| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
A good friend of mine, Doug, is thinking about a new road bike, his first I think since riding dirt bikes as an indestructable kid. He's liking the Triumph Thruxton, a very cool looking retro street fighter. Doug lives near Portland and is looking for just an around town kinda machine, and so I figure I'm doing him a favor by pointing out all the Thruxton's chrome and wire lacing that he'd be obliged to keep shiny in the Pacific NW climate, not to mention the effects of a greasy chain. The mighty Thruxton also weighs 60 lbs. more, has two carbs, and probably requires periodic valvetrain adjustments. City X! Anyone here who has ridden both? If so, how about giving us an objective compare/contrast?  | ||
| Kdan |
Thruxton? I'd go Speed Triple before I went with a retro racer with spokes. The Speed Triple is smooth, has good torque and power and is just like my XB9S, except it handles not as well and the stopping power is lame in comparison. And what the heck were they thinking with that headlight setup? | ||
| 12r |
The std. Thruxton sucks. It's performs like a Sportster 883 but the factory megaphones and suspension make a big difference (like a Stage 1 Harley). Probably OK for your buddy around town but I'd choose the City any day. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Is he tall? The CityX requires a pretty good inseam with the factory seat, you could get most of that height back easily with a XB9SL seat swap. He REALLY needs to test ride one of them... | ||
| Djkaplan |
Functionally, the City X is probably a better choice, but the boy racer Thruxton is a classic beauty. Kawasaki should have tarted up their W650 like that - perhaps it would still be around. | ||
| Kenny |
my buddy has a thruxton, we went riding sunday and swaped bikes for a few miles, granted it not a beast like my xb12s,but it road and perfomed well. i would suggest it as a good starter bike. i dont know how it would compare to a cityx i havent road the city. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Someone needs to contact Buckinfubba...he sold Buells and rode/owned a Thruxton... | ||
| Race_pirate |
My Dad has been riding his "Home made" choppers and bikes since I have been a kid. He bought a 100 year Electra Glide in 03' and loves it, BUT, since I have been racing and taking spirited rides he wanted a lighter more nimble bike. To stretch this out, he saw the Triumph Speed Triple and started asking me questions, I love the speed triple. It sounds nuts with a good exhaust makes mountains of power and has a great look. Back to my father, his home brew chopper never had suspension, I forced him to put a front brake on his last creation...SO i reccomended an XB12S, a modified Sportster or maybe a Bonney. We took the trip to Triumph and they had a Standard Bonney, Black Thruxton and a Black Speed Triple. With all 3 lined up the Thruxton definetly stood out. My suggestion was to go with the Thruxton because of his station in life, a standard Bonney is boring, the Triple would be an ALL OUT assault on his motorcycling senses. He bought the Thruxton. I have set the suspension to his weight, and within 50 miles removed the air pump, re jetted the bike and put on the Off road exhaust. He blacked out the front fender, changed out the turn signals to small billet jobs and made an aluminum rear fender elimanator with custom billet tail light and license plate holder. The bike looks like a Cafe Racer from 68'. I have ridden the bike and really enjoyed it, the exhaust and re jet made a HUGH difference. The bike has a smooth powerband with an added bonus from 5000rpm to redline. The bike is suprisingly nimble and very stable throught out a turn (left or right) It is not a modern screamer but is definetly a classic looking bike that has zero vibration, manageable power, good braking, handles well, easy to tune and pretty comfortable to ride. I feel I steered him in a good direction as he is learning how to enjoy twisty roads and not loose fillings when he hits bumps... He seems to really like it and is hanging with us on rides. I must note he really likes the XB's and I wouldnt be surprised if he changes gears to an XB for summer of 06'(now that I am set up to work on em' out of my garage) | ||
| Ted |
when i was looking for a bike, my choice was between the 9S and Triumph speed4. | ||
| Bomber |
