Thoughts on the Trophy

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I thought I?d share a few impressions of the Triumph Trophy SE based on 8 days of ownership and approximately 700 miles.

First, I have to say that during 3 years of ownership I found the NT to be a really, really good bike. It did all that I asked of it. That said, the Trophy SE is a magnificent piece of engineering and production! A great deal of thought went into it, even the smallest details. Then they built it correctly.

The ergonomics are almost right for me. I?d prefer an inch lower seat height and a little less weight, but that small tradeoff is worth it for the ride. I did about 200 miles on Friday and it didn?t phase me. Getting off the bike I felt just as rested and refreshed as when I got on. There was no fatigue. Some of the that was due to the cruise control. It?s significantly better than that one in my car. Set a speed and that?s what you go. No faster, no slower. Before I didn?t see the big deal about cruise control, now I do.

It handles like a sport bike. As good as the NT. Effortless. I haven?t done much low speed, tight-quarters work and therefore I?m a bit intimidated by the weight. I?m sure that it will improve as I have more opportunities to practice.

The power is intoxicating. Traveling at 65 mph in sixth gear, as you roll on the throttle you?re at 90 mph before you know it. I was truly surprised by the acceleration. You can pass anything at any time. Until I get my top box I?m afraid I?ll dump Suzie off the back when I accelerate. I?m still in the break-in period so I haven?t pushed it. There?s a lot torque, so it will respond well at slow speed in virtually any gear.

The latches on the panniers work, ?nuff said. Each holds a full face helmet. A turn of the key and they come right off. You can take them in the motel (or tent) at night if you choose.

The fairing is massive and the powered wind screen is adjustable on the fly. You can have a little air flow if you like, or you can have virtual silence. The bike is ready for heated grips and seats but both are extras. I?ve ordered the heated grips and should have them on the bike next week. Between the fairing, windscreen and heated grips my season should be extended a few weeks this fall and start a bit earlier in the spring.

The radio is standard and comes with Sirius/XM. The sales man didn?t have my manual for some reason so I finally got it yesterday. I know how to turn it on so far but I haven?t really tried to use it.
 
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vzshadow
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The SE come with TES or Triumph Electronic Suspension. When you're at a stop you can toggle between Sport, Comfort and Normal.
I've only tried Sport and Comfort. To tell the truth I didn't notice much difference. The ride was very smooth in both settings.
I'll try and focus in on it a little more.
 

Phil Tarman

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Dan, if you don't mind sharing this info: How much did the Trophy cost?

It's a beautiful bike and very intriguing.
 
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Interesting Dan,
I own a 2001 example of the older style 1200 Trophy( 4 cylinder). Used to work for a Triumph dealer in central London and had the 900 Sprint as a company bike.
I was impressed enough to buy the 1200 and we've done many miles together over the years. Out on the open road she performs very much how you describe the new model.
However, the fly in the ointment was the weight and where it is. Triumph tourer wise have a habit of building top heavy bikes. Most 1st generation 1200 Trophys bear scars from low speed
"parking lot" tumbles. Slow turns and U turns a particular problem. Superglued indicators are common, especially at the price Triumph want for replacements. Once the bike starts to lean at low speed it's very,very difficult to keep up. People pop hamstrings fighting the beast.
Anyway, I had one of the new ones out over a complete weekend ( courtesy of a friend who still works in Triumph sales).
They are still top heavy, to the extent that I walked away from a very tempting deal on one.
I had a knee operation last year and to be perfectly honest didn't fancy going through it all again with another Trophy.
They are significantly more top heavy than the equivalent competition
Be careful at low speed once they start going they are hard to stop.
My friend in the dealer likens them to a Gooney bird. Graceful in flight but known for messy takeoffs and landings.
Take care.
 
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vzshadow
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hobst,
Thanks for the heads up. I haven't found the weight distribution too bad, but like I said I do wish my butt was an inch closer to the ground. Also, I've now tried to back it up hill and I was glad I had a way out going forward. In a week I've learned that I have to be careful.
 
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It is a lovely bike and I've always been a Triumph fan. I had a Bonnie back in the 80's as well. I seem to remember that the seat height is adjustable on the new ones. Have you tried that? Or am I getting it confused with the Tigger 800 which I also took out?
hobst,
Thanks for the heads up. I haven't found the weight distribution too bad, but like I said I do wish my butt was an inch closer to the ground. Also, I've now tried to back it up hill and I was glad I had a way out going forward. In a week I've learned that I have to be careful.
 

