I was all set on a Ducati scrambler as another bike for the stable, but the more I see and read about the new Thruxton R the more I want one. mmmm
Yes they look pretty deec.... (If I had a spare 12 grand...) A bit disappointed they only have Ohlins on the rear. It is as if the factory ordered too many standard Daytona forks.
I have a Silver 'R' on order with Triumph Jack Lilley with a 'cafe racer inspiration kit' coming in July when they first come into the country. They was doing a fully refundable deposit if after riding the test bike I didn't like it, test bikes are due in about a months time.
Well, bug'rit - you're quite right: they're only pretend Öhlins at the front - I'd assume it both ends. That seems very cheapskate at the price and significantly reduces the appeal for me.
They aren't fake Ohlins on the front... They are Showa BPF forks which are a seriously good fork! Jeez, beats the shit that was on the old thruxton!!
I'm not knocking the BPFs at all. It's the anodise-them-gold-and-pass-them-off-as-Swedish bit I don't like. Buy-in costs for Showa will be less than for O, and I've yet to ride a Showa or Showa/Öhlins setup that matches a full Öhlins rig. My ST4s came close once I'd replaced the Showa innards with K-Tech.
Production Ohlins stuff supplied direct to manufacturers usually isn't in the same league as the aftermarket Ohlins you buy from the factory for upgrades and may not be much better than the standard OE items. I reckon unless "R" or "S" model bikes etc which sport production Ohlins offer significant hard engineered performance advantages (ie not merely cosmetic bling) over and above having Ohlins stickers on the shockers, you're often better off buying the standard bike and spending the money saved on factory suspension upgrades at a later date. The cost of buying "real" aftermarket Ohlins shocks and fork kits can be less than the premium placed on specced up models by bike manufacturers
Wonder when Norton will come out with their own new engine. I guess if/when they did Euro rules would prevent it being an air-cooled. The Thruxton will surely have the legs on the Norton, but the Norton looks sharper and leaner. They are lovely things.
@Technomad Ohlins don't have a trademark on gold forks. They're not passing them off as ohlins and I suspect the Big Pistons will be just as good if not better than the Ohlins you get as standard fitment on 'performance' models. The 'ohlins' units triumph put on the 675r models are supposedly significantly different from buying a new unit from Ohlins direct. It's all about getting the name on there whilst keeping the costs reasonable.
I've no doubt that the OEM'd Öhlins are a different spec - the quality of the WSS-spec units on my 749R is noticeably higher than those on my Multi. That said, the latter have better ride and feel than the current Sachs Skyhook.
Agreed, the new new R Thruxton is awesome and I would imagine the supplied front suspension performs just fine but I still feel as a R model it should have front Ohlins too if they are fitted on the rear (as per the Speed Triple R and Daytona R). Still, very nice though all the same.
My 899 goes to it's new owner tomorrow I'll mention this forum to sign up to he seems very enthusiastic, I got a call thursday the first of the Thruxton 'R's are due in to dealers on 23/24 April my dealer has called to come on down and be a guest at the opening and test ride the new machines. can't wait! new colour announced matt Black for the 'R'
