Triumph Motorcycles India has announced the arrival of a new member to its family that will be launched on 18th September in the country. The new model is the Thunderbird LT (Light Touring) motorcycle and will be joining the iconic British manufacturer’s illustrious product portfolio. Already retailing 11 products in India across different segments, the Triumph Thunderbird LT promises to be high on retro appeal, coupled with a modern heart to make for hassle free journeys.
The Triumph Thunderbird LT was first showcased at the 2013 EICMA at Milan and is based on the Thunderbird Commander cruiser. The Thunderbird LT sits below the Commander variant and gets a completely old school retro appeal to boast off. Differentiating the cruiser from the bigger Storm are the triple headlights, pillion backrest, leather saddle bags with 21-litres of storage capacity and a touring windscreen. The bike gets oodles of chrome with twin chrome exhausts that only add to the old school appeal of the motorcycle.
In terms of powertrain, the Thunderbird LT draws from the same 1699cc engine from the Storm that produces 94 PS of power at 5400 RPM and 151 Nm of torque at 3550 RPM, paired to a 6-speed gearbox. Suspension duties on the other hand are performed by 47 mm forks up front, while the rear gets twin shocks with 5-way preload adjustment, both coming from Showa. Furthermore, Triumph claims to equip the Thunderbird with the world’s first white walled tyres on a production motorcycle.
Stopping power on the Thunderbird LT comes from twin disc brakes at the front and a single disc brake setup at the rear, while ABS system is available as standard. The high performance cruiser also gets a classic analogue styled instrument console with a LCD MID unit, while the tank capacity has been restricted to 22-litres.
Set to launch next week, the Triumph Thunderbird LT will be competing against a bunch of Harley’s in the same space range, being a retro styled cruiser at a reasonable price range. The cruiser is most likely to be brought in as a CBU, and will thus attract a rather steep pricing courtesy of the import duties. The Thunderbird LT is expected to come with a price tag of around Rs. 13 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) when launched, and will be the 12th motorcycle to be a part of Triumph India’s lineup.
