Re: [ST] New Trophy?

["Ken Mitchell" <ken_mitchell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Steven Kohlscheen
>I just heard on one of the forums I'm on that Motorcyclist has coments
about
>a new Trophy and TT600 Sport from Triumph.  Anybody else see this yet?  It
>hasn't hit any of my on-line sources yet.  PLease tell me this is the shaft
>drive uprated Trophy so many people wanted.


Steven,

I haven't seen anything about that, but.....

I went to a Christmas dinner with the local dealership's R.A.T. Pack, back
in mid-December. In attendance was Doug Powers, newly named as Area Manager
for Triumph of America. He was plagued by questions about what new products
would be coming, and said he was threatened with dismissal if he talked
about what he'd seen and heard on his recent trip to the factory.

So, to shut some people up (myself included), he took out a paper and pen,
and jotted down the following:

2300cc
in-line triple
shaft
26.5" seat

That's all he wrote. He did actually say he'd "seen some things" firsthand,
enough to confirm the existence of prototypes and engines. He said the goal
is Intermot 2003. And that's all the information we got. If it's true about
the displacement, I'm in shock. A motor that size would need a ten gallon
tank to get 150 miles down the road, and wow, that would be awfully big,
heavy out in front between your ankles.

He did talk a bit about the volume of business done in the US in cruisers,
and that the Bonney America just isn't going to be powerful enough to
satisfy the growing "power cruiser" market. My thought is that if a very
large displacement triple with shaft output is real, Triumph wouldn't waste
much time getting that lump into a newly-designed Trophy. Personally, I
doubt very much any new mill would have that much displacement, but 1600 to
1900 doesn't seem unlikely.

We would all be foolish to think Bloor isn't getting serious about a piece
of 54% of the US market. Harley sold over 200,000 units last year, and are
gearing up to add about another 12% capacity. Power cruisers from Honda,
Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki did *very* well, and the BMW R1200C is moving
well too. Honda sells LOTS on Valkyries and VTX's , Yamaha can't keep Road
Stars in the showroom, and reaction to the Warrior, Mean Streak, and the
V-Rod is all very positive. If Triumph captured even 10% of that total
market, Bloor could finance bringing in even better technology for the whole
line, and we'd benefit also.


As for a "TT600 Sport", you're not talking about the new Speed Four are you?

I am looking forward to seeing what happens.

Ken M.




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