That I could do.... I think it would probably look better in the flesh.. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Me too. It was down at West Bay. Don't quite get what the little boxes on the end of the pipes are all about and riding on tyres from a 1953 Morris Oxford would distract me in the corners but otherwise its quite groovy. Sat on it in Moore Speed's showroom a while back. Quite comfortable. Better than a Fartster but no as good as the Bobber.
yeah i saw it in Moores a couple pf weeks ago that wasn't you sitting on it was it talking to the boss was it??....cant work out the boxes on the exhaust either
No not me, I was in there on my own. I always have a nose in the showroom when I'm down. Their used prices are a bit steep but there's usually something a bit different to swing a leg over.
TBH that bigger roadster 1800 thing that my HD owning buddy referred to at the end does actually look pretty good. I suspect he'll upgrade fairly quickly. Great discussion by the way, and thanks for the feedback on the videos.
I'm not really a fan of British and Jap bikes etc being turned into chopper / bobber type machines particularly when new models are brought out to compete with the HD and Indian ones. I think they should all have a V-Twin engine for them to look right (but not a Ducati one), but I don't mind the Victory models. Never liked the Virago, Vulcan, Dragstar and other Jap versions, especially with lumps like 1500cc and 1800cc - FFS who really needs a laid back chopper / bobber type with an engine twice the size of some car engines? It is not as though the style is meant for long haul cruises. The only single seater with an 1800cc lump should be a drag bike, like what Henk Vink used (and that was two 900s anyway). Harleys and Indians are what they are, basically prehistoric - but there is quite a lot of fun in being a dinosaur as I can currently finding out.
The Jap customs are of course fake Harleys but the Triumph Bobber isn't. It has its own authentic heritage which is a great part of its charm. Apart from the name, its styled directly on Edward Turner pre-war Triumphs. It deosn't loose anything by not being a V-twin because it isn't trying to be a Harley and it doesn't need to because the marque has its own pedigree and historic style to draw on. And its aimed at the UK market. The Thunderbirds are Triumph's bid to compete with Harley on home turf and crack the US market so naturally they are Harley-esque because the Americans are very conservative buyers. For those who like that sort of thing the big Thunderbird Nightstorm is a better bike than any of the big Harley street models except the premium CVO specials. It is faster with more power, more torque, better ground clearance, better brakes and suspension and its smoother and more comfortable. Unfortunately for Triumph, people don't buy harleys because they're good, they buy them because they're Harleys. The Bobber will be a different matter. People are buying it because it isn't a Harley, its just very good indeed. Which is why there is currently a waiting list. Though I admit, a distressing number of those in the queue will have beards and turn-ups.
A quick point regarding your post Gimlet - the pre-war Triumphs were exactly 'bobbers' were they? They were just the general styling of all motorcycles of that era and I guess that the ones you refer to were the lowest cost ones in the range of Triumphs at that time. Besides, they all had girder forks which happen to be missing from the new model (but that of course applies to all motorcycles again simply through the course of evolution).
