SPRINT ST WINS READERS' CHOICE

Triumph’s sport-touring Sprint ST has been voted the best motorcycle in the touring class by readers of the influential German publication Motorrad.

More than 35,000 readers from across Germany took part in the survey, scoring the latest bikes in all areas of machine performance and giving their thoughts on customer satisfaction levels.

Triumph performed very well in all categories, especially in the touring class, where the Sprint ST eclipsed the locally-built BMW models to take the best in class.

All eight of the Triumph models included in the survey made the top seven of their category. The Rocket III Classic and Street Triple models both came second in their class, within a few points of taking top honours, while the Daytona 675 SE was the only middleweight machine to be featured in the top 10 of the sports category. The award-winning 675cc three-cylinder machine was voted the sixth best sports bike, missing out only by a quintet of one litre superbikes.

Tue Mantoni, Triumph’s Commercial Director, attended the gala dinner in Ludwigsburg to collect the award. He commented: “Overall this was a very successful evening for Triumph and we’re delighted to have taken top spot in the touring category. It is an extremely competitive segment, where quality, reliability and usability are the key. The fact that this award was voted for by the people who actually buy our products gives it an even greater significance and is a tribute to our skilled product development teams at Hinckley in the UK.”

This is not the first honour bestowed upon the Sprint ST by Motorrad. Last year the model beat off 11 other bikes to win the publication’s gruelling 50,000 kilometer test, a firm endorsement of the bike’s reliability and high standard of build quality.

The Sprint ST is one of Triumph’s most popular models, offering the handling and performance of a sport bike with the comfort and versatility of a tourer. It has been updated for 2008 with a number of small but important changes aimed at improving the bike’s touring ability, such as upgraded headlights, modified footrests and a steel fuel tank, to which a tank bag can now be affixed.

BUD EKINS - A TRIUMPH LEGEND PASSES ON

Bud Ekins, one America’s pioneering off-road motorcyclists, died on October 6. He was 77 years old.

Ekins’ racing career spanned from the days of desert and mountain endurance runs to the modern era of scrambles and motocross and he was one of the first Americans to take part in the World Motocross Championship in Europe in the 1950s. He also earned gold medals in the International Six Day Trial. Following his racing career, Ekins went on to become one of Hollywood’s leading stuntmen and his most famous stunt was the motorcycle jump scene in the 1963 movie, "The Great Escape," starring another famous motorcyclist, Steve McQueen. Ekins also went on to be one of the country’s leading collectors of vintage and rare motorcycles. At one time, his collection numbered over 150 motorcycles and was considered to be the most valuable in the country.

In 1955, Ekins won the Catalina Grand Prix, one of the most prestigious races in the country, taking almost 10 minutes off the race record time while riding a Johnson Motors Triumph. He also won the Big Bear Run three times during the 1950s, including the 1959 victory in which he completed the 153-mile course over half an hour ahead of the second-place rider - despite suffering a flat tire and breaking a wheel. For a period during the late-‘50s and early-‘60s, Ekins was easily the most dominant racer in desert events. He was also a founder of the famous Baja 1000, making record runs down the Mexican peninsula in the early-1960s.

Ekins’ greatest accomplishments came in the International Six Day Trials. In 1964, Ekins, his brother Dave, and Steve McQueen raced in the ISDT in Germany and the team led the international competition before McQueen was involved in a crash and Ekins later broke his leg. In all, Ekins won four gold medals and a silver medal during his seven years of competing in the ISDT during the 1960s.

: By the mid-1960s, Ekins owned a Triumph dealership and had become something of a hero to Hollywood’s young movie actors, who would often hangout at his shop. One of those actors was McQueen. Ekins helped McQueen learn off-road racing and the actor became an accomplish racer.

Through his association with McQueen, Ekins began his career as a movie stuntman. In 1962, McQueen asked Ekins to come to Germany to do some stunt riding for the filming of "The Great Escape." Ekins was in Germany for more than four months working on the film and it was at the end of shooting that McQueen and Ekins came up with the now-famous jump scene.

Ekins continued doing stunt work until he was in his mid-60s, his stunt career spanning some 30 years.

Visit BudEkins.com or more information.

THE WORD ON THE STREET!

The world press launch for the new Triumph Street Triple was held recently in Lake Garda, Italy, and was a rip-roaring success.

The press loved the location and came away raving about the latest edition to the Triumph family. This has been confirmed in the subsequent articles published and below is just a snippet of what they had to say:

‘The Street Triple will sell by the thousands because I can see no better way to commute, scratch or stunt than this’ – Simon Roots, Superbike.

