Fear and Loathing on a Triumph - Suzuki Volusia Forums : Intruder Volusia and Boulevard Forum

**Mr. Efficiency** · 11-14-2012, 01:46 PM

So, I was bored skinless this weekend. B O R E E D. Forced away from work for 4 days (my boss told me she didn't want to even hear a rumour I was anywhere near the bank), I was left to my own devices. My Girls had school and sleepovers and mommy/daughter stuff... my wife was working and had mommy/daughter stuff... B O R E D.

Camping season over, Hunting season winding up, nothing to do, nothing to do.

People rescue me. They know when I'm depressed, they seek me out and give me reason to live. The owner of Cleveland Honda called me at 8AM on a Saturday morning.

"Bill, we just uncrated the 1200 demo Triumph. Can you break it in in a day?" And we want you to take it off road.

No, really, he did. I think I lead a charmed life, I was particularly Umble in another life. It is my kharma, along with my lifelong support of the dealer and their KTM sales efforts

Anyway, the explorer is a 1200cc fly by wire, shaft driven adventure bike. Sound familiar? I think they just wanted my BMW to sit in front of the shop all day and tell guys I was test driving the explorer.

The bike is big and bad, lets call it 125 ponies, ABS, traction control, cruise control. The running gear is set up just like the Beemer, except for the telelever. The bike comes with soft and hard luggage, different seat opthions... and a 950w generator to run farkles. No Tire pressure monitoring standard but its available. The bike has a 10,000 mile service interval too, for all you cheapskates!

The first thing was the ergos. everything on the bike is easily adjustable. From handlebars to seats and pegs and windshield. I spent 20 minutes twinkiling with it. And then I rode the bike in the parking lot. They claim it is the best handling bike in the adventure class, it is not. But it is better than all the others, except the Ducati and the BMW.. and it is not Ducati and BMW priced.

So with the bike, adjusted to taste and me familiar with the controls... it took me about 45 minutes. I wanted the suspension adjustment down because I was going to ride the bike in a bi-moto environment.

So, Its 10 AM… I have a brand new, Visigoth fast adventure bike with no restrictions until 9 PM. What would you do? OK…

I slid it out of the parking lot the back way through the gravel filled parking lot behind the Levin furniture store. I dodged rows of semi trailers without slowing down foot down enduro in the gravel at 50 MPH. OK, so far so good. Had a wild chunking sound, I transitioned from gravel to pavement and the ASC dug in.

No better time than to slam on the brakes. The ABS worked… I need a cup to do that test… much to the chagrin of the Levin people I watched the expressway light from the safety of their lot while spinning a circle on the gravel strewn lot. The light turned green and I jumped on the throttle to make the light out of the parking lot.

So, I hit a hundred about halfway up the expressway ramp. The bike is clearly as fast as my Ducati 1000 multistrada, not as fast as the 1200… but I could care less. I clicked up a gear got it to 80 and ran in clean gear and smooth sailing for 75 miles. No issues, not BMW comfortable, but certainly good enough for cross- Country travel.

I got off the freeway and ran some twisties. I took the bike to South east Ohio and ran down some wicked turns. Sorry Triumph, not BMW good… but there are a lot of guys that are going to shock a lot of squids with the cornering and power of this bike. Because it may not handle quite as well but it makes up by being a lot quicker. A lot, quicker. And faster. The triple is a good engine and this one was no exception.

I stopped for lunch. I love pulling in to biker lunch on a unique, brand new uberbike.
So, I rode home, after answering all the questions, and rode all the way to the North Coast. That’s where it got tricky. Off 534 I have a friend of mine with an empty cornfield and a tractor trail around the edges. I rode the bike 4 miles down a dirt road at 55. The bike performed well… but on the tractor road, it was a bit of a downer. The nose of the bike was hefty and unresponsive (note that we’re talking ½ inch deep mud here folks, not pavement, the bike is world class in front).

I got it up to 50 MPH on a circuit, I hit the back brakes and rode it through the cornfield at 35 MPH. It wasn’t bad, it is not the BMW or the KTM.

