Triumph America 2012

This is my first cruiser and I must say I am very impressed.

Being 250 miles away from the local dealer meant that I had only 250 miles to do before it had its 1st service at 500 miles but it got it over quite quickly after purchasing it

Additional items purchased were:

Touring screen - Excellent

Screen locking nuts - Well no one has nicked the screen yet but probably only a deterrent.

Footboards front & back - Excellent

Sissy Bar & Touring Pad - Excellent & surprisingly you can bungee a big Oxford bag on the bag without any problems

Saddle bags - Bad, look good but let in water and the shape means you can just about get the wifes handbag in each one & there is no expansion so if it doesn't fit within the small strangely shaped cavity then the buckles won't do up.

What I would have liked to purchase is the Shoty exhaust pipes as these give the bike a nice growl as opposed to the very soft purr of the original exhausts.

The first 250 miles was a mix of back roads & A roads and it was great, very stable at all speeds and comfy for the passenger.

The second 250 miles was a gradual build up on the speed front as the route took us from 50 Miles North of Inverness via Loch Ness, Fort William, Perth & then Edinburgh. In good weather the scenery is stunning but we had WIND & Rain. The bike though was excellent and was solid on the road and the screen protected the rider quite well. Comfort wise we were fine except that due to the inadequacies of the Saddle bags I had a backpack on my back which made my shoulders ache and was so big the wife had to put her hands under the bag or dangle them out the side, not too comfortable for either of us. Which is why we got the Oxford bag and proved excellent.

After the 1st service we did a 4 hour non-stop trip to Yorkshire in SUNSHINE & the mix of twisty roads & fast sections of A Road & Motorway saw the Triumph score extremely well on all fronts & NO aches & pains. It probably helped that we asked the service department to change the default setting on the rear suspension from 2 to 4 as the extensive tool kit supplied with the Triumph, a 5mm Alan key was insufficient (yes that's all you get).

The next day was spent in Yorshire and visiting the Squires bikers Cafe etc. and the following day a single run all the way back home, approximately 10 hour ride stopping only for fuel & food.

No discomfort apart from getting chilly at Inverness.

Average fuel consumption currently 60 MPG which means that you have to fill up every 200 miles.

Having coated the bike in ACF-50 I will have to see how well all the road dirt comes off to reveal all that lovely chrome again 8-))