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Triumph Motorcycles

Triumph Motorcycles hampir pasti melancarkan Trident 2021 apabila jentera itu kini memasuki ujian fasa akhir.

Kali pertama didedahkan pada Ogos lalu menerusi prototaip dengan rupa serba putih, kali ini Triumph bertindak mendedahkan jentera itu dalam bentuk pra-produksi.

Memakaikan livery ‘camo’ yang memaparkan lencana syarikat itu, imej baharu ini menampakkan Trident 2021 dalam keadaan yang sangat jelas.

Model ini tampak sama seperti prototaip sebelum ini namun menawarkan fungsi sepenuhnya sebagai sebuah motosikal.

Antara ciri jelas kelihatan adalah cermin sisi, lampu isyarat (kiri dan kanan), tempat letak nombor plat jenis tyre hugger dan penggunaan fork depan dari Showa.

Meskipun Trident ini tidak lah mengikut acuan sama seperti model terdahulu namun beberapa ciri ikonik masih lagi dikekalkan antaranya lampu depan dan paparan meter berbentuk bulat.

Menariknya, Triumph melabelkan Trident ini sebagai jentera ‘entry-level’ dengan harga kompetitif dalam usaha meluaskan portfolio jenama itu ke semua peringkat pembeli.

Menurut Triumph, Trident 2021 kini telah pun menjalani ujian terakhir di kilang Hinckley, United Kingdom dan maklumat lebih terperinci mengenai jentera ini akan didedahkan dalam masa terdekat.

It’s been over 20 years since we last heard about the Triumph Trident and in 2021, there will be a new model and it will be as good as it sounds. Making its maiden launch way back in 1968, the 2021 Triumph Trident is set for a proper comeback to bring in some heat in the middleweight roadster segment. (more…)

Looks like the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone hard, including Triumph Motorcycles. According to a recent report posted by MCN, around 400 employees across the globe will be laid off due to sharp downfall of demands for large-capacity bikes, not just Triumph but all manufacturers overall. (more…)

The upcoming 25th James Bond movie, No Time To Die, will feature the first baby of the official partnership between EON Productions and Triumph Motorcycles in the form of the super sexy 2020 Triumph Scrambler 1200 Bond Edition. (more…)

As expected when the National Highway Traffic and Safety Association (NHTSA) posted up a recall for the very rare Ducati 1299 Superleggera, the same element of recall has now been made for over 3,600 Triumph motorcycles in the US. The culprit? A rough batch of brake pads produced by Triumph’s brake supplier, Brembo. (more…)

Triumph Motorcycles Malaysia just dazzled everyone at the Triumph Muscle Mania event with the launch of the 2020 Triumph Thruxton RS, Rocket 3 R, and Rocket 3 GT. Then they decided to blow off the roof by unveiling their latest dual-purpose machine, the 2020 Triumph Tiger 900 range. (more…)

Kalau bercakap tentang Triumph Rocket 3, fokus utama sudah pastinya mengenai enjin 2.5L tiga silinder yang duduk dicelah kaki kiri dan kanan penunggang.

Atas kertas, motosikal tersebut mampu merekodkan 0-100km/j dalam masa 3.2 saat tetapi keputusan mengejutkan berlaku ketika acara korporat Triumph baru-baru ini.

Triumph Rocket tersebut merekodkan 0-100km/j dalam masa 2.73 saat! Tak percaya? Kami ada bukti menerusi video dibawah:

Bagi sebuah jentera yang mempunyai berat sekitar 362 kilogram, catatan itu sangat mengagumkan meskipun enjin besar tersebut menghasilkan 165hp dan 220Nm – bersamaan dengan tork yang ditawarkan Honda Civic 1.5 TC-P.

Secara asasnya, Rocket 3 merupakan motosikal jenis sport cruiser tetapi dengan kelajuan yang mampu dicapai terbuktinya jentera ini bukanlah cruiser biasa.

Triumph Rocket 3 akan mendarat di Malaysia hujung minggu ini, nantikan laporan kami di MotoMalaya.net!

Jangan lupa ikuti kami di YouTube dan Instagram!

VIDEO HARI INI

If you’re looking for huge power and big size, the latest 2020 Triumph Rocket 3 might just be the ultimate production motorcycle thanks to its 2,500cc inline three-cylinder engine (which happens to be the world’s biggest production motorcycle engine at the moment). (more…)

Triumph Motorcycles has announced that they will be moving all of their volume production models to be manufactured in their Thailand factories. With more focus on R&D at their UK headquarters, the Thai production line will be taking most of the bulk of the manufacturing process while their Hinckley factory numbers will be dropped to around 4,500 units annually. (more…)

The folks from Triumph Motorcycles has unveiled the 2020 Triumph Street Triple R, their latest 765cc streetfighter that combines the brand’s aggressive styling, amazing Euro 5 compliant firepower, and ‘in your face’ attitude all within a comfortably affordable price package. (more…)

The 2020 Triumph Tiger 900 finally breaks cover after all of the details are finally made public in their official global website. The updated ADV offering comes in three different basic variants, the base Tiger 900, Tiger 900 GT for all you long-hauliers, and the off-road conquering Tiger 900 Rally. (more…)

  • Triumph Motorcycles Malaysia organised a paddock walkabout to witness Moto2 operations during the 2019 Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix.

  • It’s in conjunction with Triumph’s role as exclusive engine supplier.

  • Moto2 operations is hectic yet a little bit more laid back compared to MotoGP.

Triumph Motorcycles Malaysia organised a paddock walkabout to witness Moto2 operations during the 2019 Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix.