thruxtons are great bikes -- the bonnie platform is similar to the original, in that it can be made into darned near what you want all that said, none of the Bonnie platforms will perform on a par with any of the XB seires (I've ridden both Trumps and XBs), lathough, during semi-sane street riding, the Thruxton will, more or less, hang with the XBs -- The XB series is definately much easier to ride quickly, much more confidence inspiring anywhere near the limit, and will compete with the Bonnie series in garage-lust On the other hand, depending on your buddies age and the condition of his knees/lower back, the Bonnies (standard) are a bit kinder persons of a certain age/milage ;-} -- the thruxton is a bit more folded/spindled/mutilated, and would be tough on a guy with bad pins it really depends on what he wants out of his bike . . . . | ||
| Fullpower |
the thruxton IS a beautiful bike, it is visually the perfect cafe racer. the speed triple gives me wood though, that will be my next street bike. | ||
| Mrh |
The Thruxton definitely favors a taller rider. Prior to buying my Thruxton last summer I had a XB12S with a CityX seat. I liked the Buell a lot, but feel much more at home on the Thruxton. At 6'4" the stretch to the clip-ons fits perfect, I've even added XB Lightning footpegs to my Triumph! The XB9SX is a bike I admire quite a bit, and think it could be a better choice for many individuals...especially shorter ones | ||
| Skeeter_xb |
Bubba and I did a trackday together. He got passed quite a bit on the straightaways but passed quite a few people back in the corners. He is a very good rider. I believe he had some D&D pipes on his Thruxton and he was the loudest bike I heard all day. It sounded bad a**! I even have a video clip of it if anyone is interested? It's 3486K and needs Quicktime to view! | ||
| Triumph900 |
I sell Triumphs (part time), and I own Triumphs. I've ridden a XB9SX, and a Thruxton. I don't like the Thruxton. It's one of the few Triumphs that I don't like. I feel the standard Bonneville is a much more fun bike. I love the Bonnes' standard seating position. The Thruxton doesn't have enough power or suspension to justify it's somewhat aggressive riding position. As mentioned above, I would consider the Speed Triple, the XB9SX (which I liked very much, and would buy before I bought a Thurxton), or the standard (or T100) Bonneville. | ||
| Dsg |
Thks for the thread Blake. DSG(Doug) is my user name. Clearly, I like the cafe style and I prefer bikes with spokes. I love the Buells but I don't think that should be my choice for now. I am not concerned abt the HP because I really won't use it......for now (speed junky still in here somewhere and PIR is very close to home). If I wanted a standard, I would buy an old Bonne, Commando,or Kaw Z1, . Just would be returning to riding from long time ago. The Thrux also seems appropriate for Portland, OR cityscape and surrounding area. Besides the std. Thruxtons can be tricked out much further as some of you suggest, there are many sites focused on the make.At least to get back on two whls this is a decent choice. The T100 in cream and orange is beautiful as well. Of course, the new Norton Commando is being built here in Portland and is way more juiced. The first 200 took $20k price tag. too much jack for me. In any case, a Buell or a Thrux would at least give Blake a reason to visit Portland sooner rather than later. | ||
| Court |
Doug: I spoke to Blake the other day and told him the same, "get to Portland", thing. I've come to Portland a number of times on behalf of Buell and it's got to be one of the funnest cities in the USA to ride in and around. Few folks realize it's both "The Rose City" and a "City of Bridges". Your Skyline takes no back seat to the "real" Skyline drive. I, kinda by accident, (long story...remind me to tell you sometime) got inducted into a local riding group of Intel Engineers on night. Several years later, after the gig with Bill Gates at the Cow Palace for Buell, I was invited back to the area to give demo rides. Keep on him. By the way....there is no "wrong" choice. You're going to have (I suspect you know this) a great time with whatever you buy. But....if you have not test ridden a Buell, you lack the data needed to make the decision. Any problem scoring a proper demo ride, just drop me a note. Enjoy! Court | ||
| Dsg |
Thks Court. July 1st the rain is shut off thru Sept. 75-85 degrees, no humidity, no mosquitos. West Nile is still long way off. The only anxiety here is from trying to figure out what to do next. I did test drive Blake's first Buell. All I could do to keep from embarrassing myself with all that power in a confined area. Should have hit the parking lot at Walmart first. |
