Thruxton- EFI or carbs?

[Ketch]

I will be starting a search for a Thruxton soon.   Trying to decide whether to go with EFI or carbureted .
Been riding for 40 years and have lots of experience with carbs but also like the consistency of FI.

Understand jetting etc...don't yet have a lot of experience with fuel mapping etc but can easily learn what I am lacking.
I have been thinking about one for quite a awhile now...Saw quite a few of them at the Barber vintage motorcycle festival and definitely got me motivated.

Any thruxton owners here that can input experiences/ opinions on either?

Also anybody know of any thruxtons for sale or being considered for sale?

[Mr.Black]

Sammy!!

sammyseaman to the Triumph board please.

[bluedogok]

Hey Dave - whoa (David) on TWTex has had his Thruxton for a long time (we went up to Waco when he had his Tiger for him to test ride it) and commutes daily on it. Drop him a line with any questions you have about them.

[sammyseaman]

I have an '11 Thruxton with the new high tech, fancy shmancy EFI. To me, carbs vs. EFI isn't an issue so I can't sway you one way or another. I love my Thruxton and it's been perfect for what I need right now BUT the Scrambler has been winking at me for a while now and may have to buy her a drink, so to speak. I guess what I'm trying to say is I would be willing to sell the ol Thrux for the right price  

[Ketch]

And what state might you be located?    

[sammyseaman]

And what state might you be located?    

Beautiful Meechigan

This post was brought to you by typing it

[Stripes]

I don't miss anything about the Thruxton that I had other than maybe the aesthetics. It had carbs & some days it was the biggest PITA to start. Sometimes I would give up trying & just jump on the Sprint & go. I vowed to myself to never BUY a bike w/ carbs again. EFI all the way for me. Hell it's almost 2013, it's high time to put the old technology to bed & get w/ the modern day conveniences. Just my $0.02. Good luck in your search. FYI, Thruxtons aren't worth as much as people are asking for them. I sold my Sunset Red '04 w/ very low miles for $2500 last year or so & I felt like I was ripping the guy off. Just like people that are trying to get more than $4000 for their '05 & newer Sprint ST's, the reason they haven't sold them is because they are asking too much. Now back to our regular scheduled program...

[sammyseaman]

I don't miss anything about the Thruxton that I had other than maybe the aesthetics. It had carbs & some days it was the biggest PITA to start. Sometimes I would give up trying & just jump on the Sprint & go. I vowed to myself to never BUY a bike w/ carbs again. EFI all the way for me. Hell it's almost 2013, it's high time to put the old technology to bed & get w/ the modern day conveniences. Just my $0.02. Good luck in your search. FYI, Thruxtons aren't worth as much as people are asking for them. I sold my Sunset Red '04 w/ very low miles for $2500 last year or so & I felt like I was ripping the guy off. Just like people that are trying to get more than $4000 for their '05 & newer Sprint ST's, the reason they haven't sold them is because they are asking too much. Now back to our regular scheduled program...

You prolly shoulda cleaned your carbs, eh.

[Rincewind]

I'm not a Thruxton owner though I have test ridden an EFI Thruxton as well as carbed Bonnies.  I used to own a carbed 01 Triumph Tbird 900.  My preference would be the EFI, mostly because it is less to think about and it can be modified by freeware (TuneECU).  If you are comfy maintaining carbs, I wouldn't see why you shouldn't consider them.

The Thruxton is a fun, nostalgic bike, but personally I prefer the Guzzi V7 that I tested.  If I were to get another retro bike, it would be a V7.  

[Ketch]

 

The Thruxton is a fun, nostalgic bike, but personally I prefer the Guzzi V7 that I tested.  If I were to get another retro bike, it would be a V7.  
[/quote]

The Guzzi has been considered and not completely ruled out, never ridden a Guzzi, would like to.
But I am looking for a fun nostalgic bike, my VSTROM is my primary bike.

