VOL. 53 ISSUE 13 APRIL 5, 2016 P49
so it's all the more irritating that
when you switch off the engine
it automatically defaults back to
Road mode when you fire it up
again. Why? "We want the selec-
tion of Sport to be a conscious
act," explained Nik Ellwood,
Triumph's Global PR Manager—
the implication being that Thrux-
ton riders need to be saved from
themselves?! Come on, guys,
it's only a 96 bhp motorcycle, for
goodness sake, and if your design
a mileage odometer, twin trips,
fuel level, current and average
fuel consumption, range to empty,
a clock and a gear indicator. But
if you prefer to have the clock on
to keep track of time except when
you want a specific piece of info,
sorry—when you turn the engine
off and start it again, it defaults to
the odometer, so you must thumb
through the choices again till
you get back to where you were
before. Nanny knows best!
THE SUSPENSION ISN'T KILLING US
Yet again, as on the T120 and
also the Street Twin 900 I rode,
the suspension on the Thruxton
R was brilliantly set up—although
this time with Showa/Ohlins
hardware rather than the Kayaba
package on those bikes. This tells
you that the real credit goes to
Triumph's chassis development
experts, the brothers David and
Felipe Lopez, who, once again,
have done a great job in produc-
ing a twin-shock motorcycle with
outstanding suspension compli-
ance at both ends. I was, once
again, seriously impressed by
the way the Triumph ate up the
bumps. Yet when you do go over
a rough stretch of road and the
bike gets jiggled around, there are
no rattles, just a tight and together
feeling denoting the bike's un-
doubtedly excellent build quality,
which once again,
as on the T120,
reflects well on
Triumph's Thai op-
eration. The styling
is great, too, as an
effective blend of
ancient and modern—the throttle
bodies look like carburetors, and
the cylinders have machined fins
that according to Triumph actually
do aid cooling, so the water radia-
tor now fitted can be small enough
to be visually insignificant, tucked
away behind the front fender with
barely a hose in sight. Worth not-
ing the new Triumphs have LED
lights front and rear, with a very
distinctive signature light pattern
for the front running lights, and
Just sitting on it sets you smiling with
anticipation, thanks to an extremely well-thought
out riding position…
There is still a pleasant bark from the
Euro 4-compliant exhaust system.
team has done a good enough
job to make the Sport map the
go-to mode for everyday riding,
we don't need nanny to tell us
different. Same complaint with
other digital functions--each
clock has digital panel, which
on the left-hand speedometer
displays info that can be scrolled
through via the "I" for Info button
on the left handlebar, to access
