Daytona 1300 Bites It

[travisyoung]

Gabe's going to be crushed.

first post!

[captainwhoopass]

Prolly better this way- Suzuki would just bore out the 'Busa and spank Triumph anyway. They can't compete with the Japanese in sportbikes.

[Tigercub]

Triumph need to focus on coorporate branding. They have the triple and the Bonneville, but they need more than that to distinguish themselves. I have a couple suggestions. Install a kickstarter on all their bikes. Attach a Scott Oiler that drips oil on the ground directly underneath the engine. They could have a readout come on intermittantly that says, "if you rode our old pushrod twins you'd be stuck here." I guess Mike Vaughn didn't have any new ideas either and poor Tamborini (sp?), the only one who had new ideas, has passed away - rest-in-peace - I love your Speed 4!.

[pushrod]

From what I've been able to determine, if The Man (Bloor) wants it, it happens. If he doesn't, it is a goner. It's his company. For all we know, the 1300 was developing so much power, it may have exhibited some old Triumphness, i.e., ecologically unpleasant behavior (oil leaks). And we can't be having that nowadays, now can we?



I agree Triumph needs to keep its focus, but look how they have done with the 600. Supposedly they were going to use the 1300 in a different tune in a new touring bike, which may still happen.



As far as American input to what Triumph does, I haven't figured out what all the people in Newnan do, other than distribute the bikes they take out of the containers. Fer chrissakes, we usually know more sooner than the "Customer Relations" folks there (at least as far as they'll let on). At the Toy Truck show (in Atlanta), they just stand around and spew brochure-ese. It must be a drag being a dealer. I know I've had to wait on technical questions because Newnan has to query the guys in UK because, seemingly, nobody at the GA office knows squat about the bikes.



And is Triumph USA EVER going to get with the program on accessories, like a decent selection of T-shirts?



Forgive my rant. I feel much better. 'Soon as the rain stops, I'm gonna get on my ST and ride. Which, I guess, is the only thing that really matters. I do love that bike!

[DataDan]

Hey, MCN sold a bunch of issues based a spy photo and the rumor that it was a future production bike, and now they can sell a bunch of issues with the story that it won't be produced after all. Isn't that what they call a "win-win" situation in the magazine biz?

[sarnali]

I've heard they were going to use the 1300 engine with shaft drive as a replacement for the Trophy.

I've also heard that the U.S. sport touring market share isn't big enough for Triumph to compete.

I'd hate to see them pull the plug on sport-tourers, I love the ***** out of my Trophy, when I needed a new bike I'd have to get a Ducati or Aprilia or something.

[gdrazek]

There is no way a guy like Bloor will drop that much money on a machine and completely let it go. I agree with the above comments that this engine will show up in a future sport-tourer. And I think it's a much better decision. Who needs another overweight sportbike that can go 200mph? A better-styled version of the FJR1300 is the place this engine should be!

[Gabe]

FIRST OF ALL, VANILLA ICE (MR. ALLCAPS OG ROLE MODEL) DIDN'T HAVE ONE, AND CHICKZ DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT IS, AND THIRD, NOT ONE OF MY 14 COUSINS HAVE ONE SO WHY WOULD I WANT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?



SOUNDZ LIKE IT WOULD WHEELIE GOOD, THOUGH. I'LL POUR A VIRTUAL "40" ON THE GRAVE OF THE 7 PROTOTYPEZ.

[Gabe]

Doesn't Triumph have some thumper-heritage? A high-tech supermotard or single cylinder sportbike or roadster with the Triumph badge- cool! Plus they could use the motor to get into the highly lucrative off-road/ATV market.



Just a thought.

[mconlon]

Rather, look for a Scrambler model of the Bonnie next year. Overwight like all the rest of them, but high-pipes and smaller gas tank...