Triumph Trophy SE

Engine
Performance

The beating heart of the machine, this spirited engine delivers excitement on demand; no need to wait for the revs to rise or be forced to kick down a gear at the wrong time. You’ll feel it and you’ll hear it as the infamous Triumph Triple delivers it inimitable, spine tingling sound.

The 134PS, 1215cc three-cylinder engine pumps out 120Nm of torque , which spreads the power throughout the rev range giving you effortless acceleration and smooth cruising. The ride-by-wire throttle system makes sure that you get exactly the torque you want and expect with precision and smoothness - important in a bike designed for long distances.

Fuel Efficiency

Spending more time on the road and less time at the petrol station is important to any rider. The Trophy’s efficient engine and tall 6th gear provides relaxed cruising and impressive economy with 69.2mpg at 56mph, and 54.5mpg at 75mph. The tank is a capacious 26 litres allowing well over 250 miles between refills.

Shaft Drive

The Trophy SE features a low maintenance shaft drive for trouble free touring.

Torsional Damping System

We’ve even included a torsional damping system to transfer power from the gearbox to the shaft through a sprung bevel gear, and a metalastic universal joint for an exceptionally refined power train.

Frame

Hidden beneath the sleek, protective bodywork is a rugged, stiff but light aluminium beam frame, capable not just of carrying heavy loads but enabling very precise and agile handling too. The enormous 239KG payload makes light work of heavy loads.

Triumph Electronic Suspension

Electronic suspension on the SE gives you the plush ride you'd expect from a luxury touring bike. Using the left handlebar switches and intuitive dash menu system you can alter the damping front and rear and the rear spring preload to cope with the full range of loads from unladen solo to full luggage and two-up, as well as adjusting for riding style from comfort to sport.

Handling

With its exceptional wheel control you can take full advantage of the outstanding agility. It's very comfortable, of course, but it also handles like no other touring bike to make twisty back roads satisfying and fun.

Riding Position

We focussed on long distance comfort for you and your passenger so handlebars and footrests are positioned for an upright and very spacious riding position, front and rear.

Adjustable Seat Height

We made the seat on the Trophy SE as supportive as possible. It’s been very carefully shaped for many continuous hours on the road and it's easily height adjustable between 800mm and 820mm.

Audio System

The Bluetooth® audio system on the Trophy SE comprises a pair of 20W speakers and features digital signal processing and 3-band equalisation, while automatic volume control adjusts for the bike's speed so you and your passenger will be surrounded with the sound of your choice, from the bike's radio or via the Bluetooth or iPod connectivity from a phone or MP3.

There is a USB port and MP3 player support as well as iPod and iPhone compatibility. An auxiliary input allows a portable sat nav unit to play through the audio system, and the Bluetooth 2.1+EDR gives output to two compatible headsets.

Electrically Adjustable Screen

The Trophy’s screen rises by 16.4cm from its lowest position to provide protection for all sizes of rider. It actually remembers its last position so when you start the bike, you don’t have to waste time readjusting it. Even the mirrors and foot positions have been intelligently designed to protect your hands and feet, keeping them dry and comfortable.

Linked ABS Brakes

4-piston/4-pad front calipers are fitted to the Trophy with intelligent linked ABS brakes as standard that provide the most safe and well balanced stopping even in an emergency.

Traction Control

The traction control system compares the speeds of the front and rear wheels to prevent excessive wheel spin in slippery conditions.

Cruise Control

Electronic cruise control comes as standard, made possible by the ride-by-wire throttle system. With this switched on it takes over from you to maintain a steady speed regardless of terrain.

Instruments and Computer

You get everything you could wish for on the dash of the Trophy SE. A comprehensive on-board computer with fuel economy and range readings, average speed as well as two trips, ambient temperature and full menu control of the many functions on the bike, including options like the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, heated grips and heated seats.

Controls

We put all the controls for the dash menu and most of the accessories on the handlebar switch pods. So you don’t need to move your hand from the bars while riding.

Dynamic Luggage System

However much luggage you take with you, it will feel as if you’re travelling light. Triumph’s dynamic luggage system allows a small amount of independent movement which increases stability and doesn't compromise the chassis’ dynamic performance.