Rob

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Well if you didn't like sport tourers so much you could have the same engine of the Trophy with the weight of the NT in the Explorer. But, you'd have to tolerate the beaky adventure bike look and a smaller fairing :D

At any rate, sounds like you're enjoying the new wheels, and rightfully so! I bet the two-up riding will be much more enjoyable on the larger bike. Oh and more pics please!
 
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vzshadow
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At the lowest seat hit it's 30.3 inches, but as the seat is a little wider it effectively seems taller. I'm sure Corbin or some one will produce a seat that lowers it a bit. Heck, it might be out there already.

The Explorer is ruled out because of it's 33 inch seat height and my 31 inch inseam. Of course that's not a problem for you Rob. Plus I really got for comfort 2-up. I'll still ride the Bonneville day to day.
 
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Rob

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The Explorer is ruled out because of it's 33 inch seat height and my 31 inch inseam. Of course that's not a problem for you Rob.
This is why things get so confusing. So it has a 32.9" seat height according to Triumph's website. I have a Russell Day Long which typically adds up to an inch. I have a 32" inseam - and I flat foot the bike with knees slightly bent. Mind boggling!
 
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I've been busy for a while, but am catching up on posts and want to congratulate you on your new ride - she's a beauty! I'm jealous as all get out.

One bit of caution; I had a Pacific Blue Sprint, and found that it seemed to scratch WAY too easily and the white undercoat will really advertise any damage.

Enjoy the Trumpet and ride safe!
 
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vzshadow
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After 16 days of ownership and 1600 miles I have to reiterate that this bike is magnificent.
Hardly any fatigue after an all day ride.
I'm getting 47-48 mpg.
I have finally tried the suspension in all three modes and I can't say that I see a great deal of difference. All are good.
Handling it superb. Acceleration, what can I say. Still no tickets, so far.
I'm beyond the 1000 mile so I'm no longer restricted to 8000 rpm or less. THough I can't see why you need to go beyond 5000.

My only concern thus far is the combination of seat height and weight, but if I'm careful it's not a big deal.
 

Rob

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I'm getting 47-48 mpg.
Interesting, because with the same engine, I get 5-6 mpg LESS than that, and my bike is 100 lbs lighter (although I am heavier than you and that 100 lbs is also lessened by my panniers and top box which are almost always on the bike). I don't ride aggressively, but I guess it comes down to the different throttle mapping between the two bikes!
 
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vzshadow
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It's been two months - two days and 2300 miles since I acquired the Trophy and I continue to be infatuated with it. My earlier complaint was the seat height, but with time I've come to feel very comfortable on it and no longer worry about dropping it, knock on wood. Corbin has come out with a replacement seat but the Trophy seat is fine and I'd only consider it if it were significantly lower, like an inch or so.

I've had one issue, the battery failed. I've come to understand that many of the 2013 Trophies went out with bad batteries so it's not an unusual problem unfortunately. Because of work and the fact that the dealership is 80 miles away it took two weeks to get a new battery. Given that the battery failed in mid-November it wasn't like I missed out on a lot of riding.

If you find that you want a bit, okay a boatload, more power and a bike that is about the same height but one hundred more pounds I heartily recommend the Trophy.
 
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Dan - now that you've had your Trophy awhile, what do you think of it? Besides the battery, any problems?
 

Rob

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Well, I know he had the same ECU recall I did since our bikes have the same engine. I noticed no difference afterwards. Had mine changed the day before the TNT trip which amounted to 2500 miles. Did you notice any different feel to the engine afterwards, Dan?
 
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vzshadow
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Okay some updates are in order.

I now have about 4200 miles on the bike, not bad considering the horrendous winter we had this year. Spring hasn't been much better, two days about 70? since early last October. The battery failed in the fall about about a month of ownership. I had it replaced (under warranty) and have had only one issue with the bike since, and it wasn't "really" the bike. I had the ECU recall done a few weeks ago and following that the cruise control failed. A week later I got down to my "local" dealership (80 miles away) to have it fixed. After two hours of fussing around the tech called Triumph and found that the cruise control had to be reset after the ECU recall was completed. The tech claimed that the resetting of the cruise control wasn't clear in the recall instructions. Right! So I think my second problem was really the dealership not the bike. Other owners have experienced the same post ECU recall cruise control "failure".

