Well, first of all : Big thanks to TC Moto Zaventem for inviting me to the VIP launch in Mechelen organised by Triumph Benelux. On Friday the 28th of September Triumph organised a special VIP event in Hotel Martin’s Patershof where they gave a sneak-peak to a selected crew of Triumph fanatics. I could tell you about the delicious catering and the quite generous amount of beverages that were offered but I don’t think you will be interested in that. So let me tell you about the first impressions of the 2 Trophies that were shown to the public. Just to be clear, we didn’t have the occasion to drive them, only to drool on them.
There was a blue Trophy and a Silver Trophy SE. Although both motors are quite alike you can see a noticeable difference on the dashboard. The SE has a quantifiable extra amount of buttons and indicators that make sure that you are surrounded by a ridiculous amount of electronics and extra luxury such as heated grips and a guaranteed “room temperature” behind.
The SE has indeed some “extras” as standard audio, heated grips and tire pressure indicators but not that much more. I think the normal Trophy was the Standard edition while the SE on display was a “full option” Christmas tree (Jingle bells indeed). It was impressive to see the difference between both models but let’s not exaggerate it. If you want to know more about the exact specs I would recommend you to go to Triumph’s website and download the official brochure (or just click here). Let’s talk about the things they don’t talk about in the brochure.
First of all, yours truly measures an immense 1,70 meters (actually 1,695 meters but let’s not be picky about that) and I guess I will be forced to buy the extra low seat for dwarfs and midgets because I can’t put both feed solidly on the ground when seated on the Triumph Trophy. Not really a drama but I’m a bit concerned about the loss of comfort. Lower seat = less comfy polyester foam to ensure a perfectly supported behind.
Secondly, I’m a bit concerned about the audio. Good point is that the radio can connect with your helmet through bluetooth. Yaj, great but what about my smartphone that is already connected through Bluetooth with my helmet? I guess I will probably use my smartphone connected with the audio-system and connect it then through the audio system with my helmet. In this way I can use Spotify, my GPS that is standard on the phone and my Avertinoo (sort of Coyote but for free) together with the radio of the Trophy but I will need to test this. If this configuration works : praise the lord!!. (I’m still looking for a good system to connect my iPhone5 securely and waterproofly (poor English, sorry) on the Trophy. Any idea is welcome.
I guess that is it when it comes to the points of attention I was able to find. As I said, we weren’t able to drive the Trophy but if you wan’t to know more about it I would recommend you to read Bart Schampheleire’s article in the October edition of Motoren & Toerisme (page 24-27). I had the slight impression that Triumph might have bribed him with a 2 week all-in club Med vacation in Aruba because the article is very, very, very positive about his experience with the Triumph Trophy. When your negative points can be resumed as “he steers maybe a bit to fluently because I’m used to throwing all my weight in any turn I make with a Tourer-bike” and “Maybe it’s a tad sad that I didn’t have an extra button to adjust my suspension but maybe that’s a good idea because there was no extra room on the steering wheel anyway.”, you can’t really say that is a drama. The rest of the article is all bliss and joy and quite fun to read. Other journalists however have had the same experience as Bart so I guess what he has written is genuine (tough luck for Bart, I guess he would have liked a stay in Aruba). Bart was also present at the VIP-night and the Q&A session was hilarious at moments. At a certain moment he wanted to express the fact that the Trophy is very well equipped and that in the beginning it was even a bit overwhelming so he described the Trophy as a “Mobile veranda” you have to learn to drive. Not sure if the guys from Triumph were eager to Tweet that (so I did it for them :-)). Anyhow, Bart gave a very good resume of his article to the present audience and it was quite interesting. I’m looking forward to see if what he experienced will correspond with what I will experience in November when the first test-Trophies will be delivered to the dealers in Belgium.
What I was able to experience with the Trophy was the riders position and the general looks and feel of the Trophy. I will not elaborate to much on it but both the visual aspect and they way the Trophy feels were both very impressive. It’s a big motorcycle but even in a standstill position you can feel the maneuverability of the total concept. Compared to my Sprint ST, this motorbike is high tech, especially the fact that for the first time in Triumph’s history they have added a button to turn all 4 indicators on at the same time. I guess the engineer who added this is now resting in piece with concrete shoes on the bottom of the Thames but I will honor his memory by using this possibility every day when I’m riding through the daily traffic jam towards Brussels. I have never understood why Hinckley has been refusing something as simple as this on its other models, must probably be something religious. Well amen to that and may it belong to the past now.
Well that’s it for now… I have been waiting for 2 years for a bike like this. I almost bought an RT1200 because I was a bit desperate after the release of the Sprint GT and the general disappointment with the what it had to offer. Don’t misunderstand me, great bike but just not what I felt that I needed. Looked to much like the Sprint ST (read previous post if you want to know what I mean). As you can guess from the general tone of the article here I’m an complete fan of the Triumph Trophy 2013 and I’m currently negotiating with my bank and wife (not necessarily in that order) to cough up the 18790 € that I will need for the SE version (plus some extras who don’t come exactly for free). I’ll keep you posted.