[satxbonneville]

 

The Thruxton is a fun, nostalgic bike, but personally I prefer the Guzzi V7 that I tested.  If I were to get another retro bike, it would be a V7.  


The Guzzi has been considered and not completely ruled out, never ridden a Guzzi, would like to.
But I am looking for a fun nostalgic bike, my VSTROM is my primary bike.

The Thrux is a nice looking bike but that riding position gets old in a hurry. I almost traded my Bonnie (with carbs!) for a Thruxton a couple of years back but a test ride got me back on the Bonneville and headed out of the dealer parking lot with a smile on my face. If I had my druthers I'd go with EFI over carbs...just less to futz with and you never have to worry about jetting issues when traveling through radical elevation changes.

Now that Guzzi V7 is a pretty little filly...

[sammyseaman]

The Thrux is a nice looking bike but that riding position gets old in a hurry. I almost traded my Bonnie (with carbs!) for a Thruxton a couple of years back but a test ride got me back on the Bonneville and headed out of the dealer parking lot with a smile on my face. If I had my druthers I'd go with EFI over carbs...just less to futz with and you never have to worry about jetting issues when traveling through radical elevation changes.

Now that Guzzi V7 is a pretty little filly...

The old Thruxtons with the clipons were pretty brutal. The newer ones are much, much better. The riding position is almost identical to my old 1050 Sprint

This post was brought to you by whiskey

[satxbonneville]

The old Thruxtons with the clipons were pretty brutal. The newer ones are much, much better. The riding position is almost identical to my old 1050 Sprint

This post was brought to you by whiskey

I guess Triumph realized that selling torture devices to their middle-aged client base was not a good long term sales model. I didn't realize that they had changed the Thrux bars from clip-ons. I have a Hyde M Bar on my Bonneville and it works just fine. The factory bar was too upright and it became a job to stay on the bike above 60 MPH.

Wonder how hard it would be to retrofit the EFI off of a salvage Bonnie/Thrux onto mine...hmmm

[Ketch]

went to a Dealer today to look at the V7. they had both the standard
and the "racer" model.  good lines except I  didn't care much for
the number plates molded into the side panels.

Dealer was not too impressive.  started whining about how the racer was on the showroom
for 6 months and he'd paid all this flooring/interest  and wld have to sell at
full retail plus $1300 in dealer prep and freight.   but said he could offer great financing.  

not a chance in hell at any type of test ride.

Went to triumph dealer, they had one green thruxton still in crate
don't like green.  . said thruxton was sold on preorder only up until this week

not really looking for A new one, but suspect a decent used will be hardto find

[satxbonneville]

If what you are after is the "look", it's easy enough to buy a regular Bonneville and tart it up to look like a Thruxton or even better. There are plenty of factory and aftermarket parts to turn it into a cafe racer deluxe. It's not like you're missing out on a huge power differential between the Bonneville and the Thruxton if you go that route.

[Ketch]

If what you are after is the "look", it's easy enough to buy a regular Bonneville and tart it up to look like a Thruxton or even better. There are plenty of factory and aftermarket parts to turn it into a cafe racer deluxe. It's not like you're missing out on a huge power differential between the Bonneville and the Thruxton if you go that route.

Thruxton engine is slightly higher compression and different cam profile...probably not a major difference.

[Orson]

Any thruxton owners here that can input experiences/ opinions on either?

I haven't had a single problem in 10,000 miles with my 2004 model

[Hunter]

I don't miss anything about the Thruxton that I had other than maybe the aesthetics. It had carbs & some days it was the biggest PITA to start. Sometimes I would give up trying & just jump on the Sprint & go. I vowed to myself to never BUY a bike w/ carbs again. EFI all the way for me. Hell it's almost 2013, it's high time to put the old technology to bed & get w/ the modern day conveniences. Just my $0.02. Good luck in your search. FYI, Thruxtons aren't worth as much as people are asking for them. I sold my Sunset Red '04 w/ very low miles for $2500 last year or so & I felt like I was ripping the guy off. Just like people that are trying to get more than $4000 for their '05 & newer Sprint ST's, the reason they haven't sold them is because they are asking too much. Now back to our regular scheduled program...

