Fragula
Reviewed: 20 May 2008
CAFF RACER IN A TIN, DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN.
A nice high-compression engine with big carbs lifts the potential performance nicely, though the restrictive exhaust and air filter/jet setup limits what you will get without spending another £400 on cans/filter/jets.
Frame is nice and solid at all times, with sharp handling around town gyroing up nicely to hold lines at speed. Percieved "twitchiness" at very low speed is quickly adjusted to. May benefit from a gentle bit of steering damping.
Front brake is amazing. Combined with the long wheelbase/height ratio, it can stop the bike frighteningly fast. If you brake too hard, your pillion WILL go up over your back.
So what amounts to just few quid more over a standard Bonnie gives you a lot more go/stop/cornering. Looks great, feels great. Gives the odd brightly-coloured "superbike" poser a nasty suprise on occasoin too.
This is where the rev limiter (at around 8500 revs) is fun.. Just "dime" the throttle with impunity and use the clutch as a torque convertor.. BONUS! :-D Off the mark, its a legend, though keeping the front wheel on the floor is hard work, and this is not a bike to wheelie on!
SAIS causes exhaust headers to discolour in only a few miles. It is easy remove, and you can get at your spark plugs then!
Rear brake pad area too small but stops ok with sintered metal pads, wears pads very quiickly though. and gas tendancy to sieze pistons, accelerating wear, due to caliper being a great dirt catcher in the underslung location, would have been better to have larger rear disk and perhaps the caliper mounted above the swing arm, though less "retro" looking. A decent drum, but keeping the hydaulics, would have been nice.
Tip: Don't experiment with Kevlar pads. I have, and they are not really up to the job. Stick with sintered metal, the "feel" on the Thruccie is fine.
The front brake is phenomenaly good. And that's where 80% of the action is anyway.
Poor plating on small parts, (replace with carfuily greased 316 stainless cap screws).
Rubber retainers, i.e. for battery/alarm/indicator/starter servo etc. under tank/seat/panels is appalling - rots within months. Replace with wire or reusable cable ties..
Tends to squirm disconcertingly on paint/tar lines with stock Metzlers. Replaced with Michelin Pilot Actives.
Carbs are picky, but good when warm. I would have preferred old-school slide carbs to the CV units fitted. Some people like them, though I think its all down to technique, or lack thereof, myself.
In-tank Fuel filter is a farce!, remove and replace with decent external in-line filter.
Laquerwork on engine side casings and headlight brackets tends to delaminate and water ingress cause corrosion quickly. This would not be a problem for a Sunny Sunday Rider who kept is bike in the garage for 6 days a week. Mine is ridden 7 days a week in all weather all year, and is kept out in the cold and rain.
Standard exhaust and air filter feel very restrictive, exhaust sounds "quiet farty" (like most modern bikes) and I suspect the ignition advance curve to be fairly conservative too.-)
In South Wales, Official Dealer seems have a phenomenal disinterest in any issues you may have.
Triumph, while still building mostly-great bikes, are pitching themselves to the lifestyle (i.e yuppie sunday) biker, and give the impression that they are going for fashion statements and pose value rather than decent biker values of engineering and commitment. Things could go downhill fast from here. They may not. Who knows.
I love it. Its great. Sure it has faults, but its capable of anything from commuting through city centre traffic daily, touring (with the additoin of a rack and tank bag) 2 up, It can cruise at very-illegal-anywhere speeds all day and night, snarl and spit (quierly) around the back streets and lanes at 3am, and definitely attracts girls as well as it repels wives.
Gorravit!
It's true I swear.. I was gonna buy a 500T when i saw it.
She said "do whatever the **** you want, so I took her at he word. Why not???
Then a few months later she asked whether I loved the bike more than her. Oops.
Then it was "The bike goes or I do"., and I'm now single. :-D
