Believe it or not, but “Thunderbird Commander” isn’t the name of a
cartoon puppet, it’s a macho, muscle cruiser. It was just unveiled at
EICMA, along with its sidekicks, the bookish 2014 Triumph Thunderbird LC and the Action Jackson 2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE.
The 2014 Triumph Thunderbird Commander
starts with the firm’s 1,600 cc, parallel-twin cruiser, adding dual
front headlamps, plunger-type forks (I think this is what they’re
called, if you’re wearing chaps while reading this and know better,
please correct me), forward foot controls and lower exhaust pipes.
Triumph states these modifications were designed to boost its macho-ness
by approximately 42 percent. Riding one while wearing a mustache will
boost that a further 5.2 percent. Each new Commander purchase will be
accompanied by a matching set of Union Jack y-fronts, one size fits all.
2014 Triumph Thunderbird LC
In contrast, the Thunderbird LC adds actual functionality in the form
a large, touring windscreen, leather panniers and a pillion backrest,
along with Harley-style triple headlamps. Each LC will come with a pack
of 500 convenient business card-size handouts explaining that no, your
bike isn’t a Harley and detailing the many interesting reasons why you
decided to buy something that isn’t. Each handout is printed with a
Union Jack flag and carries the licensed signature of Steve McQueen(TM).
2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE
Like other recent special edition Triumphs, the 2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE wears a red frame and black paint. No other upgrades are evident.
Can this new 2014 Zero SR
banish memories of bicycle brakes and no-name tires? Now with serious
acceleration, real motorcycle components and a genuinely useful range,
this new Zero SR promises to be a good motorcycle, not just an electric
one.
Accelerating to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds and topping out at 102
mph, this new 67 bhp Zero should be able to keep ahead of both city and
highway traffic. As stock ($16,995) Zero claims the 11.4 kWh SR has a 93
mile range in combined city and highway riding. Adding the optional
“Power Tank” takes capacity up to 14.2 kWh, which boosts that combined
range to 116 miles. Stick to city speeds and the Power Tank-equipped SR
can reach 171 miles. 2014 Zero SR electric motorcycle
In other good news, real motorcycle forks, 43mm in diameter, are
fitted for the first time. They’re adjustable for compression and
rebound damping. The remote reservoir shocks are fully adjustable, but
there’s no word on who makes either component.
Looking closely at the tires, we do see an actual brand name on them.
Unfortunately, that appears to be “IRC” and the model looks like “Road
Winner.” If so, then these are the same non-radial, bias ply items
fitted to the $3,999 Suzuki GW250. Still, that’s an actual motorcycle! 2014 Zero SR
Unlike arch-rival Brammo and its $16,995
Marzocchi/Sachs/Brembo-equipped and radial tire-fitted Empulse, the SR
does without a gearbox, shedding weight and boosting efficiency.
Using a standard 110v home outlet, recharging the stock SR will take
eight hours, while the Power Tank takes that up to 10 hours total. Those
numbers can drop as low as 1.5 hours if you can find a CHAdeMO quick
charge station. 2014 Zero SR
“You will also notice a much more refined look and feel to the entire
Zero product range as we’ve spent a great deal of time sweating the
details,” states Zero Marketing VP Scott Harden. “This is evident as
soon as you climb on board as our new cockpit layout and instrumentation
package offers increased utility, a sleeker look and more aerodynamic
integration with the headlight.”
Ninety years after the debut of the first SS100, the brand is returning with an all-new motorcycle modeled after it. The 2014 Brough Superior SS100
isn’t just retro styling though, its performance is thoroughly modern.
And it should be, because the company hopes to get close to $100,000 for
each one it sells.
The 1925 Brough Superior SS100
Advertised as, “The Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles,” the original SS100
was famous for its performance guarantee. Each model left the factory
having been ridden at over 100 mph by George Brough himself, hence the
name. T.E. Lawrence famously rode an SS100. In fact, that’s what he was
riding during his fatal crash in 1935.
The most obvious styling cue adapted from old to new is the
cylindrical fuel tank. But obvious inspiration is also seen in the
V-twin motor and its exhaust layout, as well as in the girder front
suspension.
2014 Brough Superior SS100
That’s not to say that the SS100 is a throwback. The 88-degree,
liquid-cooled, 997cc V-twin serves as a stressed member in the steel and
titanium trellis backbone frame and uses a horizontal-seal, semi-dry
crankcase. It can be tuned to deliver anywhere between 100 and 140 bhp
depending on customer specification, with the former presumably
sacrificing outright power for greater flexibility. Making 92 lb.-ft. of
torque, that flexibility should be generous.
Brough says that stressing the engine has helped keep weight down to a relatively light 395 lbs (dry).
Front and rear suspension is Ohlins monoshocks. The front girder is
designed to separate braking and steering forces and is constructed from
titanium triangles with aluminum-magnesium alloy legs. The swingarm is
made from the same alloy.
