Triumph (Of The Good City)* (Triumph Trophy 1200)

Member Name: I Like Blue

Product:	Triumph Trophy 1200
Date:	23/01/04 (7224 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Triumph, Handling, Looks

Disadvantages: Chain-drive

Many years ago, about 1979 in fact, JJ Burnel, the bass guitarist of The Stranglers, released a solo album entitled Euroman Cometh. On that album there is a track called Triumph (Of The Good City), it is completely instrumental, however, as a backdrop throughout the song is the sound of a motorbike being gently revved. The motorbike in question is none other than JJ Burnel?s beloved Triumph Bonneville and the sound of it captured my imagination. I was 15 years old at the time and I hoped that one day I would own such a bike, if not a Bonneville then a Triumph at least.

~ Background ~

In November 2003 my dream came true when I finally became the proud owner of a Triumph Trophy 1200cc. I had previously owned a Honda Transalp 650cc, but due to the reckless actions of a Milk Float driver I found myself without a motorbike. After over a year of legal wranglings with the Milk Float driver?s insurance company the case was eventually heard in the Magistrates Court where I was finally vindicated and the Milk Float driver was found at fault for the traffic accident and guilty of a couple of Road Traffic Offences. Shortly after I was offered a compensation package of £2000 by the Milk Float driver?s insurance company which I duly accepted. That helped fund the purchase of my Triumph Trophy.

I bought the Trophy, second-hand, from a local dealer. It is the 2000 model and came complete with a top-box and side panniers. I was originally looking to buy a Honda Pan-European but I saw the Trophy in this particular dealer?s showroom and it seemed like fate was on my side so I just had to buy it.

I?ve ridden touring bikes before, as that is something I do as part of my job, including the Pan-European, but the Trophy is something else.

~ A Little Bit Of History ~

The present day Trophy is an ancestor, in name only, of the 1949 Triumph TR5 Trophy. When Triumph started making motorbikes again, after the collapse of the c
ompany in 1984, the first ?new? motorbike produced was the Trophy 900, in 1990, with the Trophy 1200 being made and evolving from 1991 onwards into the awesome machine it is now. Sadly though the Trophy 900 stopped being made after 2001.

~ Technical Stuff ~

The Trophy has an in-line 4 cylinder engine with an actual size of 1180cc, a 6-speed gearbox (1 down and 5 up), has a maximum power of about 106bhp and a top speed of just over 150mph. It takes unleaded fuel and the tank can hold 25 litres with 5 litres of that amount being the reserve capacity. With a pretty good rate for this type of bike of 40-45mpg this means the Trophy has a pretty respectable range of about 225 miles.

There are 4 analogue gauges on the Trophy; a fuel gauge, a speedometer/odometer with trip counter, a rpm gauge and lastly the all important clock! As the Trophy is electric start there is also a small display panel behind the gauges that has a pretty standard set of symbols; left and right indicator, oil pressure warning, side stand warning and neutral gear indicator.

Now for the size of the bike. It is 2152mm long (just over 7ft), has an overall width of 790mm (about 2 ½ ft) and an overall height of 1430mm (nearly 5ft). The seat height is 790mm which, for me, is a good thing because I haven?t been blessed with the longest of legs but on the Trophy I can sit with at least one foot on the ground comfortably while I am on my toes on the other foot, unless it is resting on the foot peg.

The Trophy has a dry weight of 235kg (over 35 stone!) and has a maximum payload of 217kg which includes rider, passenger, luggage and accessories. My Trophy came complete with top box and 2 side panniers (or mini-suitcases as the wife likes to call them); the top box has a 5kg capacity and the panniers have a 6kg capacity each, so there is plenty of room for luggage for those overnight or longer journeys.

As the bike is still newish it came with
an owners handbook and for someone like me who isn?t the most mechanically minded it is an excellent reference guide. The book is very informative and comprehensive with plenty of hints and tips to keep the bike in tip-top condition.

~ The Experience ~

Despite its size and weight I?ve found the Trophy relatively easy to handle and fairly easy to manoeuvre in small spaces. I will admit that I was a bit in awe of the bike when I first rode it as I was naturally nervous after the accident on my Honda and I hadn?t ridden a motorbike since, plus, the Trophy is the biggest bike I had ever ridden. However, in time, I have got used to it and have gotten more and more comfortable and at one with the bike now making it an absolute pleasure to ride the Trophy.