‘It combines the Daytona’s engine performance, chassis layout, character and light weight with the Speed Triple’s aggressive naked style to make a stunningly lively and agile machine that is easy to ride and brilliant fun.’ – Roland Brown, MCN.

‘Big Brother’s Little Brother is absolutely brilliant!’ ‘It is more than capable of thrilling bikers from every walk of life’ – Jane Omorogbe, The Sun.

‘I would have been happy if this bike was as much fun as a Hornet. The fact that it’s as thrilling as a 675 or Speed Triple is almost unbelievable’ – Martin Fitz-Gibbons, Bike.

‘Good looks, wonderful chassis, British name on the tank and a bargain price tag to boot. What more could you honestly want?’ – Jon Urry, TWO
‘In a crowded niche packed with excellent motorcycles the Street Triple looks gorgeous, sounds sumptuous and makes riding a joy. Charisma this potent requires rigorous design and development. Triumph has harnessed both to excellent effect. The Street Triple will be many reviewers' tip for motorcycle of the year.’ – Tim Luckhurst, The Independent.

Want to find out more? Then take a look at our Street Triple micro site  or pick up one of the publications above.

THE STREET TRIPLE MAKES AN IMPRESSIVE ENTRANCE IN NEWCHURCH

The countdown is over! The much awaited Triumph Street Triple was officially unveiled to over 5,000 Triumph owners on Saturday, 30th June, at Triumph Tridays in Neukirchen, Austria. 

The Street Triple offers 675cc of pure, naked aggression, combining the streetfighter styling of its older brother, the Speed Triple, with the 675cc engine, chassis and performance of the award-winning Daytona 675.

Genetically engineered by Triumph, the Street Triple is set to become the most desirable naked middleweight motorcycle in the market.     Packing a powerful punch, 108PS to be exact, and 69Nm of effortless torque, the Street Triple is set to see off any naked middleweight competitor with ease, and quite a few of the heavyweights too. The proven 675 engine delivers strong low and midrange performance, from tickover to the redline, while the distinctive three cylinder feel, and unmistakable sound, offer an electrifying and emotive ride.

The Street Triple’s aluminum frame and swingarm come directly from the Daytona 675, while the Nissin two pot sliding calipers with sintered pads (the same material as used on the Daytona 675) give braking power that is top of its class. The lightweight five-spoked wheels also come straight from the Daytona 675, with Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier tires fitted as standard (120/70 ZR17 front and 180/55 ZR17 rear). Approved options are the Pirelli SuperCorsa Pro and the Bridgestone BT014 G. Lean and agile, the Street Triple is equipped with Kayaba suspension front and rear, with rear preload adjustment, giving class leading handling.

The low dual seat and new footrests and handlebars provide a comfortable riding position for rider and pillion without jeopardizing the aggressive streetfighter styling of the bike.

The headlights echo the distinctive units used on the Speed Triple, while the comprehensive instrument console shares the same functionality as that on the Daytona 675 but is restyled to fit neatly within the lines of the Street Triple.

Priced at $7,999, the Street Triple will be available in dealers from October.   More details on the Street Triple can be found at  – www.triumphstreettriple.com 

TIGER WINS CYCLE WORLD 10 BEST AWARD

Cycle World’s awarded the 2007 Tiger 1050 "Best Standard" at their annual awards ceremony. 

In their presentation, Cycle World said:

"It hardly seems plausible that the comparatively small bike-maker from the British Midlands should keep cranking out the hits like it has over the past several years.  And yet, here is Triumph, once again.  Last year, we were still high on tire smoke and wheelie-induced oxygen depravation caused by too much hooliganism on the Best Standard-wining Speed triple.  This year, we continue the vary antics, only now we’ve got a fairing and increased comfort.  Seriously, the Tiger 1050 takes the same three-cylinder engine bolted into a new chassis and impresses with its versatility, fun and excellent performance the first time you throw a leg over it.  And with optional hard saddlebags in place, it continues to impress thousands of miles down the road."

RIDER AWARDS TIGER 1050 '2007 BIKE OF THE YEAR'

Monday, April 30th Triumph's Marketing Manager, Jim Callahan attended the 11th Annual Ehlert Powersports Awards in Newport Beach, California.  Triumph is proud to announce that the Tiger 1050 received an award for “Best Sport Standard” by Rider Magazine.  

At the very end of the night, Mark Tuttle, the editor of Rider Magazine, returned to the stage for one last award.  The Tiger 1050 was honored as the 2007 Motorcycle of the Year. A quote from the evening’s “Awards of Excellence” program says, “The real beauty of the Tiger is that it’s just as comfortable two-up down a long highway as it is in the tight stuff.  With the spacious hard luggage, there’s no reason why a weekend getaway with a co-pilot shouldn’t be a regular occurrence.” 

