Buying a superbike & reigning in a Storm. Review on Triumph Thunderbird Storm

Spoiler: This review  shares the experience of this buyer while shopping for a super-bike- more specifically the Cruiser Category( the forsaken lot) in India. It can be to an extent, referred to as a generic cruiser buying guide and eventually why I ended up with the Storm. The views are strictly mine & based on my own hands on experience.

Now India is hostile country as far as super bikes i.e. cruisers are concerned.  It’s Timbuktu to an Icelander! Sunset Boulevard to Honeybhai Boondiwalla. You get the idea!

A good number of folk, if not many, have gone fishing in those forbidden waters; Offering Self as bait. Some sank with a content smile & broken coffer. Those who returned were never the same again! They were the dogs that had seen the rainbow. They couldn’t share it with the other dogs, as dogs can’t view the full color spectrum(blame it on nature).  Oh but to gasp, drool and dream about that other dimension where no one worth his gonads asks Kitnaa deti hai? Ahem! boys will be boys. So will be their toys.

In general such bikes are like a white elephant- Not only are they expensive, everything associated with them is  premium- Be it documentation, maintenance, running and so on.

Adding to that bag of woes are extremely poor road conditions, psychotic traffic, holier than thou administration, So the first thing to consider is the "why" of buying a superbike?  Other than that, there's nothing really going for you. So its either long distance bike touring, city show off, or just owning it. The next question is what? Depending on your usage-

Long hauls- bigger is better with all the add ons.

City- May wish to compensate considering size and handling.

Own- Anything goes.

There's also the issue of decent ground clearance,  easy steering, stability, ABS, Disc brakes etc.

With a price range From 3 to 30 Lac and more, today  India flaunts a good number of major mobike brands that promise iconic status, stupendous power, style and crowd stopping presence. Korean(ahem), Japanese, European, US- they are all here. Take a hike ek liter assi kilometer. Night-rod nahin to kuch nahin.

At the low end of the spectrum there's Hysoung with some reasonable products- aquila 250/650 pro and the ST7.  They all look awesome. Very cruiser like( aquila 250) lots of Chrome.  Not bad for city rides. The ST7 reminds you of the Suzuki Intruder and looks fab. the 650 is a hybrid cruiser also manageable on city roads as well as long drives.  The 250 is value for money. The 650 pro is the better engineered product of the 3 and the ST 7 is the killer! All 3 bikes handle nicely as they are light and have easy steering. But  gears are knotty.   Good looking bikes but big questions on durability / resale value. For a Korean maker the prices are high. Quality in askance. Rust on engine casings, water seeping in light cases and chrome peeling off.If you could keep these very well maintained, then there's something in here for cruiser lovers.There was some news about US maker Commando and chinese maker Keystar with 250 cc cruiser bikes. Spartan looking bikes with a budget look. But seem okay machine wise. Not yet in India.

Suzuki has a winner with the intruder 900 & 1800. A cruiser with cult status and proven track record. 10-20 LAC for either bike. They look the same save the CC and some special things like DISC brakes on both wheels on the bigger intruder. A great bike that is let down by pathetic Suzuki showrooms in India. With smaller bikes selling like falling leaves, they don't seem keen to entertain a super bike customer.  If this is how it is with booking, imagine what happens with servicing! I couldn't figure things with Honda! Maybe the Honda Cruisers are elusive in India.

Taking on the Harleys: Loads of attitude.  They don't keep test models of bikes that generally sell! So its buying blind. With nearly all HD cruisers- all you get is an engine on a chassis and 2 wheels- most of the essentials like seats, gas tank lock cap,  footrests, grips etc etc are extra. The Street didn't impress as a  crusier. OK for those who wish to flaunt HD and do city riding. HD has cut corners on this one and its visible.  The superlow is a sad case- Not only handling is pathetic, you have to spend a lot to bring it to ridable standards. The Iron 883 is comfortable to handle. The 48 is a joke with its peanut tank, thread-bare seat and low fuel capacity- Needs a lot of add ons to be a bike of sorts!  Fat boy is good but same issues. It seems  HDs have another thing in common- fire them up and the whole thing rattles and wheezes as if coming apart.   HDs  with a few months on them showed a lot of oil/mobile leakage  from pipes.  The only HD I liked was the Night Rod-  Did not seem to have those issues. but not exactly a cruiser and yeah the price 28 and pushing. Whew!

Then I went Indian. I mean the brand- Iconic bikes, but whoa! who on earth will buy and maneuver these behemoths on our roads? And boy, INR is like tissue paper in this showroom! I had my eyes on the 1033cc Indian Scout- fantastic looking bike- Everything about it is premium. Handling was not cruiser like- this bike want’s to dart when you dump the clutch- it rockets forward! More like a racer. The handle also goes wobbly at low speeds.  Gotta be careful with those  heated double exhausts as you end up scorching your right leg frequently.You need to change the pipes to get a good sound- that’s nearly 90k… With very little this and that the price comes to 16.5 l. Too expensive a package. The Chief is around 30L. Classy looks classy price- Too heavy too large- Good God!

I had a notion- If you want a good bike go Europe side- and that brought me to Triumph- the legendary British bike maker. The only things that caught my attention was the Rocket and the Storm. I test drove both. Rocket is a rocket by all means. But off limits. So I focused on the 1699 CC Storm.  Threw it around it a few times- courtesy of the Triumph showroom here in Bangalore.The bike is big, has a mean and dangerous look about it,  a whopping crowd stopper( annoying really) & very heavy at 340 kilos dry, looks deeply menacing yet handles like a dream.  The build and finish is premium- no cutting around corners. This is actually visible in every inch of the machine.

Great design flow, Fat tyres, Low height, awesome CG distribution makes this monster unbelievably well balanced. Six blissfully Smooth gears. Finding the neutral is kid's work! Belt drive. DISC brakes on both wheels with ABS is wonderful! Stability, comfort & power seems to be the USP here.  Pulls smoothly even in high gear-low speed. When she rips she rips. Now these are the things that matter most. A 5 ft 7 inch guy like me can throw this around with ease(Well I’ve been taming bikes for last 28 yrs). There’s No wheezing or rattling like HD.  The Storm is a smooth comfortable vehicle.Start it and you are welcomed by a deep throated rumble from the Arrow shorts(23K extra unlike 88k in the Indian Scout)Traditional cruiser looks with less Chrome.

As a package the Storm comes with a good number of accessories included- a very comfy rider seat, pillion seat, foot-rests, forward controls, mirrors etc. .  And that adds up the value for money quotient when compared to Indian or HD.  2 yrs full warranty to boot! . It also comes with a 220km plus range- decent by any means.

About the cons- Plan your turns in advance- nothing fancy!. Parking slot maneuvering is a nightmare unless you know the tricks.  You can't move the bike without power! Riding- The heat from that huge engine toasts your legs within 15-20 minutes of biking(but that's with all such bikes). Spares and servicing is time consuming and expensive as usual but then that’s the norm with in this business  But at 17.6 all included in my case its definitely a better valued package compared to Fat boy or Scout. Not to mention a comfortable, safe and great machine to ride. A part of History too.

7 months of extensive research that started on 25th Dec 2014, talking with owners & technicians of different makes- in person and across the globe, test riding/ renting super bikes  eventually ended on Aug 14th when I put my hard earned dough on the Triumph Thunderbird Storm- I reigned in the Thunder and Storm. It may not be a logical buy when we consider our environment and of course this type of extravagance. - but what the hell- got one life to live- Had it for about 6 weeks- clocked 119 kms in city traffic so far.  Busy month you see. Going strong. Touche`