Acceleration and braking are very good although one little gripe is that the foot brake is in a slightly awkward position. To get good contact with the foot brake I have to turn my foot inwards and down slightly, almost under the bottom part of the fairing, which isn?t too comfortable.

The riding position is excellent and I prefer to be able to be in the upright position as opposed to the lean-across-the-tank style which is normally attributable to sports bikes. The fairing is well designed and contours the front of the bike beautifully giving good protection to my legs. The windshield/visor is of a good height and also protects my upper body from the main force of the elements and any flying debris off the road.

I normally ride the bike to and from work and around town and obviously while it wasn?t designed for this the Trophy does an excellent job although I can sometimes feel the weight of the bike at the slower speeds which can make the steering less responsive but again that only happens sometimes and is only a small hindrance. On the plus side, with the Trophy I can nip in and out of traffic queues nearly as easily as I could on a smaller bike despite what I sa
id above about feeling the weight of the bike at slower speeds.

When time has allowed I have ridden the Trophy as it was built for, taking it on a handful of 100 mile journeys and a couple of 320 mile round trips along the motorway. Once on these journeys and when the Trophy has properly warmed up I can almost hear the bike thanking me as it loves being opened up and given good running space.

At good speed over long distances the Trophy comes into its own and I feel very secure on the bike. There is obviously quite a bit of noise but not from the engine, no, that just runs so smoothly, the noise is the sound of riding at speed with the air rushing past but a good set of ear-plugs helps reduce that. The Trophy is extremely stable at speed too with very little or no vibration however on one journey I found that after some distance I experienced pins and needles in one of my feet which was caused by the combination of the bike absorbing the vibration through its frame and into the foot pegs and the way I had my foot positioned on the peg. A change in the resting position of my foot on the peg soon sorted that out.

Although the wife hasn?t been on the bike yet I have taken my teenage kids on the Trophy and they loved it. The previous owner kindly fitted a vinyl covered pad to the top box which acts as an excellent back rest for the pillion passenger and makes the ride much more comfortable. As the seating on the Trophy has been so well ergonomically designed when I do have a passenger I hardly feel their weight in the bike and it is just as easily manoeuvrable as if there wasn?t a passenger, especially when cornering. Later this year, in the summer, I am planning to ride on the continent and go to see my brother in Munich, and I can?t wait!

Since owning the Trophy I?ve only had a couple of problems. The first one was not long after having the bike and it would be a pain to start, would cut out for no apparent reason and woul
d very often ?pink? when riding along. It turned out to be a fault with the ignition coil which needed replacing and the mechanic who fixed it explained that he had been in touch with the local Triumph main-dealer who stated that there was an issue with ignition coils but not a common one. Luckily the bike was still under the dealer?s warranty so it didn?t cost me a penny.

The other problem was a puncture in my rear wheel. Somewhere I picked up an industrial sized staple probably from straying into the ?gutter? of the road (the centre part of a side of road between the tracks of a 4 or more wheeled vehicle where all kinds of debris collects). Thankfully the puncture was in the centremost part of the tyre so all it cost me was the price of a puncture repair rather than the costly price of a new tyre.


~ The Final Word ~

The Trophy is a dream to ride, it looks fantastic and is a real head turner. It is powerful and easy to ride, a real pleasure indeed! It might be a sports-tourer and it sounds like one but in that sound, if you listen carefully, you can hear the unmistakable sound of the Triumph roar reminding you of the great heritage of this great motorbike manufacturer.

The only drawback, and it is only a minor inconvenience, is that the Trophy is chain-driven as opposed to other bikes in this class that have changed to shaft-drives, but then that is only minor when you consider the pride of actually owning a Triumph!

The Trophy does depreciate in value, from new, quite drastically, and whilst I highly recommend this bike I would advise you shop around for a second-hand one about 3-5 years old that will cost on average no more than £4500 (that includes Triumph top box and panniers which can cost up to £1000 new).

I assure you that you won?t be disappointed!

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