Triumph America
Triumph America
.The need to ride lies deepwithin the human soul. The open road beckons, waiting to be ridden and theAmerica is the passport to freedom. With its wide bars, forward-set ‘highway’pegs and relaxed, twin cylinder power the America cruises the streets, mixingclassic British engineering with style from the highways of the USA.And it’s a blend that works superbly. The America has proven a very popularbike, especially in the States, the spiritual home and birthplace of thecruiser-style motorcycle.Based as it is around the polished Bonneville the America builds on a fantasticpackage. The basic architecture of the America’s 790cc air-cooled DOHCeight-valve twin-cylinder engine is as the Bonnie but a 270° firing interval –rather than 360° – gives a loping exhaust note and a mellow power deliverythat’s big on easy-going drive and heavy with character.Spinning a fat, 170/80-section rear tyre (crowning a meatily-spoked 15-inch rim)through a five-speed gearbox the engine fires its heartbeat out through a pairof deep-chrome slash-cut mufflers. Heavy duty, wide-set telescopic forks addsubstance and a solid look to the America’s raked front end, as does the 18infront wheel, shod with its 110/80 tyre. Disc brakes matched to twin-pistoncalipers take care of the stopping duties.The America’s built to cover ground and its relaxed riding position, withforward set ‘highway’ pegs, wide raked-back handlebars and low 28-inch seatheight aid rider comfort and control, perfect for those long days in the saddle.But this bike’s also built to be admired and from its slab-style top yoke tochromed shock absorbers the America is the very essence of cruiser chic.Centrally mounted above the teardrop-shaped 16.6 litrefuel tankis a deep-chromed instrument console matching classic-style Triumph tank badges.A white-faced chrome-bezelled speedo sits rakishly above the single headlightand with a nod to the past, the pillion footrest hangers echo the lines of thetrademark toolboxes of pre-war Triumphs.Two-tone paintwork, with hand-applied coach lines tops the America with a choiceof Goodwood Green with Silver infill and, new for 2005, Mulberry Red withGraphite infill. For those prefering simplicity, a stylish single-tone Jet Blackoption is also available.Cruising is all about the essence of freedom and individuality and the Americaprovides both. It’s also ready to further personalise, with the simple additionof luggage and extra chrome work. There are also entire custom-painted body kitsto mark out a personal identity.To some, the America is just perfect as it rolls out of the factory. To othersit’s simply the starting point…
Review
Sit on the America for the first time and you areimmediately struck by the sheer size of the bike. It feels quite large and veryspacious with the wide bars, low seat and a larger tank than the standardBoneville. This gives the America a completely unique look and feel, and withthe numerous accessories our test bike had fitted it had a very American feel toit. Turn the key, which is behind your left leg, push the start button and themotor fires up emitting a totally different sound to it from the other paralleltwins. So what has Triumph done here then?The biggest internal change is a switch from the Bonneville's 360-degreecrankshaft arrangement (where the pistons go up and down together, alternatingpower strokes) to a 270-degree crankshaft (where the rods are set 270 degreesapart on the crankshaft), this changes the sound and feel of the engine. A bitof juggling was required with the gear-driven counterbalancers and the camshaftsto improve low-rpm power slightly and that helps the America produce 90% of itstorque as early as 2750rpm. The America retains the same claimed 62 bhp (at 7400rpm) and peak torque of 44 ft-lb (at 3500 rpm) as the standard Bonnie. Theinternal gearing remains unchanged, although the final drive ratio was raisedslightly to reduce rpm and create a more relaxed riding manner. The 35mm carbswere given slightly revised jetting, but retain the anti-icing electric heatersand throttle-position sensors used on the standard Bonneville. With this revised270-degree firing order the America greets you with a more ‘lumpy’ cruiser stylenote, unfortunately the standard slash-cut twin pipes don't do it justice,investing in a set of Triumphs 'not for road use' silencers will definitelyincrease the tempo though!Like any purpose-built, dedicated cruiser, the America is an unashamed offensiveon the Stateside cruiser market, it wouldn't be the real thing if it didn't comewith a huge range of accessories. Prospective owners will not only have thechoice of four custom paint schemes, but also three different screens, threeseats, nine luggage options, loud silencers, 11 chroming extras, footboards and14 'other' products! Our test bike seemed to have all of these already fitted,what it does for the overall weight of the America is unknown, but theconstruction of some of these accessories can only be put as substantial, Idon't think that they would break in a hurry!!The Bonneville America starts life at a not so light 226kg, with the accessorieson our test bike I would estimate that it came in at around 245kg, yet riding itat any speed from traffic crawls to cruisin' down the highway it always feltagile and easy to manoeuvre. Left foot forward (it's a long reach!), light pullon the smooth cable-operated clutch lever, select the first of five gears andoff we go. With a seat height of only 700mm you sit very low in the bike, andwith the semi pull-back bars at 875mm wide the riding position gives you totalcontrol of this rather large motorcycle.With a 33.3-degree rake and long 1655mm wheelbase, the ride on the America is asyou'd expect - very casual. Add that to the light controls, and this is one bikethat's not going to test you too much, although I was impressed with the Ground Clearance and the occasional margin for some slightly more spirited riding. Ifthe mood takes you, you can make full use of the rear tyre and scrape of thefootboards on some corners. The suspension is traditional cruiser, with 41mmfront forks and chromed twin rear shocks in charge of the bumps. The feedbackfrom the rear was a bit vague and almost felt like the front wasn't connected tothe rear, but after checking the rear shocks and finding out that they were ontheir lowest setting (soft) I wound them up on the preload by three notches (5available) and it improved the overall feel enormously. Braking is more thanadequate for cruising duties with the same setup found on the Bonneville. A310mm single front and a 285mm at the back both having Nissin two pistoncalipers.Cruisers nowadays have an amazing range of wheel and tyre combinations, and theAmerica has added to this with its own unique combination. On the rear we find awide 170/80-15 Bridgestone touring tyre, and up front is a skinny 110/80-18,again a Bridgestone. Though the tyres are unimpressive, they do providereasonable traction and grip in the dry, if you ride when its wet then I wouldrecommend some better tyres to provide peace of mind.
