2012 Triumph Thunderbird on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Twin-Engined Triumph Rocket Streamliner To Challenge Motorcycle Land-Speed Record At Bonneville

The 1,000-horsepower Castrol Rocket is currently undergoing testing for its upcoming assault on the land speed record of 376.156 mph, set in 2010, by Rocky Robinson with the Ack Attack streamliner. The goal: a 400-mph-plus record-breaking run. The 25-foot long x 2-foot wide x 3-foot high streamliner was constructed in cooperation by Hot Rod Conspiracy and Carpenter Racing and will compete in the Division C (Streamlined) – Type V (5) Spark Ignition, Over 2,000cc to 3,000cc class. Powering the Rocket are two heavily modified Triumph Rocket III engines. Each Carpenter Racing built engine was reduced from 2,294cc to 1,485cc (2,970cc total) to meet the 3,000cc maximum total displacement class rule requirement. While piston size remains the same stock 4-inch bore, stroke was reduced from 3.75 inches to 2.4 inches and redline increased from 5,750 rpm to 9,000+ rpm. There’s also one Garrett GT2876R ball bearing, liquid-cooled turbocharger per engine.

A thing of beauty?

The weather was pretty good over the weekend and I managed to get 500 miles in and become better acquainted with the Speed Triple. I’m still running it in but as it’s reputation suggest the bike doesn’t disappoint. There are some noticeable differences over most other naked bikes I’ve ridden, you could call them quirks, but i'll talk about those in a week or so.

Triumph Reports 2011 Financial results

Triumph reported a 7% increase in unit sales and a 47.8% increase in operating profit for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011. According to Triumph, the British manufacturer sold 48,684 units over the year, a 7% increase from the 45,501 units sold the previous year. Operating income totaled 22.3 million pounds (US$35.0 million), a large jump from the operating income of 15.1 million pounds (US$23.7 million) reported last year thanks to a more efficient use of working capital and reduced costs.