2014 TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD LT AND COMMANDER
FIRST RIDE
P62
erings like the Sturgis Rally and
Daytona's Bike Week have been
few and far between, as Ameri-
can cruiser customers focused
instead on traditional V-twins like
anything Made in Milwaukee, or
the Japanese clones thereof.
Things also just got tougher for
the British manufacturer with the
debut six months ago of the born-
again Indian brand via a growing
range of supremely styled, well-
engineered V-twins bankrolled
by the Polaris pocketbook. Of
course, it didn't help that the
Thunderbird's 2009 debut coin-
cided with the global economic
downturn that sent the U.S. into
recession and motorcycle sales
in the model's key target market
spiraling downwards.
Under such circumstances,
it's quite understandable that
Triumph owner John Bloor held
back the debut of the two further
variants of the Thunderbird fam-
ily that we were told existed when
the Storm was launched three
years ago.
But now the time is right to
double the size of the Thunder-
bird range with two new models
now entering production. There's
the LT (as in Light Touring) ver-
sion that's unashamedly target-
ed at Harley's best-selling Road
King and the new Indian Chief,
together with the more stripped-
back Commander that's clearly
The 2014
Triumph LT and
Commander
– the newest
additions to
Triumph's four-
bike touring
lineup.
