Triumph Thruxton Test Review

The pros: Comfortable riding stance, well designed switchgear, refined engine, generates good fuel economy.

The cons: The exhaust note wasn’t impressive, handling is quite tricky at short turns.

The crux: If you’re looking for retro styling, good performance, comfort for city and highway cruising, then the Thruxton is for you.

Rating

It’s not very often that one gets an opportunity to ride a legendary motorcycle, let alone test it on the first day of your new job! I can certainly say I was lucky when I was told I’d be the one reviewing the Triumph Thruxton. Yeah, you read that right the Thruxton – one of the most iconic machines from the British motorcycle maker. Based on the café racer styling of the Bonneville, the Thruxton may not necessarily impress you by its looks, but will certainly do so with its performance. At first its riding stance may not look friendly, but swing a leg over and you'll feel right at home.

 

 

Since its launch 10 years ago not much has changed on the Thruxton. It is not your regular over styled machine filled with sharp line and cuts; it’s rather a retro styled machine whose looks will grow on you. But make no mistake, even with its understated styling and subtle colour scheme it still has a strong presence on the road. I’m from Pune, a city of motorcyclists where our main roads are a maximum of three lanes, since I was testing the Thruxton in Gurgaon, not only was I blown away by the roads, I went bezerk with the bike testing it to its maximum potential.

 

Styling - First impression

 

 

Triumph has done a good job of keeping the retro styling of the café racer era and the 2014 model has a few updates – the biggest changes are the megaphone muffler, the flyscreen, a seat cowl, a chrome chain guard, black oil cooler lines, a chrome chain guard and a racing stripe; the instrument cluster is till old school with analogue dials.

 

 

The exhaust note wasn’t as impressive as I’d expect it to be, but then again this is a motorcycle whose looks and performance are to allure you rather than its sound. The foot pegs are rearset for racer styling and the riding position is not that aggressive; on the contrary it’s quite comfortable and doesn’t strain your wrist or your back. 

 

Switchgear and Ergonomics

 

 

The switchgear is well designed and the buttons/ switches are placed at adequate distance for rider access. The rear view mirrors are mounted on the handlebar and besides looking retro offer good visibility. As mentioned earlier the instrument panel has an analogue speedometer and tachometer with a digital fuel level indicator with a side-mounted ignition.

 

 

 

Engine and Performance

 

 

The Thruxton sports an 865 cc air-cooled DOHC, parallel twin engine with a 360 degree firing interval.  It is mated to a five speed transmission and produces 68bhp of power and 68 Nm of torque. As mentioned earlier, the power delivery is linear and the engine is extremely refined.

 

 

Twist the throttle and power of all the 68 horses surges this racer ahead. Power delivery is linear and not once will you feel threatened by its pace or its temperament. The Thruxton is very comfortable to maneuver in city traffic as well as on open highways. We rode the Thruxton from the showroom onto out test patch in peak city traffic, and not once did it feel uncomfortable in stop gap vehicular chaos nor did the engine heat up enough to roast my legs!

 

Fuel Efficiency

 

 

The Thruxton has a 16 litre fuel tank and Triumph claims a combined fuel economy of 52 miles/gallon = 21 kms per litre which is not at all bad for a bike of this caliber. The fuel system is an electronic fuel injector that has been smartly concealed to look like a carburetor.

 

Ride & Handling

 

 

The muscular adjustable telescopic forks and twin rear shocks give the Thruxton good suspension that goes well with its geometry. The clip-on handle bars are easy to maneuver with but may be slightly tricky when getting out of tight gaps or short turns as they tend to touch the fuel tank thereby jolting the rider. It is exceptionally stable on corners and if I may say even confidence inspiring.

 

 

Verdict

Triumph is one of the few manufacturers for whom I have a soft spot, but that’s not the reason why I’ll recommend this machine. If retro styling, good performance, comfort for city and highway cruising and a communicative motorcycle is what you’re looking for, then the Thruxton is for you.

 

 

The Triumph Thruxton is available at Rs 6.66 lakh ex-showroom and at this price tag the performance which it offers, the bike for sure is a steal.