Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

exha ust system, Tri u mph has boosted the original T-Bird 's 69 bhp at 8000 rpm to the Sport's 82 bhp at 8500 rpm, whil e maintaining the same trio of 36mm Keihin flat slid e CV ca rbs and lower 10:1 (Left) The 82-bph. 885cc In-line triple housed In the comp ress io n ratio : Maximum to rque is al so inc re ased from 53 ft .-lb . at 4800 rpm to the new model's 56 ft.-lb., deliv ered much higher up the rev band at 6500 rpm. Together with the "missing" sixth-gea r ratio restored on the Sport as co m pa re d to th e Thund erbird (and Adventurer's) five-speed gearbox, the re sult is imp roved perform an ce all throu gh the rev range, as well as more top-en d pow er a n d ex tra zest in th e gea rs. Thunderbird Sport represents a marked power improvement over the 67-bhp Thunderbird, placing the spon somewhere In the middle of the road when compared to the How e ver, it's w or th reflecting that the 82-bhp "Sport" still only represents a halfway house between th e 69 bh p Thu nde rbird a nd 97 bhp Tro p hy / Sprint/Trident 900cc carb-trip les: What more flr<>breathing 9O-bhp+ triples it is is a spo rtier ve rsio n of the retro- found In the cruiser, not a mile- eating three-cylinder performance bike in its o w n right. As TrophylSprlnl/ Trident models. su ch , I have to sa y 1 thi nk Tri u m p h mad e a mis take calling it w hat they did: the Sport isn't really so much anything of th e kind , but a triumph (ou ch) o f The tranny is a six-speeder . style over function , makin g a mo nicker like Ascot or Indy to reflect its U.S. dirtheritage styling more appropriate. On the other hand, this is a triple tha t thinks it' s a twin , so maybe it's all part of the deal. However, on the plus side, Tr iu mph has seriou sly improved th e Sport' s gearbox, which has a lighter , crisper change than any carbie Hinckley bike I ever rode before, and it isn' t nearly so notchy and heavy-feeling as previous ones I've been whining about ever sin ce Joh n Bloor brou ght th e marque back from the d ead seven years ago . I also like the fact you can adjust the gearle ver p os iti on very fin el y vi a th e ad jus table threads in the gear-shift linkage that's worth y of a race bike - as is the gearbox itself; and I never tho ug ht I'd be say ing that about a ca rburete d Triumph.... In fact, there's enco urag ing improv ement on many aspects of th e Spo r t's s p eci fica tio ns, underlining that Triumph does take on board what its custome rs tell it, a nd then acts on it. The re adab ilit y of the instrumen ts, for exa mple, is beyond rep roach ~ or even more marked ly, the strip of idiot lights silting between them, which for the first time since they were in troduced on the Speed Triple five years ago can be seen clea rly even in bright sunshine. The fuel ta p is easy to operat e when yo u hi t However, o nce any false ex pectations have been cleared up, the Sport delivers wh at Triumph ' s target m a r ke t for it almost certain ly ex pects, wh ich is a grea t-looking bike with sporting styling references. It oozes personality and has ser ious street cred in the right quarters. If they remade "Shampoo" today, 22 years on, but with Wa rren Beatty as the movie's produ cer instead of act ing the part of the stree t-w ise Ho llyw ood stud who rode his Bonn eville from one torrid date to ano ther, the Thunde rbird Sport is the bike his modem-day counterpart would do it on. For a start, it looks good even before you hop aboard - but wh en you do, yo u realize Tr iumph sty li ng su premo Jo hn Mock ett a nd his te a m have go ne all the way with the half-mile di rt-oval them e. The rid ing posi tion is quite differen t from any p re vi ous Triumph , w it h a raised , one- piece flat handleba r bolted to the up per triple clamp that even a 6footer has to reach a long wa y forward for. It delivers a very upright rid ing postur e that isn't, however, at all tiring at lower speeds , eve n w ith you r back straigh t and you r a rms a t fu ll stretch . The grips a ren' t pulled ba ck as on the origi nal T-Bird or A dven turer, so the stance isn't very relaxing, but it's comfy eno ug h - jus t di fferen t: There is n' t ano the r bike in the marketplace which feels like this to ride. Yo u d o ho w ever , fee l po sitioned