The bike has a six-speed transmission and is probably one of the best-shifting cruisers I’ve ridden. Though the Storm doesn’t have ABS, Triumph says it will be an option on 2012 models. The dual front discs with four-piston calipers have good bite and stop the heavy bike quickly. In the twisty sections a light tap on the brake pedal got the bike to slow smoothly. Dual discs with four piston calipers haul the 745-pound Storm down quickly. The nonadjustable Showa fork has 4.7 inches of travel, and the Storm’s twin shocks have 3.7 inches and are five-position adjustable for preload only. The wide, dished seat doesn’t allow for a whole lot of fore- and-aft movement, though I was never crammed into the tank. As a lightweight I was bounced around by the bike’s stiff suspension on this road and frequently had to shift my rump back into place.
The Storm’s 200-series rear tire, 63.5-inch wheelbase and 32-degree fork rake require some effort to change direction in tight turns, yet the bike can still be hustled along at a good pace. The bike’s stable feel and low center of gravity inspire confidence, as do the Metzeler Marathons that roll nicely over uneven pavement and stick well. There’s a lot of pull at low rpm, with no shortage of torque to power the Storm strongly out of slow-speed uphill turns.
2010 triumph thunderbird reviews series#
Moseying along past a 1890s ghost town with tall saguaro cacti on either side of the road, when I came to a series of tight turns my heel and foot were swept off the peg the first time I dove into a corner. With footpeg ticklers just 8.75 inches off the pavement, you’ll run out of cornering clearance before the Storm runs out of steam. This dark beauty was comfortable for a 400-plus mile day in the saddle.
The Storm holds a strong line-lean ’er in, but not too far or the pegs will start scraping. With my longish legs I found the forward-mounted footpegs well placed (though they angle my heels downward), and that the drag-style bar keeps my shoulders relaxed and provides good leverage for pushing into turns. That’s partly due to its 745-pound wet weight, and also how its wide 5.8-gallon tank splays your knees out. My initial impression as I lifted the Storm off its sidestand was that this is one hefty cruiser.
2010 triumph thunderbird reviews plus#
The arrow-straight lanes of Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Los Angeles aren’t exactly the crème de la crème of motorcycle roads, but those 443 miles home from the Storm’s introduction, plus many on the Apache Trail and in Arizona’s Yavapai Indian Reservation and Tonto National Forest, made for an excellent test. It also has distinctive twin headlamps like the infamous Speed and Street Triples, housed in black, of course, instead of chrome like the Thunderbird’s single beam. The black Storm gets the popular all-over dark treatment with blacked-out wheels, fork lowers, most of its covers, brake calipers, shock springs and even the risers on its new handlebar. We did hear a bit of what sounded like piston slap under hard throttle after several dyno runs, a noise we’ve noticed in a few super-sized twins now. On the Jett Tuning Dynojet dyno it cranked out 82.9 horsepower at 5,300 rpm and 101 lb-ft of torque at 3,000, about a 10 percent improvement over our November 2009 Thunderbird test bike. Claimed horsepower at the Storm’s 270-degree crank is upped to 97 from 85, and the Storm has larger pistons and piston rings, revised camshafts, new cylinder liners and gaskets. The $13,899 Storm is otherwise based upon the $12,499 Thunderbird and its liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, DOHC engine with six-speed transmission and belt final drive. Covers have been blacked out to give the Storm an all-over dark treatment. Parallel twin engine is unique among sea of V-twin cruisers. So now there’s a choice of nice or naughty, with the mellower standard Thunderbird the calm before the Storm, so to speak.
Triumph explains that it wanted to create a “carbon copy” of the cultured Thunderbird, albeit one with a more aggressive attitude that it’s betting will appeal to younger riders. This increases cylinder bore from 103.8mm to 107.1, adding 102cc to the powerplant for a ground-pounding total of 1,699cc. Was? For 2011 the U.K.-based company has pulled out the stops and made the Thunderbird’s formerly optional big-bore kit standard equipment in its new blacked-out Thunderbird Storm. At 1,597cc, the engine in its big Thunderbird was also the world’s largest production parallel-twin. Except for a couple of small entry-level bikes from other makers, the parallel twins in Triumph’s cruisers make them unique among the current parade of V-twins.
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