Hi there, New to the forum and looking for a bit of advice. I recently came off my Intruder VL 800, a write off, and (fingers crossed) the cast comes off next Tuesday. I have my insurance payout, burning a hole in my pocket, and have been looking around for a replacement bike. I've seen a couple of Triumphs that have taken my fancy but would appreciate some honest feedback before I take a punt on either of them. 1: Triumph Speed Master (2006) with 22206 miles on the clock and for sale at £3990 (seems a bit high on the mileage) 2: Triumph America (2008) with 2383 miles on the clock and for sale at £4491 If I do go down the Triumph route this would be first Triumph so I would like to make sure I get a good one. What should I be looking out for and are the mileage vs age vs cost about right for bikes of this age? Thanks in advance
welcome in Idlejack, sorry about your accident but then if it brings you over to Triumph it has done you some good! I don't own either of those models so can't help you but I'm sure when the lads realise someone actually wants to listen to their monotonous monologues about how great their bike is compared to others you will be inundated with useful advice.
Both the bikes in question are good machines and mechanically pretty-much identical. The first thing I would suggest you decide is, which style do you prefer America or Speedmaster?
I did 14k in less than 2 years on my America (including a 3k tour of France) and thought it was an excellent bike. Went well enough for me and handled really well for a cruiser. Main issue for me was comfort. I put a Norman Hyde seat and Triumph floorboards on and added a small MRA screen. That was enough to give it true long distance potential. A tank range in excess of 200 miles helped. Get a test ride on them both and see which one suits your style. Hope the recovery is going well. Cheers Dick
Cheers fellas. Fingers crossed the pot is off tomorrow and then it's off to dealers and get a couple of test rides in!
Welcome Idlejack a week ago I traded my VL 1500 Suzuki (had for 10yrs) for a Triumph America,got a couple of hundred miles on now and it is superb-obviously lighter but so agile it will make you grin
I've had an America since October last year , its a 2008 model, done about 10,000 miles on it now , just come back from France ,clocked up about 2,500 - 3000 miles on holiday over there, it carried all my luggage just fine , didn't really affect handling or performance to much . Mine is pretty standard apart from shortened slash cut pipes . The bike is great fun on twisty A-roads as long as you've got decent tyres , I've got Avons on now & they're pretty grippy , had Metzelers on before which last longer but aren't as stable especially in the wet. Can't fault the bike really , there's loads of aftermarket stuff available to personalise them for what you want to use it for . I enjoyed touring on it , didn't bother with a screen , I tried one but prefer it without . Fuel consumption is very good , I consistently used less than the other three I went touring with & had a better fuel range . I can't give you figures because the speedo cable snapped & that was my fault not the bike's (long story) . The only actual issue I have had is the rear brake started sticking a little while ago , I stripped and cleaned the rear caliper & put new pads in but it didn't fix the issue , then I changed the brake fluid & it cured it . The issue here is that the master cylinder is right next to the engine casing & I think it gets heat which then expands the brake fluid to bring on the rear brake , if the brake fluid is old & has lost a lot of its viscosity . The new fluid instantly cured the problem , so I would recommend changing the fluid probably every 12k miles or certainly every 2-3 yrs . I do find the rear brake decent though & is really needed on these types of bikes , the front's aren't strong compared to sports bikes & need a bit of support from the rear .