Triumph Bobber / Speed Twin.

The boxer engine makes them about as wide as a Citroen 2cv - keeps your knees warm though :p

I wanted to take mine, and another bike on a track day, I loaded the R9 and went for the other bike, then realised that with the R9 in, the van was full !
 
Beemer boxer motors have a purpose, and where they look like they belong.

Triumph Bobber / Speed Twin.
Hosted on Fotki
 
I think there is personal hand built, and hand built for profit.
These forum members have a passion for their machines, and take the time to learn the right way to do assembly, fabrication, etc.
They lavish time on their machines and take as long as it takes to get it right.
Norton can't do this obviously, they need to be productive to keep costs down.

I was under the impression that Norton was hiring apprentice mechanics/assemblers to do the 961 assembly.
So they are learning as they assemble our 961's. Keeps labor cost down to use apprentices.
That has to have some undesirable impact on the end result.
How close is the supervision? Dunno.

At Ducati, their assembled bikes are tested on a dyno before being broken down for shipping.
Before shipping, they know that the bike starts, runs, and that the ECU, EFI sensors are all functional.
Do Norton do this, or do they just bolt on possibly faulty sensors, and components, and hope for the best at the dealer? Dunno.

I was wondering how the Morgan factory operates building their autos.
The Morgan is kind of like the 961, it has a small faithful following of customers.
How does Morgan run their business, and would their business operation transfer well to Norton?

I've got a Morgan 3 Wheeler, spec'd new. Yes it has limitations, certainly not an all year toy, but its been totally faultless and can't fault Morgan as a company and how it treats its customers.
 
I've always wanted a boxer but as yet it hasn't materialised. I nearly went for a R1200C (james bond).... (please don't mock me) and the R9T was very nearly purchased instead of a 961 :)
 
The boxers are very good handlers.
I've ridden the RT1200r and GS1150.
The cons were more vibration than I expected, clunky shifting and low speed lurching. You learn to live with all of that. None of it is horrendous.
Power was decent but uninspiring. The RT sure didn't feel like 110 horses.
In spite of the poor showing in the Consumer survey, these two bikes have been completely reliable 80,000 kms on one and 60 odd thousand on the other. I suspect the poor BMW numbers might be due to fussy customers complaining about things like paint issues rather than engine failure.
That's about all I know about BMW, they are one of those good bikes that I don't care about!

Glen
 
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Does anyone here have an opinion on the Triumph bobber TFC and speed twin?
Which would you choose and do you like either?
Any experience riding either?
Thanks.
Never been on a Speed Twin. Love my Bobbler. I got on on the first 500 to hit the US market. Comfortable, easy to ride very nimble. Pretty strong too.
 
Absolutely love my brother's (and my) Bobber. It was well worth taking a $16K hit on my 961. Just wish it was closer to me ... my brother keeps it in Colorado.
 
Cool Glenn, those 3 wheelers look like an indecent amount of fun to me !

Yes it is. If you've ridden bikes you'll love it. You have to drive it like you ride a bike, throttle back into corners and then power on exit. Go too fast into corners with the power on and it'll end in tears. Its very easy to spin the back out.
 
View attachment 13132 View attachment 13133 If this is offensive or not allowed please remove.


Does anyone here have an opinion on the Triumph bobber TFC and speed twin?
Which would you choose and do you like either?
Any experience riding either?
Thanks.
Liked the Bobber so much I bought a chopped Harley, seems the Bobber craze has spawned various attempts but a real deal needs to be a v twin in my opinion, for what it's worth.
 
Liked the Bobber so much I bought a chopped Harley, seems the Bobber craze has spawned various attempts but a real deal needs to be a v twin in my opinion, for what it's worth.
Although the bobber is of American design, I can’t bring myself to want anything HD unless it’s pre mid 1960s.
 
A friend has a 2 year old Morgan Plus 8.
He just came back from a 200 mile trip, top up in light rain all the way.
He said there was more water inside the car than outside!
At least it didn't break down.
They are a very rudimentary car but the owners love them.
Kind of like our 750/850 Commandos.
Or maybe closer to an 1920s flat tanker with a modern engine transplanted.
The frame is made of wood! Glen
Re; " He said there was more water inside the car than outside!" -the clue was in the statement "The Moggie was always described as an inside out boat"
 
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