Triumph Confirms Expansion into Adventure Sport Segment

Link RemovedATLANTA (July 9, 2010) - Triumph Motorcycles has officially confirmed that it is developing two all-new adventure motorcycles that are due to launch later this year.

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That don't tell squat......

My take is why attempt to broach a market that's dominated by the likes of Kawasaki on the lower end with a bike that's been around and refined since the 70's (the 650 KLR) and at the high end buy the likes of Bavarian Motor Werks with their ultra comfortable, reliable and acceptable off road mannered single and boxer twin ADV bikes, plus you have KTM as well.

Makes no sense to me. Do what you are good at and leave what you don't know squat about to those who do.

I believe Triumph will find that discerning buyers will opt for other, more established brands in this arena. besides, Triumph will have to come up with a completely new engine. The twins and triples are too heavy and the frames and suspensions are no good. The Scrambler is a poser bike. If you took it off road or on any road other than pavement ot gravel, you'd need a tow truck to extract it.

Tiger 1050 with more off road garb and second bike the same set up but with 675.

I don't know that I'd say "the don't know squat" about that market. The Tiger 1050 is a great bike and consistently ranks high in "shoot outs". The KLR is not a competitor to the Tiger. No one in their right mind would take a KLR on a trip. It's an off road bike with lights. No one in their right mind would buy a Tiger, Multi-Strada, R1200GS, etc... for off road use. They're road bikes with high seat height. They're very comfortable and make great bikes for trips.

I just got back Tuesday from a road trip to Dover Bluff, GA with some of my Harley riding friends. One of my friends has a cabin at Dover Bluff Club, Inc. There are approximately 25 privately owned cabins on over a 1000 acres. We took the back highways on our way over. Once there, you have to go down about a half mile trail to the cabin. The trail is a mix of sand to hard dirt, with roots popping up here and there and a few ruts. The Tiger, and its competitors can handle that sort of thing with no problem and that's about as much off road capability most people buying one of these bikes is ever going to want. I would never take mine off road other than going to the cabin. I think of mine more like a sport touring with a better riding position, and that's really what it shines at.

That said, again, we rode back roads, the trail in and out to the cabin every day, interstates, etc... and it performed flawlessly. It really is a great bike. It absolutely kills the lower end bikes, as it should, and is right there with the bikes that cost thousands more. Like the Harley guys, if one wants a BMW, then they're going buy a BMW. But for those that have the ability to objectively evaluate the bikes and get the most for their money, they're going to be looking very hard at the Tiger 1050. It's the least expensive of higher end bikes, yet performs as good or better than most.

Finally, you won't find Tigers sitting on dealer's floors collecting dust. Our dealer rarely has one and when they do, it's not there long. Frankly, I think Triumph sees the Adventure market for what it is; a growing market. More and more folks are learning what a great platform the Adventure bikes are. I've never met a single person that has ridden an Adventure bike, whether it be a Tiger, the BMW, Ducati, etc... that didn't like it. They may not necessarily like the looks of them; most of my Harley friends think my Tiger is ugly (call it an Alien looking thing), but they like the ride and comfort fo the bikes.

Of course, if we all liked the same thing and had the same opinions, there'd only be one motorcycle so YMMV.

In my mind I see a re-tuned 675 Triple on some sort of cross between a tiger and a BMW Adventure. A more nimble alternative that would standup to harsh use. If Triumph didn't do something we'd probably be criticizing them for not trying.

I'm not sure how a buyer considering a purpose-built bike like a KLR or KTM would consider a Triumph alternative, but it sounds interesting.

Sidecar Flip said:

That don't tell squat......

Click to expand...

I think that they will do very well. Almost everything else they have put this much effort into has gone very well.

Look at the Rocket. It was very late to the american musclebike forum, but does very well for itself.

Then there is the new Thunderbird. It's doing better than I'd expect and it's competing in a VERY flooded market and it doesn't even fit completely into the mold.

The Daytona 675... Holy crap! It's the best selling triumph and pulls more than it's weight agains all the GSX-R's, Ninjas, CBRs, and YZF's. I don't know the numbers, but I'm willing to bet that there are less one year old "never been sold" Daytona 675s at dealers than any other competing bike. Even factoring the amount produced.

Every one of these markets Triumph was a late-comer. Every bike has done well. The only Bikes I'd say haven't done very well are the very niche bikes like the Thruxton and the Scrambler. But they are not big run bikes. But I bet they help sell the base Bonnies.

Triumph will never be a world super power in bike sales, but they have developed a very loyal customer base. It takes a quality, unique, desirable bike to do that. And they have many models that do that.