Well, my new Triumph Thunderbird 1600 arrived last August and I have already sold it after only 531 miles.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the bike, but first impressions left me under whelmed.  I was expecting more torque than was readily available on tap and I was never impressed with the initial colours available.  It’s not all bad – well, apart from the after market handlebars playing havoc with my wrists – the riding position is great, it’s a lot more fun accelerating off the lights and over taking than using the Triumph America.  Although cornering is smooth, the footpegs scrape the ground a lot sooner than on the America, but for such a big bike with such wide tyres, cornering was effortless.  Compare cornering on the Rocket III Tourer which has a smaller 180/70 rear wheel and you’ll see what I mean.

The only reason I sold the bike is because Triumph are releasing a special edition of the Thunderbird with a factory fitted big bore kit taking it up to 1700cc.  They are also releasing two new colours; Phantom Red Haze and Phantom Blue Haze.  I have already put my name down for one of the limited SE’s in Phantom Red, so watch this spac

Thunderbird 1600 and British Phone Box

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Side view of the 2009 Thunderbird 1600 with a traditional British phone box in the background.

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