Jamie

Living Legend
Joined
Mar 7, 2006
Messages
2,352
Location
Geneva Switzerland
What a European weekly mag says (without divulging its source): Hinckley to unveil both a "Rocket GT":confused: and a special edition "Rocket Classic" in white and blue, i.e. on the top of the new Tiger 1050 (pics and specs already posted here), various upgrades on the Sprint ST, Speed Triple and Bonnie, and a white and ... green ;) finish for the Scrambler.

Best. Jamie
 
Blue Classic was spotted by someone on a factory tour. The new Bonnies were released early. More 675's are coming early also. Since the new Tiger is comfirmed and Triumph promised two new or reworked models each year, that leaves the middle weight cruiser, naked 675, touring rocket, and liter+ class Daytona (all of which were claimed to be in the works at one time or another over the last year by MCN).
 
Interesting

Jamie:

Over on the Triumph Bonneville forum (delphi) we've been discussing the new touring R3. Was talking with Mark at NorthCoast last week and he indicated at the regional meeting in Florida that (at least in the USA) Triumph was going to introduce a full blown faired R3 with all the Gold Wing bling next year. We'll see. Here in the states, Triumph will have to do an about face on price if they want to compete in the Wing's market. You can buy a decked out Wing in the 18-21 bracket whereas an R3C is right there too. Add the bling and they price themselves out of the market from the get-go.

Triumph needs a better dealer network if they want to get into the distance touring arena. There is a Honda shop in every town just like HD. Triumph can't claim that and has a long way to go. As complicated as the R3 is, if you have a problem you can't pull into the local mom & pop garage and expect them to fix it, let alone know what they are looking at or for in the first place.:eek:

I believe the Scrambler is like the Thruxton, not as popular as Triumph had hoped for. I rode a Scrambler and didn't like it. I prefer my Bonnie though my favorite is the R3C. I'd never tell my Bonnie that, it probably would forsake me out on the lonely highway.:eek:
 
MCN and photoshop

Pig9r said:
Blue Classic was spotted by someone on a factory tour. The new Bonnies were released early. More 675's are coming early also. Since the new Tiger is comfirmed and Triumph promised two new or reworked models each year, that leaves the middle weight cruiser, naked 675, touring rocket, and liter+ class Daytona (all of which were claimed to be in the works at one time or another over the last year by MCN).

Pig9r:

MCN did the photoshop rendition of the R3 tourer and then claimed it was Triumph's new model. We hashed that out on Delphi too.
 
:) Triumph for sure needs a much better dealer network as most people...1.Don't even know that Triumph still makes bikes...2.Don't know where any dealers are unless they live a mile away from them....3.Are always asking me the above 2 questions when I'm at traffic lights...My dealer is 109 miles away and that might be close compared to how far some have driven...I see Gold Wings advertised for 16k at the big Ohio dealership in Cycle Trader....that's a tough long distance bike to compete against with all it's added feature/benefits
 
Big volume sales like Honda and HD enjoy took many years to establish. Triumph in on the right course with good quality, good looking bikes but must maintain same as volume increases, which is the tricky part. Triumph can be a HD or Honda someday(again) if they don't get too big for their britches.
 
Triumph was there....

Hondax:

In the sixties, Triumph was THE bike. I remember, I had one. HD's were unreliable and Honda's were, you remember, "you meet the nicest people on a Honda..." A big Honda was a 305 and guys put shorties on them and they sounded like lawn mowers. If you had a 650 Bonneville, especially with a sissy bar and shorties, it was a chick magnet. Yeah, you could ride a hard tailed '45 flat head HD that leaked all over the place and made about as much power as the kid's down the street Cushman, but the real bike to have was the Trumpet. So what if you missed a shift and blew all the light bulbs and the chain oiler put out so much oil that your jeans were always waterproof. So what if it vibrated. It didn't vibrate as bad as the Beezers who's riders rode in a blizzard of nuts and bolts. I remember spending hours with the Simichrome, polishing the cases and then having to prime the concentric's and pee gas all over my polish job, but it was a Triumph and it leaked too but it would waste a Harley or a Honda, that is, until Honda came out with the 750/4.

I had great times on the T120 and every time I see a restored T120, I want to buy it and I don't really care what the cost is. However, I did buy a T100 with all the bad habits eliminated and then went and dumped another 10K+ on a sidecar. I always pined for the R3, right from their inception. I test rode an early model but waited for the bugs to get worked out and the red and cream Classic wooed me right into signing on the dotted line. Before I pass, I have another T120 as well as a P11A Norton Scrambler, an MV Agusta (if I can find one under 100K) and a Thruxton Velocette in the garage. Many years ago I had a chance to take an MV Agusta for a long ride, the R3 reminds me of the MV only the MV had a few more holes and a different riding position.

The marketplace is way different than it was in the sixties and Mr. Bloor and his beloved Triumph have a much tougher row to hoe than the Meriden Triumph did.

Personally, I don't believe that Triumph will ever attain the stature they had in the sixties and early seventies, there are too many other viable marques to be had. I just want to see them prosper and stay around for another hundred years. Just so long as Mr. Bloor gets enough of the slice of pie to remain profitable (with our dedicated support), I believe he will stay in business.

The one thing I get from people when I ride the T100 that I don't get with the R3 is the reminiscing about their lost youth and their Triumph fantasy either real or imagined. Last summer I rode the T100 down to the local HD shop and literally emptied it. All the personnel, especially the older ones wanted to see the Triumph and then the stories came, you know, I had a Triumph when I was younger, what ever happened to them and so on. The R3, while a gas to ride, would never evoke that response.
 
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:) I get a mix of comments from people who want to talk about the old Tiger or Bonneville they had in the late 60's and early 70's to asking me about the futuristic R3 and how did that one evolve from Triumph's early days...Then I have to tell them about the whole sportbike scene that Triumph produces too along with a modern Scrambler..Tiger and Sprint tourer....Many are amazed at the model offerings
 
My dealer had a customer appreciation cookout yesterday and to my surprise there were no Rockets on the showroom floor.They had just put the finishing touches on a Rocket classic with an adjustable sidecar for 2-tour Iraq vet so he could ride with his dog.Suppose they will wait to order more Rockets after the Triumph show.My 1st recollection of a big bike was in Switzerland when a Bonneville went by making that familier loud exhaust note.I was only about 10 at the time but it stuck in my mind.Lots of Vespas also,I gues thats why my big brother rides scooters. :eek:
 
sidecar??

I'm surprised a franchised dealer would attach a sidecar to an R3 in as much as it's plainly stated in the owners manual and shop manual that the addition of a sidecar or trailer hitch will immediately void the warranty. I hope they are aware of that and that they know what they are doing as far as attachment of the chair. There are many factors that have to be taken into account when going from 2 wheels to offset 3 wheels.
 
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