I'm sad to read that there will be a final edition of the Thruxton 1200 coming up... Let's keep these icons on the road for a very long time!!!!!!!!!
Indeed, but I know I will never sell mine. I have never owned a bike I loved so much to look at, to clean, and specially to ride as my Thruxton R.
Perhaps sales are dropping because most people want to drive kitchen chairs on two wheels like allroad 'GS-style' bikes... I don't know...
Yeah, that has to be the reason , if it was selling like hotcakes they wouldn't kill it The last 2 weeks after trying the T100 and a 1250gs have made me understand a bit more of why I like riding and make me think about plans for the future, certainly farther away from a chair on 2 wheels
I got a “last chance to buy” email from Triumph today about the Truxton FE, it is absolutely gorgeous. I doubt it’s the end of the Thruxton though, it’s too good a bike with too good a heritage. I suspect this is marketing, like when Land Rover “ended” the Defender and then said here’s a new Defender folks. It’ll be either here’s a new Thruxton folks back by popular demand, or there’ll be a cafe version of the 1200 Speed Twin coming along as part of the streamlining range names exercise. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy my Street Cup and look forward to ogling a Thruxton FE at my local dealer.
I was watching a YouTube video from Motobob earlier and he was providing some numbers for café racer sales generally, and Thruxton sales compared to the Speed Twin specifically. It does look like the bottom has fallen out of the market for the Thruxton and that it’s no longer a viable line to keep producing. Shame, because it’s a marvellous bike; I wonder if they’ll now make a similarly pimped Speed Twin.
I saw Motobob's video too and I totally agree. If I was buying a new Triumph 'performance' retro it would be a Speed twin and not a Thruxton. I would imagine the majority of potential buyers for both models would be us older chaps/ladies in our 50's and 60's. I know I can't ride more than 50 miles on my race rep NS400R without stopping to give my back and wrists a breather, so the more upright riding position of the Speedy would be my choice every time. When I did have my 900 Thruxton I flipped the bars around to give a more upright stance which worked well for me. I did like that bike, but it could've done with a few more horses, which is exactly what Triumph did when they brought out the 1200's
The biking community are getting older, not as many younger people are entering into 2 wheels, there are a number of reasons for this, in the UK the process to gain a full licence is expensive and very time consuming compared to that of a car, the car licence if far easier to gain than that for a motorcycle, then insurance and running costs, it all adds up to an ageing biking population, hence the knock on effect is, as we get older a lot go for a more upright comfortable riding position as opposed to a lower down position that can create aches and pains on longer rides. Triumph are clever with their marketing, final editions and limited run machines eg Moto 2 editions of 765 units, well look how many are now available second hand, the myth that "these will become collectors items, and better than money in the bank" is complete rubbish. Take the Speed Triple 1200rr, I recall placing a post on the forum when they came into the showrooms, I sat on one and instantly realised that even with no test ride it would have caused me pain on a long ride out, and predicted sales would not be great, fast forward to the present and dealers are discounting these as much as £5,000 off. The price of the new final edition Thruxton is expensive, and add on any extras and it gets pretty eye watering, as with any limited edition or "final edition", parts are also very very limited, should a minor drop take place and cosmetics are needed, then obtaining replacements will be link hens teeth. I have often asked the question how is it that companies like Honda, Suzuki etc, still have genuine parts available for machines produced decades ago, and an awful lot of Triumph parts are coming up as "discontinued" after less than 10 years after production. This all adds up to another reason people are put off entering the bike market, and the truth is we are an ageing biking community and have to adapt to the realities of this, it does not mean we have to stop biking, far from it, but and there is a but, it may mean a lighter machine, a smaller capacity, a more upright riding position, one with lower BHP, however what we do need to do is carry on biking as long as we are able to and enjoy the freedom. Ride safe all from an ageing Rocker.
Personally I am just plain sick and tired of Triumphs marketing strategy. It's literally limited edition after limited edition while the normal models have mostly poor colour choices. And if you do buy a new Triumph, there will likely be a newer, revamped model along in a few months time to make your premium brand purchase a bit less special. Rant over.
Agree, the process for obtaining a full license is an outrage and comes about from our political representatives adopting everything from the EU. It should be revised, going back to the man with a clipboard and riding around the block isn't right for todays roads, but the the expense and time taken now are ridiculous.
Well hot on the heels of the Thruxton Final Edition comes the Triumph Stealth Editions – a collection of eight new modern classics showcasing dramatic and unique hand-crafted paint finishes, adding a contemporary twist to Triumph’s iconic design DNA… and available for one year only. The colours look superb it has to be said, and all tanks are hand painted.
if customer issues and making refinements to specifications took more priority over a man with a paint brush then that would make me happier. paint schemes should just be an optional choice like most other manufacturers offer out there. There seems to be way too much focus on paint paint paint paint
I actually think the process for A license was not even that difficult. Granted there are 4 official parts that one has to complete - two more than that of the car licensing journey. But I believe the A category is already easy and simple enough - what needs to change is the criteria for B license. There should be a mandated minimum amount of hours spent behind the wheel, maybe then people would finally learn how to merge in turn. But I digress