As many are aware now, Triumph is the official engine supplier to the Moto2 championship. Unlike Moto3 and MotoGP classes, all Moto2 teams use the same engine, albeit different frames. This is why we see outfits such as Kalex and Speed Up — they build the frames around the engine. Similarly, manufacturers such as KTM and MV Agusta build their own frames around the Triumph engine.

Dorna Sports and the FIM wanted to build a series based on a single engine to emphasise rider skill, resulting in close racing.

The Engine

Triumph’s three-cylinder 765cc engine (based on the Street Triple RS) produces lots more torque and linear power band compared to the previous Honda CBR600RR-based inline-Four engine. Whereas the inline-Four needed to be kept within a narrow powerband, riders can utilise the triple’s power and torque almost anywhere in the powerband.

Having a narrow powerband forces riders to take one specific line around corners, making overtaking a risky affair. Besides that, a rider could not catch back up when he made a mistake. Consequently, racing was spread out.

Conversely, a linear powerband means that riders could choose different lines — especially when overtaking — and still have the grunt to accelerate. Consequently, riders aren’t afraid to overtake, resulting in close racing.

Having more grunt off the corners, especially the slow ones will results in higher speeds down the straights, contributing to faster lap times.

Lap Records

Alex Marquez in the 2019 Malaysian GP – Photo credit MotoGP.com

The Moto2 class has seen some phenomenal lap times and top speeds since the Triumph engine was introduced. Lap times and fastest top speed records tumbled all season long. 

Mugello saw a Moto2 bike hit 300 km/h for the first time the series was introduced in 2010. But by FP3 at the Sepang International Circuit, four riders went faster than 300 km/h.

The Moto2 teams had just completed FP3 when we visited the paddock. David Dew, Triumph’s PR guy showed us the lap time printouts. We were shocked. The top four riders were under the 2018 all time lap record of 2:05.629 set by Alex Marquez. Brad Binder smashed the old record with a time of 2:04.769 which was almost a whole second faster. And it’s not even qualifying yet!

Alex Marquez would go on to capture pole position with a time of 2:05.244. In the race, he put in the fastest lap of 2:05.860 on Lap 2, breaking Miguel Oliveira’s 2017 record of 2:06.952. That’s nearly 1.1 seconds faster.

1 second may not sound much of a big deal to the layman but consider this: Competitors from 1st to 15th were covered by 1 second in qualifying.

Speed Up Paddock Visit

Only five persons were allowed to visit the pit in each session. It may be a carnival to fans but each MotoGP round is work time for the teams.

I had picked the afternoon session after lunch and was joined by four others who were Triumph owners. Such a paddock walkabout programme is great them as it adds immeasurable value and experience to their ownership.

 

It was a new experience for me, as well, because this was the first time I’ve visited and seen Moto2 operations up close although I’ve covered MotoGP continuously for the past five years. Whereas MotoGP teams are stationed in the main paddock building, Moto2 and Moto3 teams are sequestered in either the South Paddock or tents. Besides that, no Moto2 team had ever provided passes to visit them, compared to those in MotoGP.

 

Our first stop was the Beta Tools Speed Up garage.

The team was readying the bikes for qualifying. One bike was all dressed up and ready to go and were allowed to shoot photographs of it. 

 

As Moto2 teams run only one bike per rider, there wasn’t many bike components lying about, except for a few pieces of bodywork placed on top of a shelf.

 

Instead there were rows of tyres wrapped in warmers. We could feel the heat from half a metre away, since they’re kept at around 90 degree Celsius. There were tags on the warmers showing the state of each tyre i.e. how laps it’s gone through or if it’s new, etc. The wet weather tyres at the bottom rack weren’t wrapped in warmers.

 

It was also apparent that all Moto2 bikes use steel brake discs rather than carbon. Dorna Sports wanted to keep racing costs down to allow more teams to join the series.

Dunlop Paddock

Dunlop is the exclusive tyre supplier to the Moto2 and Moto3 championships.

The first thing we saw were racks of tyres being cooled by industrial fans. The tyres were delivered in four shipping containers months before and were now being aired out.

There were multiple work benches here complete with hydraulic tyre removers.

David showed us a rear tyre. The largest size was 180 when the series began but it’s grown to 200/75-R17 now. The higher aspect ratio allows the crown of the tyre to wrap around in a smoother fashion, giving a wider contact patch.

Each new tyre was barcoded and earmarked for individual teams. The teams will push in the racks we saw in the Speed Up garage and the Dunlop crew will fill them up with tyres mounted on wheels and inflated to the correct tyre pressures.

Used tyres were stacked in a large pile before being shipped back to headquarters. There, each tyre’s bead (the part which attaches the tyre to the wheel) will be cut out, rendering it useless for vehicle use. They are then recycled for children’s playgrounds.

Track Side

A visit to Extern Pro was planned but was unfortunately cancelled as Q1 had begun by the time we finished our visit to Dunlop. Extern Pro is the party responsible in modifying the 765cc street engine to race spec, and maintaining them afterwards.

We were brought to the area just next to the main paddock building. Here, one can see bikes going past on their pit lane speed limiter, sounding like the pod racers from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. They disengaged the limiter after crossing the pit lane exit and slammed open the throttle, serenading us with a warble and roar very much different to an inline-Four’s howl.

David then bade us goodbye after an eye-opening experience for everyone, this hack included. Prior to that, he said that he hopes such paddock walkabouts will continue in the future and might be expended to all tracks in the GP calendar.

So, get your Triumph and get ready for next year’s event!

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