The most underated big parallel twin. What a lovely torquey cruiser in real life. So lovely to ride and built so well. Its far better than the reviews suggest. Once bikers ride them, they will be a future classic and the engine is so underated. The nicest, most torquey, comfortable, reliable twin ive ridden by far and a 2011 with 17000 miles on it was like new, fantastic paint, gearbox, finish, no rust even in Scotland. £5500 secondhand and forward controls. Id never used them but loved them and speedo in tank. Pulls from 1300Rpm in 5th gear rolling on gently until 1500RPM then its 80 MPH at 3000RPM in top gear and over 40mpg. Ive ridden bikes since 1977 and had Rice Burners, BSA twins, ridden V4 Hondas, dirt bikes and ridden in Australia and loved the reliability of bikes like Suzuki Gs850G shaft drive and relied on my bikes for work summer and winter all weathers and put them through hard testing and biked on a true budget. Buying bikes to suit what riding you need and self servicing was important as low labourers wages and living expenses left little.. Thank you so much for good cheap reviews of great workhorses. Cant beat Japanese but Triumph triples like old trophys, Tiger 800, 900 steamers etc are great bikes but for 5 to 7.5K fot a big 1600 or 1700cc twin is a bike thats lovely. Norton commandos and original mk2 and 3 late 60s early 70s Royal Enfields are great old machines but quite rare now. Cant beat the old raw, simple bikes with analogue speedos, carburetors, even magneto ignition in my humble opinion. No ABS or rider modes vfor me. Keep them basic, cheap, simple. Maybe an old v strom 650 for me to ride across central Asia a n d Afghanistan. My dream.
Theyre so comfortable, torquey pulling in top from 1200 rpm. What a lovely engine, also so well built. Im amazed how good they are. Pull like a train, so good paint, chrome. A 2011 model with 16000 miles sounds throaty with pipes and so comfortable on a run. Best bike ive ever ridden. A real unknown gem and bargain. Forget a harley, this is the real deal and fit, finish was like new. ❤
@Nicodemus98 ... i was just at a dealership having my 07 rocket iii serviced, they had a NICELY equipped T-bird (leather panniers, backrests, & windscreen). MSRP was in the $14K range, but the salesman said they'd take 12 for it, just to move it. i wish i wasn't still making payments on my rocket, i'd have signed papers on the spot. gorgeous bike. i tested another (it wasn't a demo, the service manager loaned me his to run an errand while i was waiting) and it is a sa-WEET ride. "nimble".
love the thunderbird -- getting one this week in fact, but would not brag that it was designed by the same guy that designed the honda rune... one of the ugliest creations on two wheels.
