Triumph America

[sonny]

When I rode the bike home from Oklahoma city brand new it had a top end of around 95 miles per hour. After a lot of bruised knuckles and MONEY it had a top end of 130 miles per hour. The torque increase was unreal. We had a specialty shop in Oklahoma city at the time that specialized In Bonneville's. The guy who bought it has worked on it even more. He dusted more than one Harley with it. Very sweet bike.

 

[Navigator]

When I rode the bike home from Oklahoma city brand new it had a top end of around 95 miles per hour. After a lot of bruised knuckles and MONEY it had a top end of 130 miles per hour. The torque increase was unreal. We had a specialty shop in Oklahoma city at the time that specialized In Bonneville's. The guy who bought it has worked on it even more. He dusted more than one Harley with it. Very sweet bike.

What did you do to it Sonny? I know there is a top end performance kit made for it that brings it up about 150cc's as I recall but I understand there are quite a few other performance upgrades for that engine.

I'm still considering buying that America and just sent the guy a note.

 

[sonny]

A Lot. The shop in OKC recommended a 900 cc kit. Bought that and then they worked the valves. Then we worked the cam chain and guides. Next was the cams. Then we bought a high performance clutch. Oil pump was upgraded. An after market ECU was installed. Carps were replaced. Brakes and suspension upgrades followed. Then the shop in OKC redid the transmission. A lot of time and money well spent. From what I hear the guy who bought it upgraded to 1,000 cc. with no problems. It started out at 790 cc stock. Very well thought out bike. Still kicks my butt that i traded it in for a Harley. Well the Harley is next

 

[Navigator]

A Lot. The shop in OKC recommended a 900 cc kit. Bought that and then they worked the valves. Then we worked the cam chain and guides. Next was the cams. Then we bought a high performance clutch. Oil pump was upgraded. An after market ECU was installed. Carps were replaced. Brakes and suspension upgrades followed. Then the shop in OKC redid the transmission. A lot of time and money well spent. From what I hear the guy who bought it upgraded to 1,000 cc. with no problems. It started out at 790 cc stock. Very well thought out bike. Still kicks my butt that i traded it in for a Harley. Well the Harley is next

WOW, that was some significant upgrading. If I get one I'll work it over but not to that extent. That must have been a real screamer, but of course when you got it up to 130 that told the story.

 

[BillyIndiana]

I have had mine up to 110 mph. I am getting ready to make some upgrades for performance. Got a bunch of stuff from TTP. Airbox upgrade, Firestarter CDI, Blue Flame coils, and I get to rejet the carbs. Oh Boy. I am also doing a Safe Start modification. Kinda the same issue as I have with the Rocket. Most of the mods are to undo the emission systems put on the bike and open her up.

The Rocket is just so much easier to do. Got the Ramair and TORS ready to go. Just waiting on our friend Paul Bryant to finish up my cross over.

It is going to be a project kinda spring.

 

[Gregger]

Spent a arm and a leg on the Truimph American. All the chrome covers and then some. Did some tuning and re jetting of the carbs plus other engine upgrades. Even upgrading the brake calibers. The Harley mechanic who bought the bike loves it. Ran into him at one of the toy runs this year and he was not surprised to see me back on a Truimph. He has upgraded the motor even more and got a new paint job that really looks sharp. Regret to this day on trading it in. Looking at the pics makes it even worse.

Sonny,

I also spent a fortune on my America. Pretty well everything you could get for the bike, I got. Eventually set it up for single rider too. I replaced the spoked rims with chrome mags because of flat tire issues (can't fix a tube on the side of the road easily). I never increased the displacement but modded the intake to increase airflow, replaced the exhaust with long flow through TORs, increased the main jet size along with the needles on the carbs (ones for the Thunderbird 3 cyl model). I had the ECM modded to hit 8500 rpm from TTP. The bike would break the ton easily. The 790cc engines pulled harder in the higher rpm ranges than the milder tuned 865s which had better mid range torque. The cams for the 790s were highly sought after because of their more aggressive profiles.

