TRIUMPH (DARK) NEW BIKES!

Time for a rant, I’m afraid! We here on the (small) news desk of CMM receive lots of press releases, and sadly it seems that the fashion is to launch everything in London (we don’t exist outside of the M25, it seems) and pictures that you’d expect to show the bikes at their best are all dark and mysterious. Take the above, for example. It is to do with the launch of the all-new and exclusive Triumph Factory Custom (TFC) offers for 2019, where Triumph (according to the blurb) ‘...delivers a landmark moment for British custom design, with an exclusive limited edition line-up of ultra-premium motorcycles.’ The line-up begins with the ‘beautiful, more powerful, lighter and even higher specification Thruxton TFC and a hint of what’s to come next with the stunning concept Rocket TFC’. Then we see the pictures. Dark, dark, dark. We’re not sure if this is art or the bikes aren’t finished, or maybe our eyes are old/bad, but we’d much rather the photographer had turned the bloody lights on. Either way, the Thruxton TFC will be priced at £17,500 (ouch). will be limited to 750 worldwide, and will probably be launched at The Bike Shed, or somewhere similar, so oil your beard and wear your best brogues. Details on the Rocket TFC will be coming later this spring. We reckon the original, which is now 15 years old and therefore eligible as a classic, is a hoot! In other news, if you like Triumph’s standard retro classics like the Bonneville Bobber, or Bonnie T120 or T120 Black, you can get a £500 personalisation contribution, which can be spent across Triumph’s wide range of clothing and accessories, or otherwise used towards Triumph insurance or Tristar finance. The offer ends on March 31, so look lively.

■ More at https://www. triumphmotorcycles.co.uk/offers/uk/ latest-offers