Be sure to read the full article in Rider Magazine. 

TIGER 1050 PROWLS ITS WAY TO THE TOP

The Tiger 1050 has started to collect comparison test victories and awards from magazines worldwide.

For the first time in history, the BMW R1200 GS has failed to win a back-to-back comparison test against its direct competitors! Motorrad, the most influential magazine in Germany, and probably the world’s most objective motorcycle magazine, awarded the Tiger 1050 the top spot in their travel enduro test, which saw the Tiger pitched against the BMW GS, the KTM 990 Adventure, the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and the Honda Varadero 1000.  

Motorrad heaped praise on the Tiger 1050, declaring it to have the best engine by far and the best riding position for the rider. They cited the Tiger’s performance on twisty roads as particularly impressive due to the fantastic engine power and great steering precision, handling and stability. Motorrad also remarked that, despite its road-bias, the Tiger offers surprisingly good off-road capabilities, even with road tires, thanks to the smoothness of the engine, perfect throttle control and good front suspension.

The Tiger’s success continues across the Atlantic where it has just scooped the award for Best Sport-Standard bike in Rider’s 2007 Motorcycle of the Year awards programme. This makes it a finalist and a strong contender for the Motorcycle of the Year 2007, which will be announced in early May.

Back in the UK, the Tiger 1050 has won Motorcycle Sport and Leisure’s (MSL) ‘Tall-Rounders’ test, beating the KTM 950 and the Ducati Multistrada. MSL summed up the Tiger’s award-winning performance with accuracy when they concluded that the Tiger 1050 is ‘pretty damned good at absolutely everything’.

SPEED TRIPLE 1050: THE PERFECT ENGINE

Bike, Britain’s best-selling motorcycle magazine, went on a quest to find their perfect engine in their February 2007 edition. Pitching 11 different motorcycle engine layouts against each other through a series of eight tests, there could be only one winner: the Triumph Speed Triple.  

Scoring highly on all the tests, the Speed Triple was the first to cross the finishing line on the ‘Traffic Light GP’ test thanks to a combination of its clutch balance, right gearing and weight distribution. The Speed Triple was the fastest on the ‘Low-Speed Overtake’ test, which saw the bikes accelerated to 40mph in fourth and then the throttle was fully opened to let the engine pull to a measured 60mph. The Speed Triple covered 146ft - the equivalent of four 18-wheeler truck lengths - in two seconds dead. The ‘Fuel Consumption’ test proved the Speed Triple to be one of the most economical engines of those tested, whilst the Speed Triple was declared the smoothest engine in the ‘Vibration’ test.  

This, combined with its unique sound and one of the best-shaped power and torque curves, led Bike to conclude that the Speed Triple 1050cc inline engine is a great achievement for Triumph and declared it as the best engine for UK roads. So, in the words of Bike magazine – “Go and try one”!

SPRINT ST WINS ENDURANCE TEST

The Sprint ST has just fought off the BMW K1200S and the Honda VFR-ABS to win Motorrad’s 50,000km endurance test, beating 12 other competitor bikes to the top spot.

Motorrad, Germany’s best-selling and most influential motorcycle magazine, found that after 50,000km the Sprint ST’s compression and performance figures were the same as a brand new bike, the oil consumption was marginal, the engine, clutch and gearbox were all in very good condition and the painted parts, frame and exhaust pipe showed no sign of corrosion at all. The inspiring, characterized engine and the excellent handling of the bike also impressed them.

The condition of the bike after the 50,000km endurance test is outlined below:

Cylinder head:
- All valves were leak proof
- Valve seats were satisfactory
- Valve guides and stems were within figures for new
- Camshaft-bearings had visible marks but were within tolerance
- Cam lobes are very good

Liners/Pistons:
- All liners had visible marks but were within tolerances
- RHS liner slightly more noncircular but still within tolerances
- Piston free play is satisfactory with not much charcoal

Crank assembly:
- Main bearings like new
- Big ends perfect
- Small ends and gudgeon pins slightly worn

Transmission:
- Gear box in very good condition with no pitting
- Clutch plates like new

Frame/Chassis:
- Premium and reliable paintwork
- No hidden corrosion on powder coated frame

Motorrad concluded that, as a result of the moderate depreciation and reasonable costs of the Sprint ST, combined with the proven reliability and excellent condition of the bike during and after the endurance test, the Sprint ST was the sure winner for this test.