Yesterday, I had the privilege to attend the Triumph Bonneville Launch Tour in Brooklyn, NY. The event was held at The Shop Brooklyn where they had free draft beer and well drinks as well as all the pulled pork sandwiches and macaroni and cheese you could eat. I couldn't tell you how much I ate, but I did end up being the go to guy for the servers when they only had a bit left on their serving tray and had to get rid of it. Before my last pulled pork sandwich I hesitated and the server egged me on while saying that it was a special night and I shouldn't be counting calories. She didn't understand that I wasn't worried about calories, but rather I had actually just jam packed so much food into my stomach that I wasn't sure whether I could fit anymore. It seemed that it was possible to, I did and it was totally worth it. One of the most amazing things about this event was the number of beards that were in attendance. I believe I would be safe in saying that at least 80% of the room was occupied by beards. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with the genes to grow much facial hair, but attending this event has me thinking that maybe I could make it happen if I rode a Triumph.
When I had first arrived, there was quite the fanfare going on. I felt like a movie star stepping into the bar with a special photo booth set up right before the entrance. The entire event had a very snazzy feel to it. Whoever decided on the venue made an excellent decision as there was plenty of open room for people to move around, they had a motorcycle arcade machine set up for free play and the food and drinks were great. The staff was very friendly and despite how hectic it got, they still managed to help everyone. They even had Makoto Endo there doing his signature paintings with chop sticks.
Triumph had several bikes on display. One of the things I'm really happy to see is that Triumph seems to be going head first into water cooled territory with their Bonnevilles. The decision to go with black radiators should appease Bonneville fans as they appear muted and don't really hinder the clean lines of the bike. The most impressive bike for me was the Thruxton R as the amount of attention to detail was apparent. I can see this bike drawing envy from even some of the more established custom cafe builders. Overall, Triumph has done a good job in showing that they take rider input seriously. Although they are a small motorcycle company comparatively, it is bikes like these that show why Triumph is able to remain competitive.
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| Bonneville T120 Black |
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| Bonneville Street Twin |
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| Thruxton R |
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| Bonneville Street Twin |
Special thanks to Triumph Metuchen for getting me an invite as well as Bill Shelton from Triumph for allowing this interloper and for the hospitality.
When I had first arrived, there was quite the fanfare going on. I felt like a movie star stepping into the bar with a special photo booth set up right before the entrance. The entire event had a very snazzy feel to it. Whoever decided on the venue made an excellent decision as there was plenty of open room for people to move around, they had a motorcycle arcade machine set up for free play and the food and drinks were great. The staff was very friendly and despite how hectic it got, they still managed to help everyone. They even had Makoto Endo there doing his signature paintings with chop sticks. 
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