Beebop
Race Dog
Not at all adventure riding related, and not a journalism report, just thought
I'd give my opinion on a bike I had the opportunity to ride this weekend.
Its all happened very much by accident, but I wont complain about that.
My son has a very nice, track oriented Daytona 675, BST rims etc.
A friend of ours was asked to assist with the marshaling at the bike festival, so he asked
my son if he could use the Daytona, as the bike he currently had from Triumph wasn't
quite suitable for the task. So they swapped bikes for this weekend.
Anyway, my son suggested I take the "loaner" for a spin.
Now let me state up front, I'm not a cruiser fan, so my opinion already started in the red.
Before I saw it, I had heard that it was a Triumph cruiser, so I checked Triumph SA and saw
they list 3 cruisers, the America, the RocketIII and a Thunderbird. This was the Thunderbird.
Its a 1700 parallel twin, with plenty chrome, floor boards, huge screen ...would make any Harley lover proud.
Anyway, I mounted the beast and lifted it off the side stand. Now this in itself is an achievement. I lift my pig
off at some strange angles and its less work. This thing weighs a ton, and you feel it. Key goes on the right
hand side behind the knee. Hit the starter and.......wait. This doesn't sound like a V twin potato-potato. That's
a huge disappointment to the brain, as its supposed to sound like a Harley, after all that's what a cruiser should
sound like. Not that its a bad sound, those nice long chrome pipes do carry the sound of those huge cylinders
quite acceptably.
Now the riding position was my biggest concern, having a fused lower back and some mechano
parts in my neck, the forward controls and high bars were going to be a challenge. But wow, is that seat comfortable.
I have yet to rest my rear on anything as comfy.
So off I go, this thing cant get going very quickly, as it weighs tons......wrong. It pulls strongly as I short shifted
through the gears. In 6th, from 70kmph, this thing hauls. The torque is simply astounding. I cant tell you what
the revs were, as it lacks a rev counter. This is where I picked up the 1st of the 3 drawbacks of this machine. At 140
my helmet was being buffeted to the extent that vision was becoming a problem. I dont believe this bike will reach its
speedo indicated top speed of 200, it gets sluggish after around 160 and you'll need a fairly long piece of flat or sloped
tarmac to reach closer.
So I took a ride around Rietvallei dam , parked took a few pics, then jumped on and hit the suburbs. This is where
the second issue revealed itself. Although the floor boards are comfortable, they are also low. negotiating a circle
at anything near reasonable lean angle, has you leaving bits of chrome on the road surface.
The ride in general is very comfortable, controls are easy to use. Without earplugs, the exhaust note is most pleasing.
Mechanical noise however , at issue number 3 is the most annoying. The engine noise is extremely high, and there
was a distinct rattle that I picked up around a certain rev range.
What made this bike something I would consider in my stable however, is the oodles of torque is delivers low down and the
comfortable ride. If you into cruising long distances without too many bends at the legal limit, this is a great contender.
I'd give my opinion on a bike I had the opportunity to ride this weekend.
Its all happened very much by accident, but I wont complain about that.
My son has a very nice, track oriented Daytona 675, BST rims etc.
A friend of ours was asked to assist with the marshaling at the bike festival, so he asked
my son if he could use the Daytona, as the bike he currently had from Triumph wasn't
quite suitable for the task. So they swapped bikes for this weekend.
Anyway, my son suggested I take the "loaner" for a spin.
Now let me state up front, I'm not a cruiser fan, so my opinion already started in the red.
Before I saw it, I had heard that it was a Triumph cruiser, so I checked Triumph SA and saw
they list 3 cruisers, the America, the RocketIII and a Thunderbird. This was the Thunderbird.
Its a 1700 parallel twin, with plenty chrome, floor boards, huge screen ...would make any Harley lover proud.
Anyway, I mounted the beast and lifted it off the side stand. Now this in itself is an achievement. I lift my pig
off at some strange angles and its less work. This thing weighs a ton, and you feel it. Key goes on the right
hand side behind the knee. Hit the starter and.......wait. This doesn't sound like a V twin potato-potato. That's
a huge disappointment to the brain, as its supposed to sound like a Harley, after all that's what a cruiser should
sound like. Not that its a bad sound, those nice long chrome pipes do carry the sound of those huge cylinders
quite acceptably.
Now the riding position was my biggest concern, having a fused lower back and some mechano
parts in my neck, the forward controls and high bars were going to be a challenge. But wow, is that seat comfortable.
I have yet to rest my rear on anything as comfy.
So off I go, this thing cant get going very quickly, as it weighs tons......wrong. It pulls strongly as I short shifted
through the gears. In 6th, from 70kmph, this thing hauls. The torque is simply astounding. I cant tell you what
the revs were, as it lacks a rev counter. This is where I picked up the 1st of the 3 drawbacks of this machine. At 140
my helmet was being buffeted to the extent that vision was becoming a problem. I dont believe this bike will reach its
speedo indicated top speed of 200, it gets sluggish after around 160 and you'll need a fairly long piece of flat or sloped
tarmac to reach closer.
So I took a ride around Rietvallei dam , parked took a few pics, then jumped on and hit the suburbs. This is where
the second issue revealed itself. Although the floor boards are comfortable, they are also low. negotiating a circle
at anything near reasonable lean angle, has you leaving bits of chrome on the road surface.
The ride in general is very comfortable, controls are easy to use. Without earplugs, the exhaust note is most pleasing.
Mechanical noise however , at issue number 3 is the most annoying. The engine noise is extremely high, and there
was a distinct rattle that I picked up around a certain rev range.
What made this bike something I would consider in my stable however, is the oodles of torque is delivers low down and the
comfortable ride. If you into cruising long distances without too many bends at the legal limit, this is a great contender.
