Top 10 Triumph Motorcycles (Best Of)

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‍Top 10 Triumph Motorcycles

Triumph Motorcycles Ltd was founded in 1885 under the name Triumph Engineering Co Ltd and became one of the world's major motorcycle manufacturers. Since its founding, the company has made more than 130 different models of bikes, and in 2021, Triumph sold over 78,000 bikes worldwide. In this segment, we'll introduce some of the company's best bikes ever, divided into the following categories:

Roadsters and Sport Motorcycles
Modern Classics
Café Racers
Scrambler Motorcycles
Cruisers
Adventure Bikes

Our choice of top 10 Triumph motorcycles will include bikes from the aforementioned categories, listed in the specific order in which they were mentioned. So, without further ado, let's start with the top Triumph Roadster and Sports bike:

Speed Triple

The Speed Triple bike falls in Triumph's Roadsters and Sports Motorcycles category. Its design draws inspiration from the company's Speed Twin from the 1930s, and it quickly rose to fame after its initial release in 1994. The bike was built on a carbureted Triumph Triple engine platform with an 885cc displacement, but it underwent several changes, which resulted in a more powerful 1,050cc beast we know today.

Regardless of the year, the Speed Triple is a light, agile, and powerful naked bike that outputs a road-devouring 147hp and 86lbs-ft of torque. Of course, the Street Triple also has aesthetics that match the incredible power produced by its internals and features a stunning TFT display, several riding modes, traction control, and ever Cornering ABS.

It features two distinct models, the Speed Triple S and Speed Triple RS, currently priced between $14,000-$15,000. With that said, for an additional $4,000, you can opt for a model with a 1,160cc displacement because you can never have too much power.

Model

Speed Triple,
Speed Triple RS,
Speed Triple 1200 RS

Base Price

$14,500
($18,500 for 1200 RS)

Street Triple

The younger sibling of Speed Triple, which gained legions of fans, by the way, the Street Triple is basically the same version of a lighter and smaller bike. Released in 2006 and dubbed the "baby Speed Triple," the Street Triple is widely regarded as one of the best middleweight bikes on the current market. It has the same styling as its older brother but a smaller displacement of 675cc, which outputs approx. 58lbs-ft of torque.

It's a capable and fun bike to ride, and even with a smaller displacement, and subsequently lower power output, the Street Triple is a very, very agile bike — predominantly due to its weight and its big brother's powertrain. This combination, paired with additional features like a TFT display, several riding modes, traction control, and ABS, make the Street Triple just as popular as the larger Speed Triple bike.

Models

Street Triple R
Street Triple RS

Base Price

$11,000
$13,000 (RS model)

Rocket 3

To be entirely honest, Rocket 3 fits several categories, from classic Roadsters to Power Cruisers, due to a wide variety of its guises. This gargantuan bike was released in 2004 as part of Triumph's attempt to create the ultimate cruiser for the American market, which managed to produce a massive bike with an engine that's larger than the one found in an average car. In fact, its 2,500cc three-cylinder motor is the world's largest bike engine ever made.

The bike is capable of outputting 165 horses and 163lbs-ft, which only attests to its name — give the throttle a bit of a twist, and you'll find out why it's named Rocket. Admittedly, the bike never became a commercial success but has gained a cult following due to its massive size and car-like engine that's bound to command attention wherever it turns up.

Models

Rocket 3 R
Rocket 3 R Black
Rocket 3 GT
Rocket 3 GT Triple Black

Base Price

$22,550

Bonneville T100

We finally transition to the modern classics, and what better bike to introduce the category than the Bonneville T100 — a modern iteration of the iconic Triumph T100 from 1959. This particular model beautifully incorporates Bonneville's recognizable fuel tank, paired with a two-tone paint job and wire-spoked wheels. At its heart beats a liquid-cooled parallel-twin 900cc engine, which is a significant improvement over the previous iterations of both Bonneville and Triumph — which had air-cooled engines.