Increasing the displacement is easy to do. Kits range from 904cc, 995cc, 1100cc to 1200cc. For those who have the 865cc and don't want to replace the cylinder barrels or sleeve/stroke the engine, there is a high compression kit available complete with cams. Replacing the Mikunis with FCR39s was another change that was needed as engine size was upped. Modded engines could reach close to 105 horsepower. By the time I considered getting into this option, I realized I needed a bigger bike. I was looking at spending thousands on the engine to increase power when for a few bucks more I could have the Rocket. Been smiling ever since.

I do miss my America though. Often ride with the fellow who owns it now. I just might purchase it back from him one day.

 

[tdragger]

The America model has been dropped from the Triumph line. There will not be a 900cc or 1200cc Bonneville America. Triumph recently rolled out the 1200cc Bonneville Speedmaster based on the Bobber frame. It incorporates styling cues from both the older 865cc America and Speedmaster. Frankly I think the new Speedmaster looks like an America rather than an old Speedmaster.

 

[BillyIndiana]

Sonny,

I also spent a fortune on my America. Pretty well everything you could get for the bike, I got. Eventually set it up for single rider too. I replaced the spoked rims with chrome mags because of flat tire issues (can't fix a tube on the side of the road easily). I never increased the displacement but modded the intake to increase airflow, replaced the exhaust with long flow through TORs, increased the main jet size along with the needles on the carbs (ones for the Thunderbird 3 cyl model). I had the ECM modded to hit 8500 rpm from TTP. The bike would break the ton easily. The 790cc engines pulled harder in the higher rpm ranges than the milder tuned 865s which had better mid range torque. The cams for the 790s were highly sought after because of their more aggressive profiles.

Increasing the displacement is easy to do. Kits range from 904cc, 995cc, 1100cc to 1200cc. For those who have the 865cc and don't want to replace the cylinder barrels or sleeve/stroke the engine, there is a high compression kit available complete with cams. Replacing the Mikunis with FCR39s was another change that was needed as engine size was upped. Modded engines could reach close to 105 horsepower. By the time I considered getting into this option, I realized I needed a bigger bike. I was looking at spending thousands on the engine to increase power when for a few bucks more I could have the Rocket. Been smiling ever since.

I do miss my America though. Often ride with the fellow who owns it now. I just might purchase it back from him one day.

You are so right. When I am putting around on it I think what a nice ride, but when you hit about 4500 to 5000 rpm and up the engine becomes a beast for its size.

 

[TriumPhil]

Apologies for the following hijack, but some fellas' over the pond on that "other" site have just attended the big motorcycle show in London and confirm that our revered R3 is no longer available in EU countries beyond the 2017 model year due to stricter emission standards.

Doe's anyone know for sure whether or not Triumph is manufacturing any 2018 built and model year R IIIs for the American or any other markets on Earth or are we seeing potentially seeing the end of the line?

 

[BillyIndiana]

Apologies for the following hijack, but some fellas' over the pond on that "other" site have just attended the big motorcycle show in London and confirm that our revered R3 is no longer available in EU countries beyond the 2017 model year due to stricter emission standards.

Doe's anyone know for sure whether or not Triumph is manufacturing any 2018 built and model year R IIIs for the American or any other markets on Earth or are we seeing potentially seeing the end of the line?

Here is a link to the Triumph US web site.

http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/bikes/cruisers/rocket/2018/rocket-iii-roadster-abs


I was part of a survey group last year here in the States that Triumph did. They showed me images of the new R3 and asked questions about seating and footing positions. Asked if I thought 25000 cc and 170 hp off the shelf. Modeling I saw looked very much like the Ducati Diavel.

Since it was February of 2017 I did this at the Chicago IMS show I would think fall of this year or spring of 2019 we will know.