So, it was light brown and gray instead of the factory color…it was time to take it home. The tires didn’t clear well from the off road. Cmon, Triumph put better tires on it, at least a Prelli Skorpion…

So, the bike looks great, is light and fast, handles well, stops fast and is capable of handling multiple terrains. It is the affordable ADV tourer that the Super Tenere was supposed to be, but the Ten disappoints in every category. I would definitely ride this bike as a substitute for the BMW. Keeping in mind that the BMW is a better bike all-around. Performance wise- and maintenance wise, the Triumph beats the BMW, the brakes, suspension, handling, construction qualitiy fitand ergos, as well as available options and off road capability go to the Beemer.

I’m not giving up my best in class BMW for this bike… but if I were buying a bike again tomorrow I probably would buy the Triumph because it’s a great value… and almost there.

mfile2000 · 11-14-2012, 02:26 PM

So much better than politics!

**Polovision** · 11-14-2012, 02:32 PM

Great write up....but where are the pics?

**Mr. Efficiency** · 11-14-2012, 03:31 PM

I dunno, most likely on the Triumph website

Have you ever seen the pictures I take?

Anyway, I did not buy the bike. As I thought they would, they did put the bike on a podium, covered in cornfield debris and mud. Good marketing, if I have time I'll drop by and take a picture.

C50TinAB · 11-14-2012, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Efficiency

So, I was bored skinless this weekend. B O R E E D. Forced away from work for 4 days (my boss told me she didn't want to even hear a rumour I was anywhere near the bank), I was left to my own devices. My Girls had school and sleepovers and mommy/daughter stuff... my wife was working and had mommy/daughter stuff... B O R E D.

Camping season over, Hunting season winding up, nothing to do, nothing to do.

People rescue me. They know when I'm depressed, they seek me out and give me reason to live. The owner of Cleveland Honda called me at 8AM on a Saturday morning.

"Bill, we just uncrated the 1200 demo Triumph. Can you break it in in a day?" And we want you to take it off road.

No, really, he did. I think I lead a charmed life, I was particularly Umble in another life. It is my kharma, along with my lifelong support of the dealer and their KTM sales efforts

Anyway, the explorer is a 1200cc fly by wire, shaft driven adventure bike. Sound familiar? I think they just wanted my BMW to sit in front of the shop all day and tell guys I was test driving the explorer.

The bike is big and bad, lets call it 125 ponies, ABS, traction control, cruise control. The running gear is set up just like the Beemer, except for the telelever. The bike comes with soft and hard luggage, different seat opthions... and a 950w generator to run farkles. No Tire pressure monitoring standard but its available. The bike has a 10,000 mile service interval too, for all you cheapskates!

The first thing was the ergos. everything on the bike is easily adjustable. From handlebars to seats and pegs and windshield. I spent 20 minutes twinkiling with it. And then I rode the bike in the parking lot. They claim it is the best handling bike in the adventure class, it is not. But it is better than all the others, except the Ducati and the BMW.. and it is not Ducati and BMW priced.

So with the bike, adjusted to taste and me familiar with the controls... it took me about 45 minutes. I wanted the suspension adjustment down because I was going to ride the bike in a bi-moto environment.

So, Its 10 AM… I have a brand new, Visigoth fast adventure bike with no restrictions until 9 PM. What would you do? OK…

I slid it out of the parking lot the back way through the gravel filled parking lot behind the Levin furniture store. I dodged rows of semi trailers without slowing down foot down enduro in the gravel at 50 MPH. OK, so far so good. Had a wild chunking sound, I transitioned from gravel to pavement and the ASC dug in.

No better time than to slam on the brakes. The ABS worked… I need a cup to do that test… much to the chagrin of the Levin people I watched the expressway light from the safety of their lot while spinning a circle on the gravel strewn lot. The light turned green and I jumped on the throttle to make the light out of the parking lot.

So, I hit a hundred about halfway up the expressway ramp. The bike is clearly as fast as my Ducati 1000 multistrada, not as fast as the 1200… but I could care less. I clicked up a gear got it to 80 and ran in clean gear and smooth sailing for 75 miles. No issues, not BMW comfortable, but certainly good enough for cross- Country travel.

I got off the freeway and ran some twisties. I took the bike to South east Ohio and ran down some wicked turns. Sorry Triumph, not BMW good… but there are a lot of guys that are going to shock a lot of squids with the cornering and power of this bike. Because it may not handle quite as well but it makes up by being a lot quicker. A lot, quicker. And faster. The triple is a good engine and this one was no exception.

