I am on the quest for my first bike and have fallen for the look of the cafe racer. I have seen a Thruxton 900 Ace which i think i beautiful but i also like the Street Cup. Could anyone shed some light on the difference between the 900 Thruxton and the Street Cup, and which would be better as a first bike. Thank you.
The Street cup has the later water cooled engine whereas the Thruxton 900 has the 865cc air cooled engine. Although a more modern design the Street cup is the less powerful of the two. Best thing to do is to try and blag a test ride on both. If you find you like the Thruxton better, I know where theres a nice one for sale.
I had a Street Cup for a while on my return to biking, it's a great bike, confidence inspiring and easy to ride... but I never really felt connected to it . I now have an older air-cooled 790 Bonneville and I love it. Everyone is different, but for me a 900 Thruxton might be more satisfying in the long term. However depending on how you want to use it a Street Cup might be more practical and easier to look after, less chrome, cast wheels, etc. There appear to be plenty of both bikes available in dealer showrooms, so try to get test rides on both
I vote the Thrux865! Aircooled ease of self maintenance Low tech, and I view that as a good thing More powerful Unlocked ECM\ECU for tunes for even more power. jet options for carbs Riding ergo may take time to adjust to Endless upgrades and farkles, affordable if picked up in secondary market part-outs Universal part swapability with other bonnie variants More bike for the money as used, however getting harder to find Time capsule cool - if you are into that sort of thing - always attention getter I am incurably biased however as an owner of one. It is my first and only real motorcycle but it ticked all the boxes for me. I walked away from a brand new yellow/silver street cup offered at a great deal. Even with all my upgrades + 2 sets of head-2-toe riding gear I am dollar for dollar still under the OTD cost for the Street Cup investment.
imo you would be better off starting your biking journey on a more sit up style type of bike, like a t100 or street twin. Once you have more experience you can move onto a cafe racer style bike. Just a thought mate......
Both bikes are of high quality,it’s personal choice and you can do so much with them,I’ve gone with the street cup and done mods flat bars etc,as well as power upgrades,