The new engine outputs 64hp and 59lbs-ft of torque, which makes the Bonneville T100 a perfect bike for commuting and longer weekend stretches. If you pair the bike with a good set of Adventure-type tires aimed at off-road riding, the Bonneville T100 becomes a really fun light-off-road bike — best used for thriving through muddy terrain. Additional features include several ride modes, LED lights, a USB charging port, throttle-by-wire, ABS, heated handgrips, and traction control.

Models

Bonneville T100

Base Price

$10,500

Bonneville T120

The original T120 was produced from 1959 to 1975 and was actually the very first model of the iconic Bonneville series. It was discontinued in 1975 in favor of the larger T140, which ran on a 750cc engine. Luckily, following Triumph's restructuring, the company decided to revive the entire series in 2016 on a new machine running with updated specs. Thus, the Bonneville T100 and T120 returned to production.

The original bike, which was actually used as a model for Sirius Black's motorbike in the first Harry Potter film, used a 650cc parallel-twin based on the Triumph Tiger T110. However, the newer version of the bake runs on a much heavier displacement and features a 1,200cc parallel-twin engine. It's capable of outputting 77lbsft of torque and comes equipped with all the goodies one would expect to find on a modern bike.

These include ABS, daytime running lights (mandatory in EU), traction control, several riding modes, and throttle-by-wire. On top of that, Triumph offers additional 116 accessories that allow you to customize this British icon. There are several distinct models of Bonneville T120, ranging in price from $12,000 to $13,500.

Models

Bonneville T120
Bonneville T120 Black
Bonneville T120 Gold Line
Bonneville T120 Black Gold Line

Base Price

$12,000-$13,500

Thruxton

The name Thruxton was first applied to the Thruxton Bonneville; a limited-edition production-class racer Triumph had hand-built in 1965 for the sole purpose of endurance racing on Thruxton 500-mile circuits. That particular bike never entered the commercial market, considering that Triumph built just several units for the purpose of racing.

However, in 2004 Triumph had adopted the Thruxton name for the Thruxton 900, an air-cooled derivative of Boneville, and equipped the bike with all the hallmarks of café racer modifications, including rear footrests, small flyscreen, analog instruments, and a reverse-cone exhaust silencer. The beating heart underneath this retro exterior was an 865cc twin-cylinder powerhouse on an engine.

Then 2026 came, and with the reveal of the new Bonneville, Triumph also released the Thruxton 1200, a 1,200cc water-cooled café racer that weighed nearly the same as the 900cc variant but offered 42% more power — more specifically, it could output 97hp an 83-lbs-ft of torque. Additional equipment included the ABS, traction control, sport, road, and rain riding modes, ride-by-wire throttles, and unparalleled aesthetics in the Café Racers category of bikes.

Models

Thruxton RS
Thruxton 900 (discontinued)

Base Price

$17,000

Scrambler/Street Scrambler

Triumph's off-roaders were the must-haves of the '60s, and even some of the celebrities of that era, like Steve McQueen, bought and rode a Triumph bike. In 2006, the company released the Scrambler as a derivative of their air-cooled Bonneville, which later received a water-cooled engine and became the Street Twin, so the appearance of an off-road variant was just a matter of time.

The Street Scrambler debuted in 2017, and it was based on the Street Twin platform, with some added off-road components to create an urban adventurer. Based on the 865cc Bonneville, the new Scrambler 900 features a 900cc parallel-twin engine (brought up to Euro 5 emission standards) that delivers 64 horsepower at 7,250rpm and plenty of new equipment. Not bad for an $11,000 bike.

The bike features a 19/17-inch wheel configuration, wide handlebars, interchangeable pillion seats, and removable pillion pegs. It was mainly designed as a road-biased adventure bike, but equipped with some aggressive off-road tires; it instantly becomes a beast capable of overcoming all off-road obstacles. Of course, Triumph also launched the Scrambler 1200, a Scrambler with 1,200cc displacement, fully adjustable suspension, various riding modes, and plenty of other features.

