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Triumph motorcycle reviews


Read Triumph Thunderbird motorbike reviews. These have been written by owners of Triumph for the benefit of fellow bikers. Read other Triumph owners' personal opinions of Triumph motorcycle ownership. You can also submit your own Triumph Thunderbird review.

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All Triumph Thunderbird Reviews
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc Sept '01 (51)
Overall Rating:
Review
The Triumph Thunderbird 900 is a real nice bike to ride that is surprisingly fun and cool. I was quite surprised when I rode and found that it handles quite well and shifts as well with an amazing sound, even though this Triumph Thunderbird 900 had the optional extra, louder exhausts on it. The Triumph Thunderbird 900 is quite bulky and heavy but it feels assured on the road. The build quality is almost beyond belief and the Triumph Thunderbird 900 is very over engineered, on the flipside though, the reliability is pretty much spot on.

When it comes to looks, I think there are very few better looking cruiser style bikes out there including most Harleys. The Triumph Thunderbird 900 is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea but for those of you that like this sort of bike, you could do much worse.
Submitted by
Little Lee in Wantage, Oxfordshire on 22/07/2010
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Triumph Thunderbird 883cc Sept '02 (52)
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I use my T-bird all year so I get plenty of riding. had a few minor teething probs to start with but its fine now. it starts and runs well, needs minimum maintainance and I can get about 180 miles from a 17ltr tank of petrol.My wife and two daughters all enjoy riding pillion and I am a member of local IAM group so I get more riding with them,so life at the moment is pretty damn good.
Submitted by
numpty in Bristol, Somerset on 26/01/2008
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Triumph Thunderbird 883cc 97/98 (R)
Overall Rating:
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One of Hinckley Triumph's more successful pastiches of the old Meriden stuff. Very pretty, with lots of chrome to polish, if that's your thing. Much, much better engine than the later Bonneville.



Fit loud pipes-it'll sound so much better. Bit top heavy at low speeds, especially with a full tank. Makes a fine touring machine-bags of torque. The seat gets a bit hard after 100 miles, so I'd recommend getting one off specialists Sprint Engineering, who also do a number of other accessories.


Parts can usually be found on Ebay at a fairly reasonable price. Immensely reliable, though having said that I do have a niggly problem with the neutral/ oil light circuit. Top speed is around 120 or so, so not hugely quick but it'll cruise all day at 100 if you can (I can't!).


Fit harder pads to the front brake-it's only a single disc and needs beefing up a bit. Handling is very good. The ride position is ever so comfortable-no crouching over bars. Many fit a screen for comfort at higher speeds. Build quality is excellent.



The 1995-98 models were 5 speed and had more chrome bits-and, I think, better build quality-than the later models, which were 6 speed. I'd recommend one of the earlier models. High mileage is no problem with the tough triple engine. Neglected ones can be brought back up to scratch fairly easily, with a bit of TLC and elbow grease but it's worth spending the extra for a clean, regularly serviced one. Look for extras, such as a centrestand.


They tend to keep their value well and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the price starts to go up in a few years. These are good, solid bikes, way ahead of most Japanese or Italian stuff in terms of toughness and finish.
The TBird was eventually killed off by emission regs and replaced by the Bonnie.
I guess its nearest rival is the Harley Sportster, which the TBird outclasses in everything.



