2010 Triumph Thunderbird

Words, video and pics by Kenn Stamp

Wide open two lane highways stretching out into the distance. Tree covered roads meandering through small towns. Winding country lanes cutting a scenic path beside a stream. Main St. USA on a Saturday night.

All these places are the domain of that distinctly American of bikes, the cruiser. But not just any cruiser will do, mind you. Only the biggest, baddest bikes need apply here. Got less than 1200cc? Got more than 2 cylinders? Either way, brother, you don't fit in and you're not wanted so go play in the sandbox.

It seems that Triumph finally got tired of having sand kicked in its face.

When Triumph called and asked me if I'd like to spend some time on their new 2010 Thunderbird I of course said “no”. Haha.....just kidding. I, of course, said yes. Arrangements were made and I dropped off the Daytona 675 and picked up a silver (with black stripe) Thunderbird.

Once I got over the 400 pound vs. 700 pound bike and the sportbike to cruiser transition I was ready to give it a good preliminary once over. Out came the magnifying lens and the fine tooth comb. OK so now that the splinter is out of my finger and my hair looks good lets go over the bike shall we?

The first thing I noticed was that the bike looks smaller than it is. I'm not sure how Triumph pulled off this optical illusion but, until you are either standing right next to it or sitting on it, the T-bird seems more compact than a 1600cc bike should. This was proven when my wife, who has never ridden a motorcycle in her life, took one look at the T-bird and said “that looks like a bike that I could ride”. Yeah......no.

The quality of paint is right up there with Harley's standards which is really spectacular. The silver paint had a lot of metallic in it so it really caught the light nicely while the black stripe and pinstripes are laid under the clear coat. I saw no evidence of flaws of any kind in any of the paint. Now normally I'm not that picky on paint jobs but on a cruiser the paint (and paint colors) are an integral part of the experience.

Another very important part of the cruiser experience is fit and finish. A sportbike can get away with using cheap plastic parts in the name of saving weight; a cruiser cannot. Once again Triumph has hit the nail on the head and created a bike that just feels right. I let a die-hard Harley rider (that is all he has ever owned) ride the T-bird and when he came back (he had to as I had the keys to his $20k Road Glide) he was grinning ear to ear and his first word was “wow!”. He felt that the T-bird was a bike that he might actually consider buying as it felt “very well put together. Very solid”. As if that wasn't enough he then told another old Harley riding buddy that he should go out and look at the Thunderbird as it was a great bike. Now if you can get a dyed in the wool Harley fanatic to recommend your bike to one of his buddies you've done something right.

Triumph placed the speedometer and gauge cluster in the now traditional place on top the gas tank. I for one am not a big fan of this placement as it requires you to take your eyes completely off the road ahead but if Triumph didn't put it there the potential customers would have complained. Triumph did go a couple of steps beyond the “cruiser standard” though but not only adding a tachometer integrated into the speedometer's face but an LCD that shows a digital fuel gauge plus; clock, 2 trip meters, odometer, and range to empty. All of those functions can be accessed through a button on the right handlebar beneath the Engine cut-off Switch. Another nice feature of the T-bird are the.....wait for it..........self-canceling turn signals! I know exciting right? Why every bike doesn't have this feature I'll never know as it can't add that much weight and it sure does help. Besides keeping you from looking like a retard as you ride down the road with a turn signal flashing, it's also a safety feature.