Sat on the side stand, the Bonneville America is a particularly good lookingbike. It stands out from the usual Japanese V-twin clone with its distinctiveparallel twin engine. The large 17lt tank with its traditional ‘Bonneville’two-tone paint and large Triumph badge, comes with a deep-chromed console ontop. This is a direct throwback to the Triumph motorcycles of the 30’s and 40’s,but nowadays this console is used to house the warning lights and the fuel cap.Other nice touches are the chrome air filter covers, and the replica toolboxesbehind the passenger pegs. The headlight and large faced white speedometer arefinished in deep chrome, it unfortunately does not come with a tachometer. Theexhaust pipes are all new, double skinned to combat the “blueing” of theoriginal Bonneville pipes. These are attached to long slash cut silencers tosuit the 80dba limits of the USA, very quiet indeed. As I mentioned earlierthere are some Triumph pipes available which are shorter and louder, install ajet kit at the same time and you will no doubt get some healthy horsepower andtorque gains as well.VerdictSome British bike traditions, like oil leaks, strange electrics and bigvibration problems have been left to the past. The smoothness and build qualityof the new Bonnevilles, and in particular the America make it a much more viablealternative to the somewhat similar looking Japanese mid-range cruisers. Britishbikes have always been keen on turning corners, and just because this one looks,and is a serious cruiser, and it's named after a country where they speak rather'odd' English, that doesn't mean that it's forgotten its heritage though. TheAmerica quite easily outclasses all other 800 cruisers when the road starts totwist and turn. The steering is light, it turns in more quickly when you ask itto, and there's a lot of room under the America to lean over than any other 800cruiser on the market. Quite simply it probably has the best chassis performancein its class.Buyers attracted to British handling qualities, or riders who simply want to bedifferent will love the Bonneville America, it turns heads in a way that noother Japanese cruiser will do, it has style and heritage and is undoutedly atrue piece of British iron.APSecond Opinion from our guest writer and GSXR1000 rider Jocke SelinYou have to congratulate the people at Triumph when it comes to the BonnevilleAmerica – it does exactly what it’s meant to do. This bike is magic on thestreets, and I don’t mean handling-wise. If you look at the handling from aperformance point of view, you’ve got it all wrong. This bike is far fromperformance, it’s all about presence, the presence on the streets.Get on it and you feel that this bike is big, the first time I had to put firstgear in, I had to move forward on the seat. When you start her up, she soundsjust right, not refined like a new highly tuned Japanese bike, but still not“old enough” to frighten you off with unwanted rattles and shakes. The rightvibrations, the right sounds.Pull the clutch and “clonk-in” the first gear and again, you feel what this bikeis all about. Triumph has made it do the right thing at the right points.When you ride this bike around town, people really look at it, it is an amazingbike and few people can resist staring at it. I’m surprised that nobody gothurt, either injuring their neck or walking into something (like a lamp post, ortheir own jaw).Cruising at 30mph in the top gear down the high street is an experience. Open upthe throttle and she tugs away steadily, just like she is meant to do. Instandard form the pipes are a bit quiet and don’t let the true spirit outenough. I’m sure that most owners will cure this. Out of town, she will happilydo 70mph in an easy one-hand-at-the-bar-all-American-outlaw-biker kind of way.When you pull up and turn the engine off, you’ll be greeted with that“right-stuff” again, she huffs-and-puffs a bit when you switch the ignition off– and the key is, of course, situated under your bum, not at some modern placelike the handlebars.Many bikes attract people when parked, but this one is in a league of its own.People come into the car park and see you preparing to leave, and the stickaround till you’ve gone tug-tug-tug away. At one point an older gentleman almostfell into tears when he saw the America, he just kept stuttering, “It’s sobeautiful” and “I used to own a Bonneville”.If you are after a cruiser and you want “the right stuff”, but you’re a bit fedup with that “Harley-is-the-only-real-bike” gang, then I think you have adefinitive winner in the Bonneville America. It could have a bit more grunt, andthis and that, but that is really missing the point of this bike.
It’s all about the presence – it is impossible to not look.
Source Motorbikes Today