Miles per gallon: The last three tanks have yielded 49, 54 and 51 mpg, almost as good as I got on the NT. It seems to me that mpg correlates with two things: speed and windshield position. The fill up prior to these three mpg was low 40s, and it was all interstate driving with the windshield up and at a vigorous rate or speed. The 54 mpg tank was at modest speeds (mostly in the 55-60 mph range) with the wind shield down. Mind you there wasn't a rigorous tests of these hypotheses and it seems like something worth doing.

I saw no big change in the performance of the bike after the ECU recall.

Comfort: Superb. I find the seat very comfortable though some on the Triumph-trophy.com forum have looked for other seat options. The seat on the NT never bothered me either. Perhaps I have an Iron Butt! Suzie hasn't been on the pillion seat a great deal because she's definitely a fair weather rider and she also has her own bike. However the few times she's been on it she liked it very much. We'll test that in a week and a half on a ride to Vermont. I considered looking for something that would lower the seat a bit but I've since become confident at low speeds and stops. I can't quite flat foot the bike, one of my heels is always very slightly off the ground. Over the weekend in New Hampshire I encounter a few parking lots with coarse sand that acted like ball bearings that made for some interesting moments but I managed. No forward lean is required when riding the bike which makes me very happy. The ergonomics are great for me. On my return from New Hampshire I got on the bike and except for a brief stop to put on rain gear rode straight through to Bangor in just under 4 hours. When the wind screen is at it's tallest position, the cockpit is dead air. Virtually no wind or noise so you can appreciate the whine of the triple! Some from southern regions where it gets hot, I don't know much about that, claim there is too much wind protection and have looked for smaller screens. They are available from aftermarket companies. After the first significant ride of the spring my hands had a little buzz, but since then none. I guess I was out of practice. I remember folks on this forum talking about cruise control and my reaction was what's the big deal. Well now I know. It's wonderful.

Power: There is no lack of power on this bike. I've encountered numerous situations where I didn't like the way things were developing and it's nice to have the option to accelerate out of trouble. If you want power, it's there.

Computer menu: It's a bit complicated, not always as obvious as I'd like. There are many options. I sometimes have to search a bit for what I want but I'm sure the more I use it the more I'll like it.

Luggage: The latches on the panniers actually work, plus they're easily removable (nice when it comes time to clean the bike). The top case is generous and goes on and off with no bother. It also has a 12v outlet and there's an outlet up front too. The panniers each hold a full face helmet. All of the luggage has a bit of movement and was designed that way to minimize stress while riding. Some notice the this movement when riding but I haven't.

Options: The only options I got were the heated grips (three settings, off, low and high) and the top case. Of course the Trophy SE is loaded with features so you don't need to consider many options.

Radio: I've had it on only two or three times. It seems to work quite well but I'm not much interested in it.

Handling: It is very nimble considering it weighs 660 lbs. I haven't been on an NT in a while but I say it's just as nimble as the NT. Much more nimble than my Bonneville. I haven't scrapped any pegs yet. The electronic suspension makes it easy to adjust to your riding needs and the load you are carrying.

I can't think of anything else. My biggest complaints would be the menus on the computer output and the limited dealership network. I don't know if they're doing anything about the former but they are aggressively trying to add about 25 dealerships in the next 12 months. The problem is that Triumph only makes about 60,000 bikes per year worldwide at the present. If they have too many dealerships they can't provide them with bikes. They are definitely in a growth mode.

Am I happy? When Suzie told me she no longer wanted to ride her own bike on long rides we took the NT one a three day trip and it was okay. But I started to look for a bigger, more powerful, heavier bike. I quickly focused on the Trophy, FJR and ST1300. Of these the Trophy was the most expensive but came with the most gizmos. I loved the ST but it was most in need of a major update and considering the lack of gizmos it was pretty expensive. The FJR hadn't yet received it's most recent upgrade. I'd taken the Trophy on a test ride and have ridden FJRs and STs owned by friends. Several things swayed me to Triumph, among them seat height, riding position, and the stupid (in my favor) trade in offered to my buy the Triumph dealership. $8100 for my NT.

So yes I'm extremely happy. In fact when I finish a long ride and dismount I'd say I'm amazed. It's a magnificent motorbike. Would I want to commute on it in city traffic? Probably not, but that's not an issue in Bangor, Maine. Plus I have the Bonneville for around town.
 
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