In fixed luggage systems, large loads cause small movements and vibrations in the chassis – these can actually de-stabilise the bike and cause weaving. The Trophy’s system prevents this, keeping the bike stable. This makes the ride much more comfortable for riders and passengers.

TPMS

Tyre pressure can dramatically alter handling of any bike and the Trophy is no different. Standard on the Trophy SE, our Tyre Pressure Monitoring System will let you know any change in pressure as you ride, before it becomes an issue.

Electronic Headlamp Adjustment

The electronic headlamp adjustment makes changing position easy based on your riding requirements. 2-up and fully laden, a simple switch will adjust your lights to suit the conditions.

Immobiliser

We added a coded key immobiliser system in case your Trophy SE attracts the wrong kind of attention. It disables the ignition if an attempt is made to turn or force the ignition switch without the presence of the electronically coded correct key.

Fairing Storage

The fairing storage compartment on the Trophy SE locks automatically and features a charging point for mobile phones and other electrical items inside. And there's another power socket for electrical items such as heated clothing or a GPS unit.

Review

BMW K1600GT vs. Triumph Trophy SE vs. Yamaha FJR1300A.

For riders who love sport-touring, this has gotta be the golden age. A decade and a half ago, motorcycles that could unravel a zigzag backroad nearly as well as a sportbike yet make open-road travel almost as enjoyable as a full-blown touring rig were few and far between. But today, about a dozen bikes can fulfill those special requirements. And they’re all better in every area of sport-touring performance than the best of days gone by.

Including the three seen here. BMW’s cutting-edge K1600GT has scored top sport-touring honors in our annual Ten Best awards the past two years, but it has a couple of new challengers for 2013. Triumph just unleashed the all-new Trophy SE sport-tourer, a 1215cc inline-Triple loaded with electronics and a host of other on-the-road-again features. And Yamaha has snuck back into the picture with the 2013 FJR1300, an update of the same basic machine the tuning-fork folks have been selling here since 2003. Could either of those two knock the BMW off the top step of the podium?

To answer that question, we took this trio on a three-day excursion up through California’s central coast and valleys, covering a balanced mix of freeways, scenic country roads and some of the Golden State’s finest curvature. Accompanying me were Todd Eagan, frequent CW tester and vastly experienced ex-racer, and Jamie Elvidge, longtime motojournalist and arguably the best female rider ever to scribe a word.

By the time we reached our first night’s stop in Paso Robles, things had already begun sorting themselves out. The BMW, as always, impressed with the utter smoothness of its power, an endless river of sharp acceleration that comes to life right off idle and continues unabated as the 1649cc Six shrieks its way to redline with an exhaust note that is, as Jamie described it, “entertainment in itself. I could listen to it all day.” Whether you’re in the BMW’s Rain, Normal or Dynamic power-delivery mode—all of which can be switched on the fly—throttle response and power vary slightly but always allow the 718-pound K-bike to produce dazzling acceleration.

As it should; its engine is 21 percent bigger than the FJR’s and holds a 26-percent cc advantage over the Trophy’s. The 663-pound Triumph never cuts loose with anything close to omigod acceleration but instead relentlessly doles out strong, perfectly linear power everywhere. And that, as Todd discovered, makes for a sneaky-fast motorcycle. “I often ended up going a lot faster on the Triumph than I thought,” he said. The Trophy’s engine is so manageable that the lack of any switchable power delivery system is not an issue. The Yamaha, meanwhile, uses the Caterpillar-class low-end and midrange torque of its 1298cc inline-Four to do an admirable job of almost matching the BMW in overall acceleration, and running several ticks ahead of the Triumph.

The engine’s excellent grunt is pushing the lightest bike (628 lb.) of the trio, helping overcome the fact that it’s the only one of the three with a five-speed gearbox. The ’13 FJR now has a two-position “Drive-mode” that lets the rider select Touring (softer throttle response and more-gradual power delivery) or Sport (completely unrestricted power) on the fly.

Our second-day route of mostly backroads solidified the three sport-tourers’ handling capabilities. We were mightily impressed with the Triumph, whose steering qualities are sheer perfection. Turn-in is magically light, and the steering remains absolutely dead-neutral regardless of corner speed, lean angle or surface imperfections. Combine those traits with superb suspension behavior, totally predictable power delivery and generous cornering clearance, and you’ve got a bike that’s a dream to push hard through the turns.

