2013 Triumph Trophy SE Review

2013 Triumph Trophy SE

The feeling of the clutch alone tells a great deal about the Trophy’s character; comfort, ease and reassurement.

Despite a dry weight of 662lbs, the Trophy immediately looses half once you are under way, even when maneuvering at single digit speeds. It makes it a delight to handle in all types of situations no matter the physics of the particular rider. There is such a sense of class that can be felt all throughout and this is truly what the Trophy is all about. Whether it’s the way it gracefully pulls away from a stop without any sort of lurch from the drivetrain as if it were already in motion to the exceptionally smooth throttle transitions that somehow make it feel automatic, it is made for the individual who has no compromises.

Power plant:

The heart of the Trophy is the famous Triumph inline triple that is world be known. The beauty here is that it puts out the same power everywhere at all rpm’s which in combination with a sport tourer, works hand in hand. This means that no matter the gear, it’s going to pull away effortlessly in the HOV lane past that semi without requiring you to downshift.

Features:

The SE does not disappoint in options and accessories when it comes to modern technology and innovation. Some of the highlight features are the three adjustable riding modes, electronically load adjusting suspension, adjustable on-the-fly windscreen, cruise and traction control.

Triumph Electronic Suspension “TES”

The SE offers three different suspension settings; normal, comfort and sport. The normal setting I found was a good balance that combined the other two into one making it the preferable choice for most types of riding. Switching into sport yielded a noticeable decrease in fork dive under braking and there was no mistaking the firmer rear suspension. This setting works well for when you want to kick things up a notch and put the touring side of things into to sport. There was not quite as big of a difference between the normal and comfort settings that I could detect. The suspension did feel a bit more plush but was hard to notice the change when switched back to the normal setting versus sport.

Both “one up” and “two up” options + luggage are offered as loading options for the suspension. Unlike the previously mentioned three suspension settings that can be adjusted on the fly, the bike must be stationary to make these changes in this parameter. I did not get the opportunity to carry a passenger but it was interesting to feel the bike raise the suspension for the “two up” setting and lower itself for the “one up” setting. In the case there are going to be multiple riders, they each may create their own user profiles to store their personal settings and configurations.

Adjustable Windscreen

The adjustable windscreen is a convenient feature for the times when you need additional coverage at higher speeds, but still want the airflow around town. The screen itself actually has a quite a wide range of adjustment in itself. I found that I always put it in the fully extended position for highway riding for the least amount of buffeting but had it in the lowest setting for everything else.

Cruise Control

Triumph has setup the cruise control system to allow you to increase and decrease speeds of 1mph increments at a time which is handy so that you are not always having to make corrections with the throttle itself. The heated handgrips and seat both warmed up quickly and are a must for the cold days.  

Other key features include iPhone & iPod compatibility, Bluetooth hook-up, automatic volume adjustment based off speed, USB port, 12V power socket, adjustable traction control and linked ABS brakes.

Whether it be the headlight brightness, display info arrangement, or particular suspension setting the Trophy can be configured and adjusted for many different aspects and preferences to suit.

On the highway:

It comes as no surprise that the Trophy simply eats up the miles without you even noticing how far you’ve actually gone or how fast you’re actually traveling. I kept thinking to myself how much it felt like I was sitting at home in a comfortable arm chair, only while going down the road. 70mph feels like 50 because of how unstressed and relaxed it is at those speeds that you may even find yourself setting the cruise simply around the fact so that the speed doesn’t get carried away without you even noticing!

There is enough storage in the bags that it allows for one to easily travel cross-country without having to carry extra unnecessary hardware in order to do so. Triumph has also implored a design feature into the bags themselves that allow them to move a given amount. This is to help stabilize the bike and make the additional weight less noticeable when making side-to-side transitions.

Overall, the Trophy presents a shear sense of class in the way that it feels and is equipped. For one who enjoys doing sport touring, the Trophy live up to it's name offering every bit and more.