It’s a fun war to be involved in these days, fought not with bombs and bullets but with charts and statistics. In the morning, BMW’s Hendrik von Kuenheim went on about how the company was up 12.3 percent in 2010, is set to have an even better ’11 and aiming for an all-time high in a terrible market. A few hours later, Triumph’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Paul Stroud, said Triumph’s market share has doubled over the last three years even as the market itself is more or less half of what it was three years ago. Triumph did that by increasing “headcount” in the design department by 30 percent, Stroud says, and increasing its range by nine bikes, to 22. And they’re not done yet!
Tiger Explorer
The next Triumph out of the barrel is the Tiger Explorer, powered by a brand-new Triple displacing 1215cc and producing 135 horsepower at 9300 rpm and 89 foot-pounds of peak torque at 7850. Cruise control, switch-offable traction control and ABS are all standard on the top-of-the-line, fly-by-wire-controlled luxury adventurer.
The rider can go for a 33.9-inch high seat or a lower, 31.9-in. unit, while the windshield and handlebars are also adjustable. Heated seats and grips are two of many options.
In keeping with the long-distance theme, Triumph gives this one shaft final drive and has stretched service intervals out to 10,000 miles. A single-sided swingarm moves the 17-in. rear wheel through 7.6 in. of travel, while the inverted Kayaba fork with 46mm stanchions moves the 19-in. front wheel through 7.5 in. Gassed up with 5.3 gallons of fuel, it’s a spritely, 539-pound package, says Triumph.
Speed Triple R
No surprises here. This special ST gets the good Öhlins suspension: an NIX30 43mm fork and a TTX36 shock. To go with them and keep up the neighborhood, the R also gets lightweight forged PVM wheels and Brembo Monobloc calipers up front—all for about a 20-percent premium over the standard Speed Triple.
Steve McQueen Bonneville
Words can’t fully describe the Matte Khaki Green paint and period-cool aura that surround this bike like a blatant attempt to cash in on a piece of authentic British Americana. Triumph says it will sell just 1100 of the McQueen Bonnevilles worldwide.