I thought I was ripping you off  

Back to the original question. The original had the clip-ons and carbs and I bought the above bike after a fly and ride from Lexington, SC to meechagin and after crawling out of a commuter plane, hopped on and headed home. It was a 2 day ride. Changed out the grips and put some bar end mirrors on it, added a pro pad and headed to the Grand Tetons for an epic ride, 3 and a half weeks. The clip-ons are not that bad or y'all are really old.

The only time the carbs became an issue for me was a very high altitude so unless you plan on spending a lot of time up in the Colorado mnts it probably won't be an issue for you either.

I never had a problem starting mine. I bought it to do a ride on and promptly sold it when I got back for what I had in it. I thought it was a fun enough bike but it was way to down on power to keep my interest, I looked at a turbo kit for it and decided to go in another direction otherwise I'd still have it. It's a fun enough bike for around town riding and leisurely rides on the park way.

[jstark47]

It had carbs & some days it was the biggest PITA to start. Sometimes I would give up trying & just jump on the Sprint & go. I vowed to myself to never BUY a bike w/ carbs again. EFI all the way for me.

Carb'd Hinckley twins are notoriously cold blooded.  When cold they can be difficult to start below 50 degrees.  Once in the 30's, I don't even try to start mine, it just wears out the battery to no gain.  I've been known to put a space heater under the bike for a half-hour when I absolutely had to use it in cold weather.

[motociclista]

I guess Triumph realized that selling torture devices to their middle-aged client base was not a good long term sales model.

I was in my local Triumph dealer Saturday on other business and sat on a new Thruxton for the first time in years. The new handlebar is a big difference over the old clip-ons. I now find the Thruxton's riding position to be ideal for me.

[Ketch]

Well I drive up to the Dallas area tomarrow to pick up my 2011 Thruxton....

[Stripes]

Congratulations!

[sammyseaman]

Well I drive up to the Dallas area tomarrow to pick up my 2011 Thruxton....

Red or black? Stock or not?
1. Rear shocks suck. Change em when you can
2. Stock exhaust is waaaay too quiet. You may or may not be good with that
3. Stock seat feels terrible but mine broke in quick. Be patient. Wait and see, so to speak
4. Enjoy, enjoy, ENJOY!

This post was brought to you by biceps and lead pipes

[Ketch]

Black..
Have lots of plans for it.  

[sammyseaman]

Black..
Have lots of plans for it. 

We're the proud owners of twins!

This post was brought to you by biceps and lead pipes

[Ketch]

beautiful 70 degree day here.  took the thruxton out for a long
ride.  I really like this bike.  it is so much smoother Than I expected
virtually no vibration.  Love the torque and I find the ergonomics to be
surprisingly comfortable.  for a single front disk, no complaints on the brakes
either.  Can't  wait to start personalizing.  rear fender elimination kit, air injection
removal are top of the list.
although stock exhaust is pretty quiet,I can hear a pleasant sound.
eventually the exhaust will get updated when I do the air box removal

I am picking up a 2003 Honda gl1800 Tomarrow.
it only has 9k miles and is immaculate. I am getting this bike about
6k below book value so I couldn't passing up when it was offered to me


Probably be putting my beloved Wee Strom up for sale
it is really decked out and is a very nice bike .

[sammyseaman]

If you upgrade the exhaust do a lot of investigating. Most aftermarket exhausts for these are really loud. The BC was the quietest I could find at the time.

This post was brought to you by biceps and lead pipes

[bluedogok]

When whoa bought his it had the Triumph Off-Road (TOR) exhaust on it, they fired it up inside the showroom at the dealer in Waco and it was a nice sound, not too loud. I rode a bunch of miles behind him and they were always a nice sound. He swapped them out for some cheaper D&D's after his crash, those do not sound near as good.