I stopped for lunch. I love pulling in to biker lunch on a unique, brand new uberbike.
So, I rode home, after answering all the questions, and rode all the way to the North Coast. That’s where it got tricky. Off 534 I have a friend of mine with an empty cornfield and a tractor trail around the edges. I rode the bike 4 miles down a dirt road at 55. The bike performed well… but on the tractor road, it was a bit of a downer. The nose of the bike was hefty and unresponsive (note that we’re talking ½ inch deep mud here folks, not pavement, the bike is world class in front).

I got it up to 50 MPH on a circuit, I hit the back brakes and rode it through the cornfield at 35 MPH. It wasn’t bad, it is not the BMW or the KTM.

So, it was light brown and gray instead of the factory color…it was time to take it home. The tires didn’t clear well from the off road. Cmon, Triumph put better tires on it, at least a Prelli Skorpion…

So, the bike looks great, is light and fast, handles well, stops fast and is capable of handling multiple terrains. It is the affordable ADV tourer that the Super Tenere was supposed to be, but the Ten disappoints in every category. I would definitely ride this bike as a substitute for the BMW. Keeping in mind that the BMW is a better bike all-around. Performance wise- and maintenance wise, the Triumph beats the BMW, the brakes, suspension, handling, construction qualitiy fitand ergos, as well as available options and off road capability go to the Beemer.

I’m not giving up my best in class BMW for this bike… but if I were buying a bike again tomorrow I probably would buy the Triumph because it’s a great value… and almost there.

Why did you make the text white? Makes for some difficult reading when on a white background.

**Mr. Efficiency** · 11-14-2012, 03:47 PM

I worote this on my Ipad and copied it over. Originally in black, I read in Blue. I'll See what I can do.

C50TinAB · 11-14-2012, 04:07 PM

Much better.

Thank you and good story too. I wish one of the dealers here would call me up to be a test pilot for a day.

**Mr. Efficiency** · 11-14-2012, 04:21 PM

It depends on where you live but my big BMW dealer and my Big Honda/Ducati/KTM/Triumph dealer let me ride whatever I want. I was also doing them a huge favor; they know theyd probably get their bike unscratched and the demo ride now looks like a bad adventure bike ready to be ridden into the gates of... Cleveland.

It helps that I WAS almost the biggest Triumph dealer a couple years back but nonetheless I'm nobody special. If you support your dealer and show a passion for riding (and buy 6 bikes in 5 years

) you can ride whatever you want, within reason. A hint, no dealer will ever turn you away if you have a rep of buying what you ride. In convex, if you get a rep as a tire-kicker, you may have trouble getting a guy to talk to you.

Also, if they have faith in you as a non-lunatic, you may get a free hop or a free goodie once in a while. After a nasty crash a few years back, my local BMW dealer had me deliver a police bike for them as a confidence gainer, and I even got a free shirt! I was one of the first persons in the US to ride (and I did snap pictures because pictures weren't even out) of the K1300GT BMW. Another demo I got while a recall got worked on my own bike. I also got a first ride on the S1000RR...

Yes, even the local Harley dealer lets me ride. But he is a stubborn old family friend that still says he'll get me on a daily rider someday. He even got me there once, but the bike was gone in less than a year.

mfile2000 · 11-14-2012, 06:04 PM

Now I feel compelled to do a review of my 2012 Street Triple R.

HOLY CRAP THAT'S FAST!!!!

Thank you for reading. Now who is Mr Effiecient?

PS How about if you buy 3 bikes in 7 months? 2 new, 1 used. And lose $5k in the process?

Hi-Vis · 11-14-2012, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Efficiency

It is the affordable ADV tourer that the Super Tenere was supposed to be, but the Ten disappoints in every category.

Thanks for the fine report. It's very nice to hear credible unbiased reports.

I must ask, is price concidered a category?