2014 Brough Superior SS100 stripped naked.
The brakes were spec’d because they somewhat resemble old timey
drums, but are in fact dual-discs clamped by radial calipers. The
Beringer system uses a static central brake pad, with calipers pushing
in from the outside. In addition to looking fancy, the arrangement is
said to help reduce unsprung weight.
That’s good, because Brough has curiously chosen to use 18-inch rims.
Doing so not only carries a weight penalty, but reduces tire choice.
2014 Brough Superior SS100
Brough Superior hopes to make 20 motorcycles a year, with deliveries
starting in 2014. Considerably fewer than the 69 bikes George Brough
rode to 100 mph in 1925.
2014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS1002014 Brough Superior SS100Originally posted in Rideapart.com
The most important new Harley-Davidson in living memory isn’t made in
Milwaukee, but instead at H-D’s new factory in Guragon, India.* And,
instead of targeting aging Baby Boomers in the West, it’s instead going
after young riders in developing markets in foreign countries. Can it
succeed? *Harley tells us, “Some of these bikes will be built in
India, but not all. For example, all bikes for North America will be
built — engine and whole bike — in our Kansas City plant.” Lacking
further information on where the parts come from, we remain skeptical.
Current staff consensus is that the U.S. market bikes are likely
assembled in Missouri from globally-sourced parts, largely originating
in India. We’ll get to the bottom of it.
These new bikes are the 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 and 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 500.
The 750 starts at $7,500 here in the U.S., while the 500 costs even
less, at $6,500. Those prices are lower than Harley’s current cheapest
model, the $8,399 Sportster Iron 883, if not as low as the latest crop
of super-affordable Japanese bikes. The Honda CB500F likely out-performs either Street in any objective measure of performance, but starts at just $5,500.
The 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 and 500 already have custom parts available. Picture here: custom wheels and air filter.
Unlike that Sportster, which has been around largely unchanged since
its introduction in 1957, these new Street models aren’t just
foreign-made, but liquid-cooled. The Motor Company is famously resistant
to cooling its engines with water. The V-Rod,
introduced in 2001, has met much consumer resistance thanks to its
Porsche-designed engine, futuristic styling and yes, its radiator. When
it launched its 2014 Touring Range this summer, there was no mention of
H2O in any official Harley literature, instead using the nebulous
“twin-cooled” nomenclature. Icing on the water-free cake was the absence
of any suggestion the radiators were there to improve emissions or
performance, with Harley instead saying twin-cooling was intended to,
“improve rider comfort.”
Initially, the odds appear to be stacked against these new Harleys.
Not only are they made somewhere that’s probably not America, but
they’re equipped with modern, liquid-cooled motors and priced at a
premium to the competition.
“If Harley can build a good bike outside of the U.S. that is well
priced, looks good, performs well and brings new riders into the market
they could be on to a winner,” says Harley owner, Harley book author and
RideApart contributor Tim Watson.
2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750
It’s those new riders that are going to be key. Currently Harley
dominates the U.S. market, making around 185,000 of the 452,000
motorcycles that were sold in the U.S. in 2012. Far fewer than the
273,000 bikes it sold here in 2006. Compare that total market volume to
India, which totals in excess of 10 million motorcycle sales year and
you can see why Harley is eager to explore new markets.
Currently, Harley sells around 2,000 motorcycles in India annually.
It hopes these new models will expand that to 10,000 in the next two to
three years. In addition to India and North America, Harley plans to
sell the Streets in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Very few details of the Street’s mechanical specification are being
divulged. Specs simply aren’t an area where Harleys traditionally excel.
The official spec page lists 749 and 594 cc capacities, six-speed
transmissions and 480 lbs (wet) weights for both bikes. While it remains
a good deal behind that CB500F’s 420 lbs (wet), the Streets are
considerably lighter than the next lightest model in the HD stable; the
Iron 883 weighs in at a staggering 562 lbs (wet).
Black-on-black-on-black-on-black
may look good in person, but man does it make the 2014 Harley-Davidson
Street 750 hard to see in photos
The rest of the Street spec list
is a mix of honestly good parts, sprinkled with the odd disappointment.
Front wheels are a conventional 17-inches in size, promising a wide
selection of affordable tires, but front brakes are gripped only by
single-piston calipers. Mid-mount footpegs promise good control and the
four-valve per-cylinder heads suggest good power, but no horsepower or
torque figures have been released and suspension is only listed as
“specially tuned.”
Of course, Harley’s don’t sell on objective measures of performance,
they sell on image and there, surprisingly, the Streets excel. They
don’t look cheap, they don’t look small, they don’t look plastic. The
tank and fenders are made from metal, the engines look impressively
masculine despite their middling capacity and, judging by the video,
they even sound suitably robust.
2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750
“It looks great, sounds great, it’s a Harley, and it’s priced right,”
described Harley COO Matt Levatich a few weeks ago. Will that be enough
to create a new generation of Harley riders?
