The new Triumph Bobber takes no prisoners

By
CMG Staff
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The Triumph Bobber is here, and it makes a bold statement.

Not since the Yamaha Bolt have we seen a cruiser with such distinctive styling. When spy photos of this bike surfaced earlier this year, the doubters said there was no way Hinkley would approve such a  daring-looking bike for market — surely, they said, the end result will be bloated and bulbous, like so many other cruisers that throw the word “bobber” around, to hide the fact they’re still based on a too-wide, overweight engine.

Well the bike is here now, and it’s just what we saw earlier: Lean, mean, and maybe the most daring frame seen on a factory cruiser since Harley-Davidson introduced the Softail officially into their lineup back in 1984.

Some purists will no doubt complain about the monoshock that’s awkwardly visible beneath the seat, but otherwise, this thing really does look like a Brit bike of the Swingin’ Sixties, the sort of edgy ride espoused by Dangerous Men like Hunter S. Thompson before Harley-Davidson cornered the market on motorcycle rebellion.

But enough about the looks — the bike is built around Triumph’s 1200 cc liquid-cooled parallel twin, with changes to tuning with an emphasis on low-end torque. The radiator was also changed, presumably to easier hide it and fit the bike’s aesthetic. The 2-2 exhaust system even features a catalytic converter, to meet modern emissions, which is something the old straight-piped cut-downs of old would think of as Buck Rogers technology. Add in LED lights, ride-by-wire throttle, ABS, switchable traction control, and two engine power modes (for regular riding and rainy days), and you’ve got a bike loaded with tech that would have seemed sci-fi in the era it emulates.

That precarious-looking solo seat is adjustable for changes to riding position (its lowest position is 690 mm), and the gauges can be adjusted as well. The front wheel is a 19-incher, the rear is a 16-incher.

For now, the Bobber is not on Triumph’s Canadian website, and we have no indication as to arrival date or MSRP.

GALLERY

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14 COMMENTS

  3. that is one cool-ass Bike! Trump, Guzzi and Yamahog are hitting out of the park with new models in the past couple of years … KawHonZuki could take a few notes 🙂

    • Not sure I see this quality attention to detail & finish vs. other brands, esp. vs. high end Hondas and BMWs. And I can’t get past the concerns I have with euro chic brands made in Taiwan for worldwide consumption. Otherwise, it’s kinda cool looking to me, but it would have looked much better with the last gen air cooled engines.

      Re “doing well” – Triumph and Ducati are absolutely tiny in market share so “doing well” is relative.

      • Rui, once again you astound me with your limited focus.
        Triumph, Ducati, Moto-Guzzi, Aprilia, KTM and other ‘European based’ manufacturers are doing a tremendous job bringing new, interesting, well constructed machines to the marketplace.
        I can only assume that 50 years ago you would have been b*tching about ‘Jap Scrap’….

        • ? you’re easily astounded TK. And your point about those brands – I never said otherwise.

          But I was making a counterpoint to the great “attention to detail” comment, I mean just look at that tank seam on the Bobber and compare it to, say a Fury, or the new R Nine Scrambler, or an old Sportster….

          Hell, the original Bonnies didn’t have tank seams all the way back in ’61. .

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