Triumph New Models

Triumph Motorcycles announced six limited edition 2011 models at its recent U.S. Dealer Conference. Included are two versions of its Thunderbird cruiser, including the Thunderbird SE and Thunderbird 1700 – the former featuring touring amenities and the latter coming with the optional big-bore kit standard (pumping displacement up to 1700cc).Two special editions each for Triumph's Modern Classics and Urban Sport lines are also planned. The Bonneville Sixty is a commemorative edition of the 1960 Bonneville, priced at $8999, of which only 100 will be shipped to North America. The Bonneville T100 Black, as the name suggests, is a blacked out version of the T100, which sports a more retro style than the standard Bonnie, most notably via its wire-spoked wheels.

The Urban Sport line gets a Speed Triple SE, sporting Tornado Red paint and white center stripe, as well as seat cowl and flyscreen ($11,299). The new SE’s are rounded out by the Daytona 675 SE, with white bodywork and blue chassis, along with carbon fiber trim and new graphics overlay ($10,299).

While the addition of more special edition “SE” models continues a trend by the British marque, the boys at Hinckley have plans beyond modest SE tweaks (and higher MSRPs) to existing models. The press release, which also announces the looming sale of Triumph’s 100,000th motorcycle in the 15 years since returning to North America, gives hard numbers for a planned lineup expansion saying:“Triumph currently offers 16 different models in three motorcycle families: Cruiser, Urban Sport and Modern Classic. That will grow to 23 models across seven motorcycle families by the end of 2012 and include categories where Triumph does not currently compete.”

What could those new categories include? A mid-displacement complement to the Tiger has long been rumored, even coming with a name – the Tiger Cub. The British marque is also notoriously bereft of a literbike to match its popular Daytona 675 supersport.