TFS

11-14-2012, 01:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mr. Efficiency Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The Rock and Roll Capital Posts: 22,146 Thanks: 69 Thanked 651 Times in 498 Posts	Fear and Loathing on a Triumph So, I was bored skinless this weekend. B O R E E D. Forced away from work for 4 days (my boss told me she didn't want to even hear a rumour I was anywhere near the bank), I was left to my own devices. My Girls had school and sleepovers and mommy/daughter stuff... my wife was working and had mommy/daughter stuff... B O R E D. Camping season over, Hunting season winding up, nothing to do, nothing to do. People rescue me. They know when I'm depressed, they seek me out and give me reason to live. The owner of Cleveland Honda called me at 8AM on a Saturday morning. "Bill, we just uncrated the 1200 demo Triumph. Can you break it in in a day?" And we want you to take it off road. No, really, he did. I think I lead a charmed life, I was particularly Umble in another life. It is my kharma, along with my lifelong support of the dealer and their KTM sales efforts Anyway, the explorer is a 1200cc fly by wire, shaft driven adventure bike. Sound familiar? I think they just wanted my BMW to sit in front of the shop all day and tell guys I was test driving the explorer. The bike is big and bad, lets call it 125 ponies, ABS, traction control, cruise control. The running gear is set up just like the Beemer, except for the telelever. The bike comes with soft and hard luggage, different seat opthions... and a 950w generator to run farkles. No Tire pressure monitoring standard but its available. The bike has a 10,000 mile service interval too, for all you cheapskates! The first thing was the ergos. everything on the bike is easily adjustable. From handlebars to seats and pegs and windshield. I spent 20 minutes twinkiling with it. And then I rode the bike in the parking lot. They claim it is the best handling bike in the adventure class, it is not. But it is better than all the others, except the Ducati and the BMW.. and it is not Ducati and BMW priced. So with the bike, adjusted to taste and me familiar with the controls... it took me about 45 minutes. I wanted the suspension adjustment down because I was going to ride the bike in a bi-moto environment. So, Its 10 AM… I have a brand new, Visigoth fast adventure bike with no restrictions until 9 PM. What would you do? OK… I slid it out of the parking lot the back way through the gravel filled parking lot behind the Levin furniture store. I dodged rows of semi trailers without slowing down foot down enduro in the gravel at 50 MPH. OK, so far so good. Had a wild chunking sound, I transitioned from gravel to pavement and the ASC dug in. No better time than to slam on the brakes. The ABS worked… I need a cup to do that test… much to the chagrin of the Levin people I watched the expressway light from the safety of their lot while spinning a circle on the gravel strewn lot. The light turned green and I jumped on the throttle to make the light out of the parking lot. So, I hit a hundred about halfway up the expressway ramp. The bike is clearly as fast as my Ducati 1000 multistrada, not as fast as the 1200… but I could care less. I clicked up a gear got it to 80 and ran in clean gear and smooth sailing for 75 miles. No issues, not BMW comfortable, but certainly good enough for cross- Country travel. I got off the freeway and ran some twisties. I took the bike to South east Ohio and ran down some wicked turns. Sorry Triumph, not BMW good… but there are a lot of guys that are going to shock a lot of squids with the cornering and power of this bike. Because it may not handle quite as well but it makes up by being a lot quicker. A lot, quicker. And faster. The triple is a good engine and this one was no exception. I stopped for lunch. I love pulling in to biker lunch on a unique, brand new uberbike. So, I rode home, after answering all the questions, and rode all the way to the North Coast. That’s where it got tricky. Off 534 I have a friend of mine with an empty cornfield and a tractor trail around the edges. I rode the bike 4 miles down a dirt road at 55. The bike performed well… but on the tractor road, it was a bit of a downer. The nose of the bike was hefty and unresponsive (note that we’re talking ½ inch deep mud here folks, not pavement, the bike is world class in front). I got it up to 50 MPH on a circuit, I hit the back brakes and rode it through the cornfield at 35 MPH. It wasn’t bad, it is not the BMW or the KTM. So, it was light brown and gray instead of the factory color…it was time to take it home. The tires didn’t clear well from the off road. Cmon, Triumph put better tires on it, at least a Prelli Skorpion… So, the bike looks great, is light and fast, handles well, stops fast and is capable of handling multiple terrains. It is the affordable ADV tourer that the Super Tenere was supposed to be, but the Ten disappoints in every category. I would definitely ride this bike as a substitute for the BMW. Keeping in mind that the BMW is a better bike all-around. Performance wise- and maintenance wise, the Triumph beats the BMW, the brakes, suspension, handling, construction qualitiy fitand ergos, as well as available options and off road capability go to the Beemer. I’m not giving up my best in class BMW for this bike… but if I were buying a bike again tomorrow I probably would buy the Triumph because it’s a great value… and almost there. __________________ "faster, faster.... Until the thrill of speed overwhelms the fear of death. Man of Mystery... Get it, real funny... Mr. E., Genius No No No... Mr. E, Super Genius Last edited by Mr. Efficiency; 11-14-2012 at 03:47 PM.

