight makes the bike feel stable and as solid as a rock . The ride is made smo oth than ks to the Trium ph's firm yet pliable sus pe ns ion . This makes the bike quite tol er ab le for long co mmutes, b u t for aggressive back-road riding, bot h ends (Right) A noninverted fork is used up fronl. It works well but is a lillie soft for aggressive riding. The dual front disc brakes are super slrong and offer outstanding feel. (Below)The ins trument panel is straightforward and easy 10 read after gelling used , 10 the reverse positioning of Ihe tach and speedo. 1995 Triumph 1200 Trophy 4 ~ons Importer ENGINe Type capacity Borex stroke Compression ratio Carburetlon I.ubrk:ation ignition TIlANSIIISSION PrImary ddve Ge8rbox Clutch Final drive Chain type , .Triumph Motorcycles America Um~ed 403 Dividend Dr., Peachtree City, GA Uquid-cooled, dohc, in-line four-eylinder 118Occ 76 x 65mm 10 .6:1 36mm flat-slide CV (4) Wet sump inductive transistorized Gear 6-speed Wet multi-plate Chain Regina 136 ORP CHAssIs (BeJow) The TriumphTrophy 4 is a solid allaround package, but it's the motor that really makes this bike shine. Not only is it just plain fast, but the . awesome motor -has enough torque and bollom end to uproot an oak tree. Frame , .La dia. high-lensile-steel spine, stressed engine rge RakeJlraii : 27'/4.13 in. Wheels front ,Alloy, three-spoke, 17x 3.5 in. rear . ... .. •.... .. .. A1loy, three-spoke, 17x 5.5in. Tires front 120170 ZR17 17oi60 ZR17 - rear Suspension front 43mm forks w dual-rate springs i rear Mono shock wi ad preload and rebound damping j. Brakes front Dual 310mmfloa discs. 4-piston calipers ting rear 255mm disc, 2-piston caliper DIMENSIONS Seat height 31.2 in. Wheelbase . •... .•. . . .. 59.6in. OIA length 86.1 in. OIA height 50.8in. Ground clearance 5.52in. Claimed dry weight 510.4Ibs. Fuel capacity 6.5 gal. Max. payload 398.2 Ibs. $ervlce Intervals . .. . . . •6000 mi. Warranty 24month, unlimited , , , , , .British fl!Icing Green, Nightsl)ade A\lf'PI8 , •• • • •• • . • e.• • • • .' H ,995 $ could use so me stiffening up. The small a n d s imp le w in dscree n ac h ieves its main objective of safeguardi ng the rid er from w indblast an d d oes so with very few side effects, such as buffeting or turbu lence. If desired , there's just enoug h room to cro uch d own and tuck in nicely behind the w indscreen . We must ad mit tha t a Triumph representa tive lied to us wh en we p icked u p the Tro phy 4. He said that the front brake was powerful enou gh to be opera ted with just two fingers. Wron g, one finger is plenty . There certa in ly isn' t a lack of sto p pi ng power her e, at eithe r end . The brake s are well up to the task of s lo w in g d o wn th e pow erful and heavy Tro p hy 4, bu t th e grippy, d ual front brakes do most of the work with little exertion by the ride r. We really had no major complain ts wi th the Trophy 4, bu t when it comes to ni tpicking, well, we h ad a few gripe s. The fir st in v ol ve s th e fai ri ng, m o re specifically, wher e it comes down, close to the rid er' s legs . N ot o n ly do you invariably bang yo ur shins on the them, wh ich sligh tly hi nders moving around on the bike, bu t they stick outward signi ficantly, making it possible to trap you r leg betw een the fairin g lowers and the side of th e bike, which cou ld ultimately lead to an embarrassing tip-over at in tersections. We' know from experience. Wh ile we never actually dropped th e Triumph over co mpletely, we d id have a couple of scares . You have to get in the habit of sticking your leg straigh t ou t to the side away from th e bike firs t before p lan tin g yo u r foot on th e ground . If yo u eve n slig htly slide yo ur leg forward first, you can get yourself into tro ubl e. Plus , the fairi ng dumps a > >

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