#triumph

It was a sad day in southern Spain, not to mention a long way to travel, to be peering out from the garage as intensifying rain dashed any hopes of spinning another lap around the Circuito de Almeria. With only a single session under our belts, and that one merely a familiarization one at best, there was nothing left to do except get wet on the ride back to the hotel.

The 2018 Triumph Tiger 800 is one of those bikes that kind of flies in the face of conventional wisdom about what makes a great Adventure Touring motorcycle, and Triumph is perennially happy to thumb its nose at the competition.

In the last couple of weeks, MO has covered hints surrounding the 2018 Triumph Speed Triple S and RS no less than three times. While we were able to pull a few smidgens of information about the new models from CARB filings and teaser videos, the time is finally at hand. Triumph has officially released the specifications for the new Speed Triples – and they should make the bikes’ fans happy.

Marvel dropped a new trailer today for its upcoming film Ant-Man and the Wasp, which means it’s time once again to pore over any motorcycle chase scenes to see which models were used. To our surprise, the scenes in the trailer did not feature a Harley-Davidson, which has long been a partner of Marvel, but a Triumph Thruxton R.

Just over a week ago, I was fortunate enough to spend some time aboard Triumph’s new Bonneville Speedmaster during a day of riding near Carlsbad, CA. This was the first of Triumph’s revised Modern Classics that I had a chance to ride.

Earlier this week, we wrote about a new video from Triumph teasing a new Speed Triple model to be announced on Jan. 29. Thanks to new filings released by the California Air Resources Board, we can now confirm the new model will be 2018 Triumph Speed Triple RS variant.

Triumph released a new video teasing some sort of match-up between four-time World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty and two-time Isle of Man TT winner Gary Johnson. Left unsaid but clearly hinted at in the video is a revised Speed Triple. (UPDATE: New CARB filings confirm a new 2018 Triumph Speed Triple RS.)

It was a sad day when I finally returned the 2017 Triumph Street Triple RS that I so fondly grew to love. I begged, pleaded and even threw a candy-aisle temper tantrum, kicking and screaming to no avail. No, not really, but handing the keys back over to Triumph was bittersweet, like dropping family off at the airport. All good things must come to an end, I suppose.

Yes, $10,000 is still a lot of money, but it’s not 1973 anymore and you really do get a lot of motorcycle for that much now. No, buying new is not the most economical way to go, but a lot of people have no choice. Besides, interest rates are at historical lows, and the fact is that brand-new bikes are about as easy to take care of as a Toyota Camry. For every old guy who misses carburetors and “wrenching,” there are five or 10 young ones out riding around happily oblivious to what they’re missing. Listen, I’m wearing socks older than most of you, but when it comes to motorcycles, new is good. Here are are my personal top 10, from least to most expensive.

Anything retro seems to be all the rage lately, and I’m okay with that because in a way, it pulls on our heartstrings. Technology is improving so quickly that it’s hard to keep up with all the latest and greatest. As soon as you think you have the best, something better comes along. But one thing that stays constant is the past, and this is where nostalgia comes into play.

As technology races towards the future, style is moving the opposite direction, regressing to the past. Fortunately for us motorcyclists, the two aren’t mutually exclusive, which means we can have it both ways. Take the 2018 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Black, for instance – it’s a juxtaposition between modern technology and post-WWII style. The bobber style, for those of you who aren’t familiar, harkens back to the 1940s when American riders would get rid of anything they could to shed weight by cutting and removing bodywork and ‘bobbing’ the fenders. The desired effect was to be able to keep up with the lighter, faster British and Japanese bikes that began to flood American shores.

On November 7th, 2017, Triumph Motorcycles showed updated Tiger 800 on/off road adventure motorcycles at Milan’s EICMA show, with a huge list of changes for each. Both the XC and XR models get engine changes, new electronics, new bodywork and other luxury and performance feature upgrades. It’s one of the most comprehensive updates to the 800, now in its ninth model year.

Triumph Motorcycles played its hand in the big Adventure-tourer market at Milan’s EICMA show, unveiling its heavily updated 2018 Triumph Tiger 1200. With over 100 updates each, both the XR and XC models have lost weight and received upgrades to help them keep up with their competitors.

Triumph announced it will reveal new Tiger models Nov. 7 at EICMA, bringing updates to its adventure bike lineup. Like most manufacturers do these days, Triumph released a short video teasing the new Tiger, and if you pay attention, you can notice some clues suggesting both the Tiger 800 and Tiger Explorer models are being replaced for 2018

Flying us to England to witness the reveals of its new Speedmaster and Bobber Black seems an outsized expense for Triumph considering that riding the latest Bonneville line’s variants wasn’t part of the trip. However, the significance of the Modern Classics to Triumphs recent sales successes can’t be overstated: The Bonneville lineup accounts for 25% of the company’s total production.