Triumph Trophy SE - Slick Tourer

By A. NACHI | 15 September 2014


Over the years, touring bikes have gone through a rapid evolution in terms of design and safety.

At present, the advanced features available on these machines are meant to make high speed cruising a fun and memorable experience.

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Triumph has taken note of all these needs and developed a luxury sports touring bike — Triumph Trophy SE.

The first thing that hit me when I saw the Trophy SE was how a 68kg person like myself handle this 301kg (wet weight) machine.

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To my surprise, the bike handled very well according to my whims and fancies.

Not a moment I felt that the bike was too heavy for me.

But I was always reminded of the weight whenever I was rolling it out rear first from any stationary position.

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The Trophy comes with a myriad of riders aide (eg electronic gadgets) that ensures rider and passenger comfort and safety during a long journey.


It just needs a bit of common sense and practice and I was enjoying every bit of it on my journey.


Among the features are the anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic cruise control, electronic suspension adjustment, traction control, tyre pressure, sound system and an electric windshield.


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The Triumph’s link braking system is awesome.


Even when I applied the brakes while in mid-corner, the brake force at the front wheel wasn’t excessive enough to disrupt the cornering manoeuvre.

In fact, the link braking adjusts the braking forces between the front and rear wheels, and was smooth and non-intrusive at all.

The brakes are equipped with anti-lock braking system to enhance safety.

Trophy scores an “A” with its ergonomics.

The saddle is wide and firm, allowing a good amount of comfort when on a long ride.

If you look closely at the saddle, it’s carefully designed to ensure the bottom is well supported.

The saddle also complements very well for the upright position riding with ample legroom.

The Trophy comes with good 20W speakers and a three-band equaliser.

With my full face helmet on and riding the Trophy at relatively high speeds, music from the radio can still be heard loud and clear.

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And the music volume increases as the speed increases. How cool is that?

The electric wind shield has always been my favourite simply because of my height.

More often than not, my head is always under the threat of wind buffeting.

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I could bring up the wind shield right to my head level, keeping my head protected from the on-coming air.

The Trophy is able to memorise the last position of my preferred wind shield height.

When I turn off the bike the screen retracts and then, when I power up the bike, it reverts to its last position.

If you happen to be behind a Trophy and see the panniers move up and down; do not be alarmed.

The panniers are designed to swing freely under strong winds so the bike can stay stable.

This innovation is called Triumph Dynamic Luggage System (TDLS) pannier mounting system. Now you know!

By the way, the capacity of the panniers is 31 litres each, meaning a full face helmet can be stored with space to spare.

This 1,215cc three-cylinder engine with 134hp, pumps out 120Nm of torque, which is distributed throughout the rev range giving me effortless acceleration and smooth cruising.

The ride-by-wire throttle system ensures that I get exactly the torque I want with precision.

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On the highways and open roads, I was able to rev the engine up to 10,000rpm.

You can feel the power building up in no time.

It is amazing to see how the Trophy picks up progressively from 2,500rpm to 6,500rpm with no signs of a power dip.

While on fast cruising, I would be either on fifth or sixth gear.

There was minimal gear down shifting. And during those moments, I was so satisfied with its performance like a full bellied python.

Taking corners between 80kph and 100kph is extremely safe and the ground clearance is no issue at all.

I challenged two hairpin turns at about 60kph and both manoeuvres were easily executed without drama.

Despite the intimidating weight, every twist and turn on Trophy was filled with loads of fun.

It is flexible yet stable. Be it a wide or sharp corners, Trophy’s agility is commendable.

The Trophy is a luxurious sports touring bike that allows its rider to enjoy the open road in high comfort.

If this bike is not a “First Class” ride, then I don’t know what is?

 



Keywords

Overview

Styling
70%
Performance
80%
Comfort
80%
Safety
90%
Value
80%

CarSifu's Rating: 8.0