2015 Triumph Thunderbird Commander - 1st Ride & Review 

Dave McKenzie Praise indeed! And pretty much answers the question about which to buy that someone else just asked. Thanks for the input! :-) And thanks for watching.

Me too, I found my Rocket 2 a bit clumsy handling. Ended up trading it for the Storm. Best bike yet.

@@tms372 Done the same, Had a R3 Roadster which was nice, I always hesitated between it and the Storm, took the rocket because of the price. Owned it 3 years then found a way to test a Storm, fell in love with and took the Storm instead. ;)

Never enough garage space! Thank you and thanks for watching!

It#s an excellent bike... I hope that that came across...

***** Wow! That's a long time! I think that you'll be impressed. They are different and you might feel that they have less soul being a parallel twin as they don't have that same vibration, but life is all about trying different things so good luck and thanks for watching! :-)

Captain Rambunctious Thanks Captain!

kpb96m Excellent. Thank you for the advice. So far the Storm seat is ok because it is the special edition NightStorm one, but have yet to ride for more than 60 miles in one go as yet... Cheers! :-)

+David Lythgoe Thank you! Excellent purchase. I owned the Storm for 3 months and loved it! :-)

Rising Cookie I have asked about your particular stature and am awaiting a reply, although I'd have thought that the footboards would be easier for you. You can't move the pegs on the Rocket but yo can on the Storm, certainly move them a bit closer but also swap them out for footboards. As to getting along with it, there are plenty of people of diminutive size who ride cruisers, it's just a matter of doing some research, which is exactly what you are doing! :-) I'll let you know of more information as and when I get it. Many thanks for watching and for the question! :-)

Captain Rambunctious Good day Captain. Thank you for your prompt response. Truthfully, I had no intention of having a pair of floorboards since they reduce the lean angle on cruisers even further, albeit in exchange for comfort. I will be getting my first bike sometime around 2017 and as such accessibility and ease of use are two top priorities. I have been lusting after the Storm but it definitely won't be the first one. I do wonder if the cafe racer style bikes/bobbers would be more suitable for a beginner given their nimbleness and mass. With that in mind I would be grateful if you could inform me of your choices of bikes for beginner riders. Lastly, I chuckled hard at "diminutive"; it's bee a while since I felt like a garden gnome, haha!

Rising Cookie Ah, my wife who is 5' says that that is the polite way of putting it! :-) Having spoken to my Triumph dealer, they couldn't see why your size would stop you from riding any of their cruisers, although the Rocket would be a handful with a stretch for the handlebars when turning a long way... He mentioned that the Speedmaster would not only be the better start for the new rider, but also an excellent cruiser and also a good manageable size! ;-)

Captain Rambunctious Thank you yet again, Capt. R. Your response encapsulates the scope of query perfectly. I have been looking into the Kawasaki Vulcan S as it fits my criteria well. And now, I shall include the Speedmaster as well. I have, however, read some unflattering reviews of Speedmaster, one claiming it to be somewhat underpowered for what it is. But, a more practical issue at hand, as aforementioned, is availability and serviceability of Triumph bikes in Newfoundland, Canada (at the moment). With regards to your wife's assertion, I do concur (but I still am picturing a gnome). Might I ask what is your height and inseam as well whether both of your feet are planted fully on ground at traffic stops? Lastly (off topic): Is there a requisite minimum height to qualify for commercial pilot's program in UK?

Rising Cookie To answer your last question first, I don't think that there is as long as you can reach the pedals as all seats are adjustable in all azimuths. I'd say that maybe 5' is a practical minimum although that is pure speculation. I am 6'1" with a 32" inseam and yes, my feet are easily planted flat at stops on the cruisers. Flat on the Thruxton but not quite on a Tiger (the higher adventure styles)... You'll probably just have to ask to ride a friend's cruiser in the area once you have passed your test to get a good feel for the bikes... I hope that his has helped...

Bruce Burns it’s a very good point. You can get belt conversion kits after market for the older chain driven air cooled engines, so I’m sure that there will be someone doing them For the newer bikes... Thanks for the comment! Good one! Sorry I couldn’t have been more help.

WEGGY zx12r I'd get this with pegs. But if it were any of the cruisers, it would be the Thunderbird Storm. Bit more power than this and a nicer seating position for me... I think that the Rocket is just a bit too heavy for what I want as I will still want to ride twisties with my friends, and I'd feel more comfortable on a Thunderbird than the Rocket doing that...