11-14-2012, 02:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
Polovision Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: CA, Cameron Park. (Near Sacramento) Posts: 10,826 Thanks: 424 Thanked 308 Times in 242 Posts	Great write up....but where are the pics? __________________ My Rides in the west

11-14-2012, 03:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mr. Efficiency Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The Rock and Roll Capital Posts: 22,146 Thanks: 69 Thanked 651 Times in 498 Posts	I dunno, most likely on the Triumph website Have you ever seen the pictures I take? Anyway, I did not buy the bike. As I thought they would, they did put the bike on a podium, covered in cornfield debris and mud. Good marketing, if I have time I'll drop by and take a picture. __________________ "faster, faster.... Until the thrill of speed overwhelms the fear of death. Man of Mystery... Get it, real funny... Mr. E., Genius No No No... Mr. E, Super Genius

11-14-2012, 03:47 PM	#6 (permalink)
Mr. Efficiency Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The Rock and Roll Capital Posts: 22,146 Thanks: 69 Thanked 651 Times in 498 Posts	I worote this on my Ipad and copied it over. Originally in black, I read in Blue. I'll See what I can do. __________________ "faster, faster.... Until the thrill of speed overwhelms the fear of death. Man of Mystery... Get it, real funny... Mr. E., Genius No No No... Mr. E, Super Genius

11-14-2012, 04:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mr. Efficiency Super Moderator Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: The Rock and Roll Capital Posts: 22,146 Thanks: 69 Thanked 651 Times in 498 Posts	It depends on where you live but my big BMW dealer and my Big Honda/Ducati/KTM/Triumph dealer let me ride whatever I want. I was also doing them a huge favor; they know theyd probably get their bike unscratched and the demo ride now looks like a bad adventure bike ready to be ridden into the gates of... Cleveland. It helps that I WAS almost the biggest Triumph dealer a couple years back but nonetheless I'm nobody special. If you support your dealer and show a passion for riding (and buy 6 bikes in 5 years) you can ride whatever you want, within reason. A hint, no dealer will ever turn you away if you have a rep of buying what you ride. In convex, if you get a rep as a tire-kicker, you may have trouble getting a guy to talk to you. Also, if they have faith in you as a non-lunatic, you may get a free hop or a free goodie once in a while. After a nasty crash a few years back, my local BMW dealer had me deliver a police bike for them as a confidence gainer, and I even got a free shirt! I was one of the first persons in the US to ride (and I did snap pictures because pictures weren't even out) of the K1300GT BMW. Another demo I got while a recall got worked on my own bike. I also got a first ride on the S1000RR... Yes, even the local Harley dealer lets me ride. But he is a stubborn old family friend that still says he'll get me on a daily rider someday. He even got me there once, but the bike was gone in less than a year. __________________ "faster, faster.... Until the thrill of speed overwhelms the fear of death. Man of Mystery... Get it, real funny... Mr. E., Genius No No No... Mr. E, Super Genius

11-14-2012, 02:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
mfile2000 Senior VR Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Northern, NJ Posts: 3,956 Thanks: 688 Thanked 415 Times in 326 Posts	So much better than politics!

11-14-2012, 06:04 PM	#9 (permalink)
mfile2000 Senior VR Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Northern, NJ Posts: 3,956 Thanks: 688 Thanked 415 Times in 326 Posts	Now I feel compelled to do a review of my 2012 Street Triple R. HOLY CRAP THAT'S FAST!!!! Thank you for reading. Now who is Mr Effiecient? PS How about if you buy 3 bikes in 7 months? 2 new, 1 used. And lose $5k in the process?

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