q uite fa r for w a rd , d irt-st yl e, whic h indeed you are - and that's even without the 30mm-Iong er black-pain ted alloy swingarm now fitted to bring the w heelbase up to a stretched-out 1580mm (62.2 inches, no less); perhaps too far forward, depend ing on how long your legs are 'because the sha pe of the sea t a nd th e stra ight bars meant my right knee kept making fr-i end s with the back of th e cyl inder head . No bi g d eal if you' re wearing leathers - but [ have to ad mi t that , excep t when I was celebrating the fact that Mr. Kush itani' s latest suit has the exact same color scheme as my Spo rt loan er bike, most of the rest of the time I rode the bike just like most of its customers will - in jeans and a leather jacket . and then it became a nuisance. To avoid broiled knee w ra p ped in Le vi e n crou te , yo u need to ri de th e Sport like a Harl ey, with your right knee hanging out in the wind - except that on th e Tr iumph th ere' s no carb to clear, only an engine that's so heavily offset to one side and a riding position so far forw ard, you ca n't really av oid it unless you do. Test-ride this bike before buying to se e if your inside leg measu remen t be com es a factor in th e pl easure of straddling it. Triumphs a re u su all y so closely det ailed , this might be an aberration... except there's more. Thou gh the engine is tuned slig h tly higher, it's still jus t as smooth and flexible low down as the lowpower T-Bird' s, pulling cleanly away in top gear from 1500 rpm upward withou t a sna tch, and supe rbly responsive at any revs. Riding around town is nice, because the ligh t-action clutc h (with ad jus tab le lever, like the front brake's) picks up very smoothly and there's torquey power on tap, deli vered w henever yo u need it to the ev oca tive muted ho wl of the best sounding bike engine in current production . Plus , the flat ba rs still have good leverage for tight turns. Bu t accele ra ti ng u nder load fro m 3000 to 3700 rpm, ther e' s some mom entary vi bration throu gh the fo otre st s that's go ne almos t as soon as you notice it - call it character rather than a chore, and put it down to eit her cam profil es s tarting to w o rk o r ex haus t-tu ni ng to pa ss the noise test. It's not a fla t spo t (beca u se the bike kee ps accele ra ting well enough ) just a minor dose of vibes that you do encoun ter quite frequently 2500 to 5000 rpm is the rev ran ge you use most heavily in the urban conditions at which the Sport is aim ed. Les s easy to o verloo k is the more intrusive vibration that s tarts at just over 5000 rpm and persists through the foot rests all the way to th e 8500-rpm redline - it's a defini te bu zz that I can 't remember feeling on any other modem Triumph triple, but for su re it's there. Hmmm. Now, of course, chances are mo st Spo rt cus to mers won't run the bike that hard , becau se if you shift up a t five gra nd in the gears, you'll st ill ge t ad equate per forman ce, and rid ing th e bike any fas te r th a n th e 75 m ph (120 kp h o n th e kilo me te r-s peedoed test b ik e ) repres ented b y that fiv e gra nd thresh old enta ils ri sk in g rigor You don't have to go far to catch the dirt track-bred styling features. ..External" air cleaners and giant reverse megaphone mufflers were all the rage from the late '60s on up to 1970, when Triumph claimed three AMA Grand National titles In four years. r-, mortis in you r forearms as you strug gle to co u nter th e fie rce wind blas t delivered by the u prig ht riding p osi tio n and high ba rs. This is a bou leva rd bike b uilt fo r cruising t he ca nyo ns rathe r than fighting the free ways - but go wit h th e flow on th e Sa n Die g o Free way or Paris Perip heriq ue ou tside ru sh hour, a nd be prepared for so me tin gles in the toes. reserve on the 55-gallon fuel tank after exac tly 125 miles, giving you access to a no the r ga llo n of gas, while the sid estand is easy to operate w hen seated o n th e bi ke, a nd is n' t su icida lly s p ri ngloaded - Italian man ufacturers, especially Ducati and G uzzi, p lease n ote! T here's no ce nterstand incl u d e d, though, only as an option in the who le ra nge of mainly cosmet ic good ies Tri- '" ..... '" ",' C'l .... OJ B u o 11

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