I'm not sure how to rate this as my ratings might be a bit more critical than others. This is a great, retro-looking bike but it has its faults.
Submitted by
General Ron Pig in Haywards Heath, West Sussex on 06/12/2007
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc 96/97 (P)
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I bought my Thunderbird after my wife decided it was shiny and nice. What a choice she made it was her best one after marrying me of course. Since we bought the bike we have had no trouble with it. Apart from the usual service items i cannot fault the bike my only one niggle would be that it needs a softer saddle but overall Triumph built a winner here a shame they discontinued it.
Submitted by
benlyboy in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear on 07/11/2007
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc Apr '04 (04)
Overall Rating:
Review
I was lucky enough to find a brand new 2004 Thunderbird Sport in a motorcycle warehouse in the Netherlands in May 2004. I had it shipped to Dubai. It arrived about 2 months later than promised (which happened to be the same day our second baby was born - hence it sat in the shop for an extended period. I was riding my 2003 100th Anniversary Harley Davidson Fatboy at the time with 95 cubic inch and Branch Heads also a great 95 horsepower machine. Anyway my wife said to me a while back that Bradley is turning 15 months old today, and I immediately thought Oh no my Triumph is still at the shop - so I amost panicked and decided to go and get it that day. So I brought it home and ordered a pair of Speed Triple Handlebars and second hand head from Triumph Ant and had it sent to Wilcox Engineering. Six weeks later it arrived in Dubai reworked to their Stage 3 porting specs with CP5 cams. I sent to America for a D&D 3 into 3 Exhaust System Adventura Drop Links and single seat/cowl and I purchased a replica Lucas Tailight from the 60's. I then stripped the bike down and bolted on the 108 horsepower top end with K&N Air Filter rejetted the carburettors with 120 main jets and raised the needles by 1 mm. I finally got it all back together last month and registered the bike 23 months after purchasing it. I have clocked up 900 klm's in the first 3 weeks of riding and cann take it to 7000 rpm. I made some very nice alloy inserts for the straight through pipes to take the edge off the extreme noise - they have a 25 mm centre bored hole surrounded by 13 x 5 mm holes around the outer edge. They are 25 mm thick and fit in behind the reverse cones of the 3 into 3. They really look the psrt and just take the edge off the noise. This bike has more power than my 1994 900 Daytona had and the first night i took it out with my Harley mates I had 3 offers to buy it. I have never seen people attracted to bike like this before. I love this bike so much I have bought another one - a 1998 Red and Black one with very low miles. I am going to put CP5 cams in it and a 3 into 3 system and keep them both for fun and one day my sons. I also have a 1970 Bonneville that I have owned for 36 years.
Submitted by
UKBike Archive in Hassocks, West Sussex on 06/05/2006
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc 98 (S)
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Recently purchased a 98 Thunderbird and love it. Lot's of extra's were purchased and installed on the bike before I got my hand's on it.< >I'm having one problem maybe some one could help me with. Above 60 mph I get this high freq vibration in the handlebars that make my hands go numb in about 15 minutes. This is the first bike I have ever owned. I know this can't be normal. Can any one help? Thanks, Tony
Submitted by
UKBike Archive in Hassocks, West Sussex on 24/04/2002
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc 97/98 (R)
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I bought mine with 7k on the clock, 3 years ago. I now have 23k on the clock and it has been extremely reliable ( apart from having to replace the camchain).
It seems to get stronger and smoother as the miles build up. There is nothing that I would want to replace it with.
Submitted by
UKBike Archive in Hassocks, West Sussex on 16/11/2005
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc 98 (S)
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The best bike I've ever had (and I've had plenty). Silky smooth motor with loads of low-down grunt. Build quality is up there with BMW. Handling is assured and feels planted. I've never had less than 50mpg out of it. The only downside is it's not a shaftie, if it was it would be perfect.
Submitted by
UKBike Archive in Hassocks, West Sussex on 19/02/2003
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc 97/98 (R)
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This bike has been largely overlooked as an alternative to the all too common sports bikes which clutter our roads in the summer months and lack the individuality of styling that was present in previous decades. < >I bought my Red/Black 1998 model as a diversion from my normal choice of 1000cc sports machines with the intention of doing a spot of touring with the Girlfriend but the touring never happened and instead I find myself thoroughly enjoying blowing away the cobwebs on a bike which is incredibly pleasing to ride at a sporty cruising pace of 70 - 100mph.< >It handles much better than it's retro styling would suggest and I kid you not that on twisty A/B-roads it can genuinely keep up with out and out sports bikes unless they are being ridden to full capability by experienced riders.< >It does struggle with top speed which peaks at about 120 but the lack of wind protection means you rarely want to stay above 100 for long periods and it can be tiring on motorway runs.< >It is the "Flash Gordon" styling and triple cylinder rumble which are my favourite features of the bike. The styling is very retro and only the intrument clocks stand out as being at odds with every other curvy component of the bike. Paintwork is well fininshed and Triumph can provide a range of deep chrome or poloshed alloy accessories for those that have deep pockets an enjoy polishing.< >The easiest and most worthwhile mod is of course to replace the std muffled silencers with race cans which provide a sound to match the looks.< >I was pleased to see that Triumph have just relaunched the bike but am surprised that the they have not opted for the original single sided twin upswept pipes rather then the dual sided singles which really ruin the cafe racer retro looks.< >
Submitted by
UKBike Archive in Hassocks, West Sussex on 08/01/2003
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Triumph Thunderbird 900cc Sept '02 (52)
Overall Rating:
Review
Right from collection it just handled far better than I had expected. The notable whistle of the three cylinders soon had me powering down the road and after the initial 100 miles below 3500 rpm a burst up to 5000 rpm is pure pleasure. It has a riding position that blends man and machine together making the bends just melt away . Yes I am in love wuith my bird and feel this is a purchase that will remain in my stable sa
Submitted by
UKBike Archive in Hassocks, West Sussex on 18/04/2002
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