Cowboy Bob I love them. Bigger than the small bar end mirrors I had on my Street Triple. I like the black tear drop ones and they are what I would get if I bought a Thunderbird Storm. I prefer the look to the oval ones as well, but this is purely a subjective and personal reason! :-)

Captain Rambunctious Awesome. I love the look of them too. My local shop hasn't had any bikes with them lately so I haven't been able to check them out myself. I too want black tear drops on a Thunderbird Storm.

Skeggy Cruiser No problem! Thanks! Agree with all your points, although the soft tail / hard tail look is very cool. I'm really amazed by the fuel consumption too, but can't imagine it's that good when I'm riding it! :-) With regards to looking slimmer on a fatter bike, just keep wearing those Aldi under clothes...! Looking forward to what you think of my Rocket III vid I just published as well! :-)

cliffy amo Tally Ho indeed Cliffy! :-) It's just the way I am... Probably born at the wrong time, but still rather enjoying myself all the same! Thanks for watching and thanks for the sub!

james foy No problem! I'll try! :-)

Thanks Laurence! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! :-)

@@CaptainRambunctious You're more than welcome. Always I delight to watch your reviews sir "don't you know" 👍😁

Paul Gregroy No problem Paul! Thanks for the input and for watching! :-) Lovely bike, yes, but it isn't the Storm. :-)

***** Yup! :-) Great minds think alike! ;-)

+Quagmire88 Ha ha! Brilliant! I wish I'd have thought of that! Well done! :-)

@@NiallDempsey-z5c excellent question. The Speedmaster every time. Same feel in performance but a lot lighter and a lot better handling…. I wouldn’t say no to either of ocurse

@@CaptainRambunctious I thought you might choose the speedmaster..I feel it's my choice aswell and thanks for the quick reply tally bally hoe!

@@NiallDempsey-z5c no problem Niall! It’s just a much more modern design and better for it!

Bigsmokeandthemonster It's a parallel twin. In fact, the largest production parallel twin in the world, although Harley make a bigger V Twin. The parallel twin has a balance shaft which really works to alleviate 'most' vibrations. You still get some around the 3,000 rpm mark, but you only notice it if you are looking for it! :-) Wonderful engines. I think the 6th gear is there purely for better fuel consumption on motorways though... It's not really needed, but at least it means slightly closer gear ratios overall meaning more oomph! :-)

Captain Rambunctious And the largest production V-twin is a Kawasaki. 2000cc.

John Mård Wow! My, what a bigun!

Bigun? What's that? Something from India, perhaps? ;-)

Ah, they are Triumph gloves from a few years ago. Discontinued I'm afraid... You CAN find them on some sites, and then when you go to pay, they say out of stock... I've been looking for another pair myself, as mine are starting to crack a bit and look tired, but to no avail. Triumph have released some new Union Flag gloves but they are a different design with longer cuffs, so aren't quite the same... But there are some out there I'm sure... Thanks for watching and for the comment! :-)

Yes indeed! I owned the storm, didn't fancy the blacked out pipes of the night storm though due to cleaning issues and grease etc, but got them to put the better seat from the night storm onto my normal storm... :-))

@@CaptainRambunctious Yup me too. The Night storm seat is a bit thicker too. Also added the Night Storm blacked out handle bars, mirrors and engine/belt cover. To bad there were only 100 Night Storms released in North America, including Canada. Looked for a Night Storm for a year without luck. Ended up with a black Storm.

***** Dirty birds are the fastest! ;-) All good points, especially about the pipes / luggage... Hadn't really considered that. Thanks for watching!

I’m not sure but I don’t think so. It’s worth asking a dealer though…

I’ll also check with some of the Facebook groups I’m in…

Phil480 I know that you can get a round headlight for it. I prefer the twin purely as that is a feature that I like. Maybe it's because I had them on my Street Triple? Anyway, thanks for watching as usual! :-)

GTs Garage Makes it look heavy... I've seen a few Harley's with that. Is it an American trait that Triumph are trying to copy? It just makes it look too wide to me...

Captain Rambunctious Many bikes back then, which in this case should be around the 50ies, had that kind of housing behind the headlight. The thought behind them could be in the production line it is "easier to polish metal plates than those ugly yokes" or what?

MaGicMik3z That's the thing. Triumph have the Storm and now the special edition Nightstorm to do all the moody black stuff, so the Commander is there to be the flashy brother... There's definitely a market for it, but not my cup of tea...

