Triumph Upsizing Its Classics

Is bigger better? Triumph is betting on it for 2016. The British company today announced five new models that have familiar names (or derivations) and larger engines – the new Street Twin, the Bonneville T120 and T120 Black, and the Thruxton and Thruxton R.

Triumph touted the new models as being the result of a “four year project” that “called on an unprecedented scale of design, engineering and manufacturing skills.” Powering them are three new engines.

Remember back in the 1960s and 1970s when “classic” Triumphs came in 500cc, 650cc and 750cc sizes? Gone are those days. The new power plants are 900cc and 1,200cc – larger than the 790cc and 865cc motors that were used when the revived Triumph brought back the Bonneville and later revised it.

The smallest of new Bonneville models is the Street Twin (pictured above and below), which is “powered by an all-new high torque 900cc engine.” It will come in cranberry red, aluminum silver, matt black, jet black and phantom black. It promises 18 percent more torque than previous Bonnies. It features ABS, ride-by-wire, LED rear light and USB charge socket.

Triumph will offer three “inspiration” kits for the Street Twin to make the model more custom: a Scrambler kit, a Brat Tracker kit and an Urban kit.

The Bonneville T120 (above) and T120 Black (below) are powered by a new 1,200cc parallel twin engine that delivers 54 percent more torque than previous Bonnevilles. It comes with ABS, ride-by-wire, traction control and two riding modes – “road” and “rain.”

The Bonneville T120 has polished covers and will come in four color schemes – cranberry red and aluminum silver with hand-painted coach lines, jet black and pure white with hand-painted coach lines, jet black and cinder red. The T120 Black will have black covers and exhausts and will be available in jet black and matt graphite.

Even more powerful than the Bonneville T120s will be the new Thruxton (above) and Thruxton R (below) with a 1,200cc “Thruxton spec” engine that claims 62 percent more torque than its predecessor. The Thruxton R features Brembo discs, racing monobloc calipers and master cylinder; Showa big piston forks; Ohlins rear shocks; and Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa tires.

The Thruxton will come in jet black, pure white with a black tank stripe and competition green, while the Thruxton R will come in diablo red and silver ice. Like the Street Twin, it will also have “inspiration” kits – a Track Racer kit, Cafe Racer kit, and a performance race kit.

More information is available on Triumph’s website.