Amazing steed

Cafe racers are back with a vengeance and Triumph’s Thruxton R is the epitome of a modern classic.

WHEN the new Triumph Thruxton R was launched last year, there were so many oohs and aahs from the motorcycle fraternity and other bike manufacturers from around the world.

The folks at Triumph Motorcycles headquarters in Hinckley, Britain gave birth to a machine which is simply wicked.

With all the brooding presence and poise of the original Triumph racers, the all-new Thruxton R takes the modern classic sports bike to a new level.

The designers of the bike have combined beautifully the classic values of a café racer with modern technology.

This lethal combination has got every café racer enthusiast salivating.

The test bike that was offered to me was in Diablo Red. The other two colours are Silver Frost and premium Matt Black.

A true blue classic café racer is not complete without few of the key features like the big round headlamp, clip-ons, round instrument panels and long fuel tank with knee recesses.

And Thruxton scores As in all. I couldn’t help staring at this sexy looking machine while having my piping hot tea (and not realising I was holding an empty cup for sometime) on a Sunday morning at Bidor en route to Teluk Intan. The beautiful detailing of the bike is simply jaw-dropping.

The sculptured fuel tank, LED round headlamp, retro twin pods with digital screen that has all the info a rider needs, flip ‘Monza’ cap, bullet seat, reverse megaphone exhausts, aluminium bar end mirrors, wheels, tank strap and clear anodised aluminium swing arm further enhances the classic café racer presence.

The riding geometry seat-to-peg-to-clip-ons is well thought out.

Even though the seating position of this bike is a semi-forward lean fashion, however I did not feel any fatigue either on my shoulder or my back simply because the clip-ons were slightly higher thus allowing me to sit upright whenever I decided to ride in a very relax mode. In short, the riding position was comfortable.

The position of the clip-ons and the pegs allowed me to ride like a GP rider and at the same time allowed me to manoeuvre the bike at lightning speed.

Another reason for such sitting design is to place my weight to the front to ensure optimum feedback from the front wheel and suspension.

This is a must, especially when one is planning to ride this sexy machine fast, be it on the highway or tackling corners.

Riding the Thruxton R on the highways is definitely an exhilarating feeling.

The nimbleness and the quick reaction from the bike gave me all the confidence I needed to twist the throttle.

The gears and clutch work in tandem effortlessly at lightning speed.

At every upshift, I felt a nice pleasant forward acceleration unlike few other bikes I had reviewed in the past.

Whether I was working the gear upwards or downwards, the transition was seamless and no jerky feeling at all.

One must be mindful, since the sitting position of this cafe racer is not upright, thus at high speed is highly recommended for any rider on this bike to rest the knees against the sculptured tank cut-out. Such sitting position promises any rider an amazing experience.

However, some riders have complained that an hour sitting in such a position becomes quite tiring. But personally, being 6ft tall, I still found it comfortable.

More importantly, the rider should assume a sitting position that best allows a natural reach to the handlebar.

The Thruxton R with the 1,200cc engine offers three riding modes which are Rain, Road and Sport.

The Rain mode offers greater control and safety on wet roads while the Sport mode is much more aggressive with reliable throttle response and acceleration.

And finally the Road mode is suitable for a relaxing ride.

While handling the various corners and stretches of twisties, I was definitely pushing the bike hard just to prove a point that this café racer performs as good as it looks. And the answer is yes!

At every corner I dived in and exited out, the Thruxton R was well planted on the tarmac like being held by super glue.

I was able to flick the bike at ease at high speed while remaining very stable at all times.

During my three hour ride from Kuala Lumpur to Teluk Intan and back, I did not even feel that the bike was going to skid despite the heavy rain the night before. Simply amazing.

During my ride on the highways and the back roads, it was very obvious that this British café racer’s sus- pension definitely got me riding on the clouds.

All the bumps and humps were well cushioned.

All corners were tackled with great flair.

For your information, the rear comes with adjustable Ohlins twin shocks and the front is fully adjustable Showa upside down fork.

The brakes are from the ever reliable Brembo with 310mm discs in the front with 4 piston monobloc calipers and complemented on the rear with a single disc Nissin floating caliper plus anti-lock braking system (ABS) and traction control.

What amazes me about the Thruxton R is that it is able to perform like a sports bike.

It has the characteristics of a sports bike enveloped in a modern classic design.

The new Thruxton R is undeniably the only most thrilling and full-blooded sports classic that is available in the market now.

It is a sin if you are a hot blooded biker who has never tried riding this masterly piece of machine.

Enough said, I want to ride this motorcycle again!