Hello all At 67 years of age and after hankering for a long time i've finally taken the plunge and bought a 1998 Triumph Trophy 1200. Travelled 176 miles up country to view it on Sunday and it was worth it, the bike has been looked after by its previous owners although it didn't come with a service history. Got the bike at home now and can take a much closer look and go through it over the winter. Need to get a Haynes manual as well. Any advice would be most welcome Thank you Steve
Hello Beargrease/Steve and welcome to the wonderful world of the Triumph T300! That's a fine looking machine in a great colour and looks like it's in fine condition. The T300 series of triples and fours were built on a modular platform and shared a number of components across the range of bikes from Trident; Trophy; Daytona and Speed Triple. That modularity and commonality can be helpful for stuff like frames; wheels; tanks, etc., but Triumph obsoleted many parts from the range in the early 2000s so some parts are already unobtainium and no longer available - stuff like indicator lenses; peg rubbers; etc., et al. There's a number of Haynes manuals covering this model and they're readily available new or secondhand on ebay. For new parts, Fowlers still carry or can order what is available - which, I have to say, isn't very much at all. For repro or secondhand parts try Trevor at Sprint Manufacturing https://www.triumphparts.co.uk/ National Triumph (Wolverhampton) is probably the best known breaker of these bikes and they have a big ebay presence - they're knowledgeable and experienced with these bikes and even have workshop facilities, I gather. If you're not going to be using the bike over winter then drain all the fuel and especially from the carbs., or, at very least, use an ethanol treatment in the fuel that's in the tank. You'll find the fundamental design of the T300 range means they are, generally, 'top heavy'. The frame design (large diameter steel backbone) and tall engine (not to mention a 5+ gallon, steel tank) mean that the bike naturally carries it's weight quite high, so be prepared especially when manouevering in tight spots; parking on cambered roads and slow speed manoueveres in car parks, etc. A previous owner of your bike was wise to this and has fitted crash bungs - don't remove them ..... any broken plastics will be very hard to find and replace! Hope none of the above deters you from long term ownership. These are the bikes that put Triumph Hinckley on the world stage in it's first few years of operation. They have character and charm in bucketloads and are SO rewarding once their foibles have been accommodated. And, lastly, NEVER EVER try to start the bike with a less than fully charged and, preferably, high quality battery on board!! It's a fine machine - enjoy it!
Hello all and Thank you for welcoming me onboard A special thank you to Adie P For such a detailed and comprehensive reply to my request for advice, his post was just what I was hoping for with some valuable information there. Owned many bikes over the years and although i've only had the Trophy a few days it somehow feels more solid, well put together and better engineered than others, to me its a beautiful thing and i can't stay out of the garage at the moment just finding my way around it. Oil and filter will probably be my first job once i've read up on it a bit. Best wishes Steve
Hi Steve. Thanks for your kind comments. I'm a T300 fan through and through (ownership of 9 T300 triples qualifies me as a 'fan', I think!) and I fully understand and respect your occupation of the garage just to stand and marvel at the beauty of that beast! I'm fairly certain it's safe to say that the bond will only increase when you start riding it - they are addictive and have that indefinable quality of "character" in bucketloads that's only experienced in the saddle. The oil change is very straightforward - filters are usually readily available from most online suppliers (Sportsbikeshop maybe - haven't looked?) and the oil is 10w40 semi synth. Look forward to hearing more of your burgeoning relationship - maybe a meet at some point in the not too distant!?
Hello All Recently got the plastics off to have a look under the fairing and give it a good clean and change oil and filter, all back together now and went for MOT today and got me my first ride out on the Trophy, really enjoyed, although the roads in the villages around here are in a bad condition so looking forward to going further afield on the open road, didn't go further today because of the rain, here are a few more photos of the trophy. Best wishes Steve
Yes, done OK with this one and very pleased with it, searched it out and bought it late last year and only now getting to ride it. Think it would benefit from having a few miles put on it as its not been used much over the last few years and plan on taking it out again in the morning, it rides and runs lovely.