2016 Triumph Thruxton Motorcycle Review

The Thruxton is Triumph Motorcycle’s stunning tribute to Britain’s classic café racers of the 1960s. This striking motorcycle with its retro styling and classic paint scheme, the low and narrow ace handle bars and twin instrument pods, truly is a time machine. Seriously, on several occasions, during the time I spent getting to know the Thruxton, I was approached by onlookers at gas stations who asked me, hey, where did you get the beautifully restored Triumph. It was kind of fun actually. Triumph achieves this retro affect by starting with a simple, tubular frame that cradles an 865CC air-cooled, fuel-injected, dual overhead cam, parallel twin engine and cranks out a claimed sixty-nine horse power. As far as the stopping power is concerned, the Triumph Thruxton is fitted with a big three hundred and twenty millimeter single disc up front and a rear single two hundred and fifty-five millimeter disc out back. Overall it’s a very nice balanced piece and it certainly looks like it can top the ton and race out to the local caf for a cupper. Mark Russell, one of our frequent collaborators, took the Thruxton out for a test ride and was pleased to find that this modern classic sport bike didn’t tarnish his nostalgia for the café racers of yor – it was sporty, fast, and fun, and Triumph hit all the right notes with the design.

Of course, in the sixties, people achieved the cafe racer look by taking a bare-bones bike and customizing it to give it a signature look, but with the new Thruxton, Triumph has added sophistication to the classic silhouette. They paid close attention to detail in the design of the bike from the location of the ignition switch, to the manual choke, giving the Thruxton a vintage feel without compromising modern functionality. Mark even felt that the Thruxton surpassed modern sport bikes as far as rider comfort – although not as upright as a cruiser, the cafe racer posture is less crouched than on track bikes making it more comfortable for street riding.  Another standout vintage design touch is the removable cap on the back wheel, which completes the vintage feel while incorporating a passenger seat underneath.  Overall, Mark Russell found the Triumph Thruxton easy and enjoyable to ride and, unlike the original cafe racers, reliable and safe.