2012 Triumph Thunderbird

LBV

LBV

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As I alluded to in the "white Harley" thread, I instead picked up a used 2012 Thunderbird 1600 ABS with less than 11,000 km on it. Thing looks mint - old man today thought it was a last year model.

Love it - pic shown is with the solo seat but initially came with the 2-up touring seat installed (more comfy for sure).

Has fantastic torque and tips on its side so easily on the turns. I'm considering a set of British Customs Hogslayer pipes but stock pipes sound surprisingly good so not 100% sure as I'll need a tune as well.

These things are WAY cheaper than any HD and I'm enjoying it more than the 2 test rides I took on the Sport Glide. Issues I'm finding are related to parts and after market parts. Triumph stopped making them in 2017. Anyone thinking of a cruiser should not overlook these.

I'm getting used to the 700+ lbs again ... didn't miss that!

IMG_20210620_105957.jpg
 
LBV said:
As I alluded to in the "white Harley" thread, I instead picked up a used 2012 Thunderbird 1600 ABS with less than 11,000 km on it. Thing looks mint - old man today thought it was a last year model.

Love it - pic shown is with the solo seat but initially came with the 2-up touring seat installed (more comfy for sure).

Has fantastic torque and tips on its side so easily on the turns. I'm considering a set of British Customs Hogslayer pipes but stock pipes sound surprisingly good so not 100% sure as I'll need a tune as well.

These things are WAY cheaper than any HD and I'm enjoying it more than the 2 test rides I took on the Sport Glide. Issues I'm finding are related to parts and after market parts. Triumph stopped making them in 2017. Anyone thinking of a cruiser should not overlook these.

I'm getting used to the 700+ lbs again ... didn't miss that!

View attachment 49581
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parallel twin? Nice

Just remember, it will take a lot longer to come to a stop now
 
NIce looking ride, congrats enjoy!
 
1600cc...gobs of torque for sure!

Since it is air cooled - do you need to change the oil more frequently than what one would do for a liquid cooled engine?
 
bigpoppa said:
parallel twin? Nice

Just remember, it will take a lot longer to come to a stop now
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Yep parallel twin and you know what, this thing stops much better than I expected after riding the HD's. No diss to the Harley riders but I found the rear brakes on them basically non-functional and I like to drag the rear brake if I need to on turns and slow speed stuff.
SVeezy said:
She’s a beauty, congrats!


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
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sburns said:
NIce looking ride, congrats enjoy!
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ifiddles said:
Sweet looking ride...congratulations 🤗
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Thanks all.
POWERMAN said:
1600cc...gobs of torque for sure!

Since it is air cooled - do you need to change the oil more frequently than what one would do for a liquid cooled engine?
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Nope, it's water cooled.
 
Congrats on the new bike. Enjoy the ride!
 
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POWERMAN said:
Wow - this must be the first time I've seen fins like those on a liquid cooled engine!
Looking forward to hearing those new notes once you get the pipes on...
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The fins are for the look. An air-cooled engine with fins is more interesting than a big featureless cube. You can see the huge rad in front of the engine.
 
There will be some cooling from the fins but most from the coolant.
 
danp said:
This replaces your 2018 GSX-S1000? Or you still got that too?
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Nope, keeping them both but not liking the insurance on both.
 
POWERMAN said:
Wow - this must be the first time I've seen fins like those on a liquid cooled engine!
Looking forward to hearing those new notes once you get the pipes on...
Click to expand...
this is a triumph tradition, they managed to do something that harley still cant do, keep the old tradition and styling(like fake cooling fins and fake carbs on modern bikes) , while retaining modern engineering
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