Like the BMW, the Triumph has electronically adjustable suspension; but while it’s part of a $1295 option package on the Beemer, it’s standard on the Trophy SE. It gives the Triumph three rebound-damping settings at both ends (sport, normal, comfort) and three preload choices at the rear (1-up, 1-up plus luggage, 2-up). Ride quality ranges from stiff but rock-solid-planted in sport/2-up to firm but still reasonably comfortable in comfort/1-up.

With the K1600’s system, which has very similar electronic adjustment options, the difference between full comfort and full sport is greater. At one extreme, the ride is nicely plush, and in the other, it is very taut but keeps the big K-bike stable and controllable in the fastest, deepest-lean corners. Handling, however, is where the BMW and Triumph distanced themselves from the Yamaha. The FJR’s manually adjustable suspension has plenty of options (preload, compression and rebound damping up front; rebound and preload in the rear), but it doesn’t provide as much chassis control as those on the other two sport-tourers. The ride in the softest settings is comparable; but even at full firm, as Todd described it, “The bike loses its composure when pushed hard through corners and moves around any time the road surface isn’t close to perfect.”

What’s more, the front end has so much roll-steer (the insistence of the fork to keep turning into the corner) when cornering that constant firm pressure must be maintained on the inside grip to prevent the bike from standing up. If the throttle is closed or the front brake trailed midcorner, the stand-up tendency is magnified, and as the front tire wears, the condition worsens. Only when slammed really aggressively through high-speed corners does the steering become more—although not completely—neutral.

Ergonomically, all three bikes are similar but still different. The “rider triangle” (seat-to-grip-to-peg relationship) is the most relaxed on the Triumph, the tightest on the Yamaha. All these have two-position-adjustable seats, and the Yamaha even has three-way-adjustable handlebars; but no matter how anything is adjusted, the Trophy still has the best all-day riding position. Credit some of that to the SE’s seat, the most accommodating but the widest and also the tallest, even in its lowest position. Comfort-wise, the BMW slots in between the two with ergos that are marginally tighter than the Triumph’s. The K-bike’s seat is the least butt-pleasing of the three, and an optional lower seat is a “no-cost” option.

All three machines have electrically adjustable windshields, but they, too, vary widely in coverage and range of adjustment. The Yamaha’s is the lowest, whether fully extended or retracted, and the Triumph’s is by far the highest; even Shaquille O’Neal wouldn’t be able to see over the top of it when it’s fully raised. Jamie didn’t like the SE’s shield for that reason. “I usually like to look over a windshield, not through it,” she noted, “but that’s never possible on the Triumph.”

Todd agreed, except for those times when protection from wind, rain and bugs in the teeth is desirable. In that regard, the Triumph edges ahead of the BMW. Between its wide, tall windscreen, expansive fairing and low-mount mirrors that shield the rider’s hands, the SE cradles you in a comparatively still pocket of protection. The K1600GT is a close second, the Yamaha a distant third. The FJR’s windscreen doesn’t keep as much air off the rider, and its narrow fairing provides very little hand protection.

This is just one of several reasons that, in all fairness, the Yamaha really doesn’t belong in this comparison. Overall, it’s a very good motorcycle that was the top sport-tourer on the market a decade ago. Plus, it’s $3000 cheaper than the Triumph and a whopping 10 Large less-expensive than our optioned-out K1600GT testbike. But time has marched on, and despite incremental improvements over the years, the FJR simply isn’t in the same league with new-age technowonders like the BMW and Triumph.

Those two clearly are the class of the class. The Triumph is a marvel of handling that instills rider confidence like nothing else in the sport-touring category. “More than the other two,” said Todd, “the Trophy feels like a real motorcycle, my kind of motorcycle. You get the type of feedback that makes you feel like you’re always in control. If it were my money, it’s the one I would buy.”

Nevertheless, all three of us chose the K1600GT as the winner of this comparison. Its mix of power, smoothness, handling, comfort, sophistication and user-friendliness is downright seductive. Yes, it’s more expensive, especially with the $5000 worth of options fitted to our testbike. “But most people who buy sport-tourers don’t quibble over a few thousand bucks,” said Jamie. “They’re willing to pay to get what they want.”

If what they want is the finest sport-tourer on two wheels, the BMW is—for the third straight year—the best of the best.

Source Cycle World