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I finally got to sit on the new Triumph Thunderbird at this years 2010 Edmonton Motorcycle Show. I have been dreaming about this bike for some time now. Though I love my 865cc Triumph America, I do however, due to my preference in riding, wish to have more power for some of the long rides that I take and most of the people I ride with all have 1200+. So my bike is working hard and I have to fill up more frequently than the rest. I was so excited that Triumph finally put out a bike that was not under 1000cc and not above 2000cc. Well, there it was sitting all pretty and shiny black. I waited patiently for the dude that was sitting on it to move his arse and get off my bike. So finally my time arrived. I straddled that bike and took it off its stand. Then my dissapointment set in. Did they make this bike for a cowboy who spent his whole life riding friggin Clydesdales? Whoever has a spread on them that wide should be farming it. The weight difference from 865 to this one I can handle. The look is great and I know it would be a wonderful bike to ride but the tank was far too big and wide. The seat, uncomfortable as hell. Do I want to start off again, getting a custom seat and Risers because the handle bars are too far and wide. I would have to get the tank modified. The tank on my america is nicely tapered down and fits perfectly. So with all this said. I am going to stick with what I have. And if I cant ride a buck sixty, so be it.

My wife has often thought of moving up, but simply cannot find another bike that fits her the way she likes. She rides an 07' Virago 250, the last year before it turned into the Vstar 250. She has the same complaints as you. Other bikes are just too darn wide. She has taken mine out a time or two, and even with it sitting as low as it does, it's just not comfortable. I guess when you find the perfect bike the first go around, it's hard to change. Perhaps you could ask the folks you ride with to stick with modest speeds on the longer runs. Maybe this would prevent using up extra fuel, eliminating the extra stops. If you lived closer, you could ride with us. Me with my 650, and her with a 250, you'd be the big dog then.

Well, I haven't sat on a Thunderbird 'cause I have no serious intention of buying a big cruiser. Just walking by one in the dealership, yeah, I kinda saw what you mean, TG. It came out a little porky. Bonnevilles have beautiful narrow waists, I imagine the same goes for Americas and Seedmasters. Not the Thunderbird, it came out more looking like a Rocket III.

If you're interested, there's a **lot** of performance mods possible with the 790/865 vertical twin. I imagine they all work with the America/Speedmaster, as the 270 crank is the only difference between the engines. Guy in our RAT pack had the Wiseco big-bore kit done to his T100, said it transformed the bike. Price for the kit plus professional install was not too too bad, around $1100 IIRC. And just swapping out for freer-flowing exhaust plus rejetting adds a few ponies, and can be done for a couple hundred.

What happened to the beautiful and the most awesome sounding Triple Thunderbirds of the 90s.

HYPERR wrote:What happened to the beautiful and the most awesome sounding Triple Thunderbirds of the 90s.

Bingo. TriumphGirl, this is what you should be looking for. The same look of what you are currently riding but with quite a bit more power. I used to ride with a guy who had one of the old Thunderbirds and it would hit 200km/hr rather easily (the last page on my blog has an old story about it). You would have no trouble keeping up with the big guys on something like this but it is still a managable size.

They haven't made them for a couple of years, but there are quite a few out there, you just have to wait a while for one to come up for sale. A word of warning however: They seem to be a magnet for geezers to come up and talk about the good old days.....just about every time we stopped for fuel...

And a bad scan of an old pic (his had lower than stock bars):

blackholesun wrote:closer, you could ride with us. Me with my 650, and her with a 250, you'd be the big dog then.

That would be great. If I ever make my way down your way, I will be sure to let you know. My sisters are vertically challenged. I was lucky and got the long legs. Unfortunately my one sister is only 4'11". Right now she rides a Suzuki Savage. The one lunger I call it. My other sister recently purchased the Suzuki Boulevard. It is 900cc and it is built narrow, light and a low seat height. Perfect for the 5' gals and up. You may want to mention this to your wife and she could try one out. It maybe the answer to her problems. Goodluck and thanks.

jstark47 wrote:Well, I haven't sat on a Thunderbird 'cause I have no serious intention of buying a big cruiser. Just walking by one in the dealership, yeah, I kinda saw what you mean, TG. It came out a little porky. Bonnevilles have beautiful narrow waists, I imagine the same goes for Americas and Seedmasters. Not the Thunderbird, it came out more looking like a Rocket III.

If you're interested, there's a **lot** of performance mods possible with the 790/865 vertical twin. I imagine they all work with the America/Speedmaster, as the 270 crank is the only difference between the engines. Guy in our RAT pack had the Wiseco big-bore kit done to his T100, said it transformed the bike. Price for the kit plus professional install was not too too bad, around $1100 IIRC. And just swapping out for freer-flowing exhaust plus rejetting adds a few ponies, and can be done for a couple hundred.

Thanks jstark, it is worth looking into. I sat on the T100 at the bike show as I always loved the bonneville. It is a beautiful bike to say the least. Unfortunatley when I tried that one out I was amazed at how high the seat is. I was on my tippy-toes...Darn. This Wiseco Big-bore kit, is it something that can be done to my bike?

High_Side wrote:

HYPERR wrote:What happened to the beautiful and the most awesome sounding Triple Thunderbirds of the 90s.

Bingo. TriumphGirl, this is what you should be looking for. The same look of what you are currently riding but with quite a bit more power. I used to ride with a guy who had one of the old Thunderbirds and it would hit 200km/hr rather easily (the last page on my blog has an old story about it). You would have no trouble keeping up with the big guys on something like this but it is still a managable size.

They haven't made them for a couple of years, but there are quite a few out there, you just have to wait a while for one to come up for sale. A word of warning however: They seem to be a magnet for geezers to come up and talk about the good old days.....just about every time we stopped for fuel...

I am so on that page. I havent gone a ride yet when I havent had someone coming up to me with their stories of their old Triumph Days. I enjoy it though. I get to hear all sorts of funny stuff. I was like that when I was over in Scotland/England a couple of years back. This old fart came riding up one day whilst I was parked at a rest stop on a Royal Enfield. Nice old bike. Had a great chat with the cheeky fellow. Oh and nice pick. That is a great bike.

Triumphgirl wrote:This Wiseco Big-bore kit, is it something that can be done to my bike?

TG, here's a link to it (probably available from other sellers too, I happened to remember these guys have it): http://www.newspeedmaster.com/html/wise ... e_kit.html Says it can be used on Bonneville America or Speedmaster. Should be installed by someplace experienced in engine rebuilds.

You can probably find folks with firsthand experience on a Triumph-specific forum like triumphrat.net (if you can stomach all the ads on that forum!!)