Triumph Thruxton SE. The Cafe Racer Reinvented.

Cafe Racers. You were a Ton Up Boy or at least remember your friends racing them and they still stir your emotions. Or you were too young or even not born, but love their sport design from the past. Motorcycle nostalgia is selling very well if 2 conditions are met at the same time: today’s reliability and affordability. And as I told you several times before, right now no motorcycle brand other than Triumph has a line up meeting all these conditions at the same time. Perfect example is the Thruxton Special Edition with its classic racing stance and stripe paint job, but also modern technology: clean running fuel injected 865 cc twin engine,  beefy adjustable forks, strong braking via 320 mm discs. Except black, nothing means more British Speed Racer than a red powder coated frame complemented by a black out engine in contrast to a crystal white bodywork. At a MSRP of $10,650, a special edition tempting for both baby boomers and youngsters. MSRP $10,648. Triumph Motorcycles.

10 Responses to “Triumph Thruxton SE. The Cafe Racer Reinvented.”


  1. 1 ian Apr 17th, 2010 at 7:52 am

    Triumph are on a roll – and getting their styling cues (and pricing) right. Still prefer my FXD one though!

  2. 2 Woody Apr 17th, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    Very nice! That thing made in UK or India?

  3. 3 jatinder pal Apr 18th, 2010 at 4:28 am

    Thats made in UK……but i love this bike,reminds me of good ol days.

  4. 4 Mike Kiwi Tomas, Kiwi Indian Motorcycles Apr 18th, 2010 at 7:34 am

    Triumph continually shows good leadership and style. Time after time, model after model they seem to hit home runs with their varied line up.

  5. 5 Woody Apr 18th, 2010 at 9:59 pm

    Sweet! That thing really strikes a chord. I can see having made my old Commando into something like that if I’d had the $$$ & skills in the early 70’s.

  6. 6 Jeff & Robbie Apr 19th, 2010 at 5:54 pm

    First bike… a Triumph Daytona… miss it!!!

  7. 7 American-V magazine Apr 19th, 2010 at 6:23 pm

    Looks great, presses lots of the right buttons visually, but they’ve done a weird thing: fitted it with a 360-degree crank to get the authentic feel of a classic British vertical twin, silenced it to such an extent that you can only hear its regular heartbeat when standing directly behind, and then put in the most efficient balance shafts I’ve ever experienced that remove every last vestige of that ‘feel’. The Thruxton I rode was turbine smooth.

    Granted, bits won’t drop off it like they would an original T140, but it makes you realise just how much vibration Harley and Victory have left in their balanced motors. I’m not advocating removing the balancers, but retuning them to let some mechanical sensation through would make a massive difference, and would be the icing on the cake for a bike that would strip away the years when you rode it, rather than just when you looked at it.

    Still, if Triumph won’t retune them, it does open up a gap for the aftermarket.

  8. 8 aaron Apr 19th, 2010 at 11:32 pm

    sorry, but I’ve gotta disagree… nothing says BIMOTA like a red powder coated frame complemented by a black out engine in contrast to a crystal white bodywork. If I had to pick a look that defines the triton cafe look it would be brushed or polished alloy against a black, solver, or gold frame. maybe blacked out barrels, but the only classic british engine I can recall seeing blacked out is the black shadow…(and maybe the 8 valve triumphs?)

  9. 9 Peter Jul 7th, 2010 at 7:14 am

    Just picked up my Triumph Thruxton SE. What a beauty. It is very smooth and looks great. No complaints whatsoever. Everyone loves the look of it. Happy camper

  10. 10 rob Nov 28th, 2010 at 5:25 pm

    i have had my 10 SE since June, have just notched 5k miles and am really happy.

    I kind of agree with aaron re defining look for the era, but there’s no doubt they’ve produced one hell of a good looking motorbike here. i had a cop pull me, just to take a look.

    re: the muffled effect.. Yeah, that was a bit of dull, so I switched the cans for some BC predators and now she shakes the teeth out of old ladies and develops noticeably more horsepower, haven’t had her on the dyno, but 10% would be a fair estimate.

    The brakes aren’t great. I have found myself running short of road a few times. im looking at getting the 904 bore out, but ill have to do something about the brakes too. anyone upgraded, any tips?

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Cyril Huze