Hepcat Harley Exactly. It's a nice bike! Doesn't flick all my switches though! ;-)

***** Thank you and thanks for watching! :-)

harleyman5521 Oh yes. They are definitely available! :-)

My one reason why I'd buy the storm over the NightStorm is that those ceramic black coated pipes will be a bugger to keep clean and they don't do the shorter louder pipes in that finish. My thinking was to get the storm but put the black handlebars and mirrors from the NightStorm on it and get the shorty pipes or "Hogslayers"... That would be perfect in my eyes... Anyway, good luck and ride safely! Thanks for watching!

james foy I have a test ride booked for this Friday ! very much looking forward to it, I been thinking about shorty pipes on the night storm if they don't do them in the black then whats you options ? must see whats what on the test ride

james foy I think that "British Customs" do slip ons in the ceramic black, so that might be an option... Check out a few websites; British Customs, Square deals, Norman Hyde etc...

lincs Excellent point! Although I may have lambasted the Harley that I rode, I still enjoyed the experience though... :-)

Yes it would, but I believe it won't fit. I bought my Storm when the commander had just come out with that excellent little lumbar support, but it wouldn't fit then so don't think anything has changed... What I did was put on the more luxurious NightStorm seat... that was a lot better... See if you can find on of those... Hope that this helps...

Better check with your dealer first. I waned to install the Thunderbird LT seat but it did not fit.

A very very nice bike... But I do prefer pegs... (which is what probably precipitated your comment in the first place! :-) )

+Peter Scott No problem! Thanks for the info! Very interesting! :-)

John Mård Agreed dear boy! :-) Thanks for watching John!

Captain Rambunctious Oh please, it's my pleasure! :-) The best thing about testing other bikes, as far as I'm concerned, is that when I get back on my own bike, I know it is the best one! After 84 000km I know her so well, you see! ...but that Rocket could just do... ;-)

John Mård Excellent point. I feel the same when I get back on 'Thrusty.' Even if he is totally different to all the cruisers that I've been on recently... :-)

Yes, you have been spending alot of time on those "feet-forward" bikes! So many bikes, so little...garage, cash/credit, time etc...

John Mård All of the above. Try NO garage!! ;-)

Russ Cattell Excellent analogy... I like the word analogy... ;-)

+Chris Droste Really? That's a bit tame! They should let you ride them properly!! Whereabouts is your local dealer? Most let you ride them, but with a £1000 excess... It's ok as long as you take it carefully like I do! ;-)

Haha, yeah, problem is it's Midwest United States and the only sales guy they got is probably leftover from when they sold cars. The worst thing I've had to do at the awesome Indian dealer in town is sign a ride test agreement(typical broke it ya bought it clause) and give proof of insurance, needless to say I keep coming back for sweet sweet metal and that awesome matte blue finish they have on a scrambler in there lol

Storm Rider *I find them cumbersome*

Storm Rider :-) Every man could do with a bit of bum love... on a bike of course... ;-) I agree with you. There's a laziness to it's handling. It isn't heavy, and it's better than the HD that I rode, so cumbersome is the perfect word. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! :-) Pip pip!

dannykhoury85 So would I! :-)

What do you mean?

+Gary Cheesman Thanks Gary. I'd say yes, but your knees might feel quite high, especially with footboards. With pegs, you get a bit more legroom... Try both and see, but don't see why you'd have any issue...

That's interesting about the footboards which i prefer so may stick with pegs for now good advice will try both to see what's more comfortable especially on long rides...in your opinion which cruiser would suit someone like myself being tall would give the best ride and comfort I'm not a speed merchant more of a long haul I'll get there when i get there type of attitude...cheers and keep up the good work.

Gary Cheesman If you're not a speed merchant but are tall, then I'd suggest one of the thunderbirds. If you want to go long distance then the LT, as it has a screen. The Storm hurt my back over long distance as it didn't have a screen and I threw it about too much... If you want plenty of presence, then the Rocket III could be up your alley with a screen, but the fuel consumption is worse but it is the most amazing engine... a 2.3 inline triple! :-) But I digress... Yes, probably the LT, but with pegs? See how you get on...

+Captain Rambunctious Excellent advice which i will certainly take on board much appreciated...i will try out both to see which one i prefer...i have recently been watching your videos and was amazed where you are as some areas i recognized as i spent my teenage years in Hemel Hempstead certainly some lovely rides in and around Hertfordshire...anyways thanks for your advice and keep up the videos...stay safe .

Gary Cheesman You're welcome! Yes, I live in Aylesbury at the moment, and use the Hemel Triumph chaps... :-) Glad you are enjoying. Good luck with your riding and decision!

Bottle.;-)