Models

Street Scrambler
Street Scrambler Sandstorm
Scrambler 1200 XC
Scrambler 1200 XE

Base Price

$11,000 (Street Scrambler)
$14,000 (Scrambler 1200)

Speedmaster

Triumph Speedmaster is what happens when you turn a Bonneville into a cruised bike — it launched in 2003 as a "factory custom" cruiser based on the Bonneville model. The original model had the 790cc displacement engine with an extended 65-inch wheelbase. In 2005 the displacement was increased to 865cc, followed by another upgrade in 2017, which increased the displacement to 1,200cc.

The new 1,200cc parallel-twin engine develops 77hp and 78lbs-ft of torque and produces a throaty burble rather than the conventional V-twin rumble these engines are known for. The parallel-twin setup used here has a notable benefit over V-twin engines, in terms of heat management, due to the placement of the cylinder, which is now more than a foot away from the rider.

Riders will appreciate the relaxed riding ergonomics of the Speedmaster, which include forward footpegs, swept-back beach bars, and comfy, well-padded, and low-seat pillion seating, all while enjoying a unique cruiser experience with a traditional fine appearance and an original and genuine cruiser sensation. The most recent model of the bike has several riding modes, OT cruise control, ABS, traction control, LED lights with daytime running light, twin front disc brakes, and ride-by-wire throttle.

Models

Speedmaster

Base Price

$13,500

Bonneville Bobber

People usually comment on Bonneville Bobber, saying that it's a stripped-down cruiser mode akin to a custom bike rather than being a production motorcycle — and they're right. A bobber or a "bob-job" from the 1930s is a style of custom motorcycle, which included stripping down excess bodywork, removing the front fender, and shortening the rear, which is then considered "bobbed." In addition, all superfluous parts of the bike are removed to reduce weight.

This style inspired Triumph to take the Speedmaster, strip some of its bodywork and parts down, and make the Bonneville Bobber equipped with a now-iconic, adjustable floating single saddle that can be moved forward or backward and tilted higher or lower. Another distinction is that the engine was detuned for less horsepower in favor of higher torque at lower rpms. There's also that handsome slack cut exhaust pipe instead of a traditional peashooter style found on T120.

This is a truly modern bike with classic roots, and despite the fact that it's stripped, the Bobber is super-equipped and packed with quality-of-life features, like OT cruise control, torque-assist clutch, LED lighting with daytime light, traction control, several riding modes, and switchable ABS.

Furthermore, the company also introduced a limited-edition version of the Bobber, with only 750 of these bikes produced. These had statement seats, Union Jack treatment on the fuel tank, a brushed stainless steel exhaust system, and a retuned engine that outputs 85hp and 81lbs-ft of torque.

Models

Bonneville Bobber
Bonneville Bobber Gold Line Edition

Base Price

$13,500
$14,500 (Gold Line Edition)

Tiger Explorer

Tiger Explorer went into production in 2012 as the flagship of the Tiger series. It's the brand's ultimate embodiment of what an adventure tourer bike should be. Triumph specifically made this bike to compete against the BMW 1200GS Adventure, which explains the Tiger Explorer's unique 1,215cc three-cylinder engine paired with a shaft drive outputting 139hp and 89lbs-ft of torque.

Spec-wise it hasn't changed since its initial release, but the Tiger Explorer saw a number of upgrades to its accessories and additional equipment and electronics — the latter of which granted marginal performance enhancements.

After the 2016 upgrade, the bike now features Shift Assist, adjustable suspension, cruise control, six riding modes, keyless ignition, and plenty of other features that increase the quality and comfort of the ride. It's also worth mentioning that the bike is highly customizable, and Triumph offers a wide variety of different packages to further personalize the bike according to the rider's specs/preferences.