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/78287
-• =... e •.. l1li l1li ..:::I ...... O'l ...... c<') ~ co ...... ~ Q) ..0 Q) .- Q u Q) The suspension did pretty well when you touched down. It rarely bottomed. On the pavement the big trail bike did quite well once you adapted. Pipes join and dive under the engine, protllcted by a skid plate. Front hub is conical, natl:h. The TriuIIlph 500 TR5T Trophy Trail Photography: Tom Culp, Art Friedman, and Tad Rafferty To some folks the notion of a folir stroke twin is out of date. The idea of one of these engines tum- ipg 1 in a bike that might find its . W~~ Ollt i, \ t. e dirt is likely to be arli;;ularly appalling to these folks. Matter of fact, some of our staff felt that way 'long 'bout the time we got a Triumph 500 Trophy Trail (or TR5T, if you're keeping up with numbers) for a test. Right away these guys start changin' their minds, you know? First they allowed as how it was bout the prettiest looking motorcycle that they'd seen in a long while. Most everybody will like that gas tank. It kind of jumps right out at you. It's all alloy with one of those competition type gas caps. The alloy is set off by a nice red crescent at the front. It's not just red, but really red. The rest of the motorcycle is kind of like the tank. Simple and stark with no bangles. Somebody in Washington D.C. made Triumph put tum signals on their street-legal motorcycles and they are kind of out of place, but at least the Limeys put the front ones in the right place, clamped up under the handlebars where they won't catch it if'n the bike falls over. No frills or chromey stuff in the .':' exhaust system, a two-intn-one set·up that sweeps under the engine and emerges on the righ t side to plug into an effective muffler and a removable spark arrestor. The pipe is quiet and protected by a bash plate. It's painted black and the muffling ..protion isn't too snappy looking but is businesslike in a cobby kind of way. The chassis part of the bike is completed by conkal hubs, polished fenders. and steel wheels that are the fore runners of today's alloy mud-fr.ee ' types. They are 'lrung enough and won't pack up mud the way that some alloy wheels do, but they weigh too much to be serious competition-type wheels. They're in tended primarily for street use. The brakes were downright swell in the dirt but came up just a little short when called upon to make that 350 pound motorcycle stop hard on the street. It's not true of everything, but it's true of motorcycles: you can't have it both ways. A more powerful set of brakes would have been harder to use in the dirt. The same thing is true of tires. The Dunlop trials universal tires worked up to a point in both pavement and earth applications. They aren't perfect for either use but are an acceptable compromise. Which is what enduro bikes are about these days. Compromise. Very rarely is an enduro bike actually a potential Greenhorn finisher right off the showroom floor. The Triumph carries the name ''Trophy Trail". Carries it well, too. As a trail bike and a play bike it is mor~than acceptable. Its identity as a trail/play bike starts with the engine. Power, lots of· power everywhere. There are no sudden upheavals as the engine works its way up to RPM range. There isn't a whole bundle of horsepower when the engine reaches its 7550 RPM power peak, but what precedes it is smooth and usable. You get out of the engine about what you'd expect from what's put in. The 490cc overhead valve twin is fed by a single 28mm Amal which can be richened to start by either a tickler, which floods the f10al bowl, or ",-choke.