Triumph Trophy 1200

I picked up my well cared for 1997 Triumph Trophy 1200 for peanuts on e-bay. In terms of smiles per pound spent this bike is a once in a lifetime bargain. Bought as a winter bike to ride while my other bike hides away from the salt and crud of a British winter.

I also own a cam head BMW 1200 RT which I used as a yardstick when evaluating this bike. Taken in the round, I think I like the Triumph better. Now where to start.

The engine is a beast. You can choose to use the gears and all the torque and it will go like a rocket. It is remarkably easy to get into banning territory in the blink of an eye. Three figures is effortless. Alternatively you can be lazy, leave it in top gear and surf the wave of torque the engine generates. Fuel consumption when riding in a more relaxed style is low to mid forties to a UK gallon. Ride it like a sports bike and it will quickly slurp a tank full of juice. No surprise really. It's an old fashioned carburettor engine without any of the electronic trickery that sees a BMW 1200 RT return 50+ to the gallon when ridden in the same way.

Roll on torque can only be described as phenomenal and the engine is smooth all the way from just above tickover to the red line at 10,000 RPM.

Comfort, yes it's all day comfortable though the Stock Triumph seat could use an upgrade. The fairing is a bit on the sporty side of sport's tourer so weather protection is not as good as the barn door of full dress tourers like the BMW RT. My only real criticism is the screen does give me some buffeting at motorway speeds which I suppose could be fixed with an aftermarket screen.

The instruments are clear and going off the GPS, the speedo is fairly accurate. The fuel gauge is very good if not linear in operation. That said you soon learn to work out what you really have in the tank from the gauge. Once it gets down to the red, look for fuel. The clock is on bobbins but at nearly 20 years old it's the only thing on the bike that is.

Brakes. They're pretty good on the whole, hauling the bike down from whatever speed. There are no rider aids so judicious use of the levers is necessary but I've not managed to lock the brakes up yet. The calipers need fairly regular attention to stop them siezing up. The back brake being particularly prone to it.

The handling is nice and predictable. It's a bit too top heavy at low speeds but once rolling that effect disappears and it's an easy bike to ride and easy to go scraping the footpegs on.

The electrical system has proved reasonably reliable and the alternator seems capable of keeping up with the additional load from heated jackets and the like. The only thing it's needed was a new battery, again fair wear and tear and a good battery is a must if the starter sprag clutch is to survive.

Tyre life. Hmm, ride hard and it will chew rear tyres up as well as any sports bike. I destroyed an 023 Bridgestone with about 5mm on it over 1 winter and a couple of thousand miles. I suspect that ridden with a little less gusto some 6000 miles is attainable from a rear new tyre. The chain is fed by a Scott oiler and has not needed adjusting so far despite some occasional enthusiastic riding.

Reliability has been pretty good for a twenty year old bike with a few easily fixed issues, including sticking calipers. I have pencilled in a carb overhaul next summer with the annual cleaning session as the rubber seals and o-rings must be getting done for by now.

Overall, I really like this bike and will keep it as long as it keeps going. Would I recommend one, hell yes!

Bought a 1999 1200 used and is a great sport/tourer for the age.

after rideing,all sorts bikes over the years decided it was time for something to tour two up next year and as i am a triumph man the trophy was bought looks lovely along side my sprint rs,had it a few weeks now and after two short runs i had the the day off work last sunday tank full of we go pulls like train only have to drop a gear or two and away she goes,only fault if you grab a hand full of brake the front end feels really soft maybe new springs prob try oil change first just about home 210 miles on clock about to run out of fuel so filled up 25 quid for 200 miles well happy,ps bike is a 2003, 11000 miles 1 owner with history 3200 quid job done,t160 in future dream compleat

Had the bike a year now and pleased with the overall quality. Good to ride and very responsive. Had a slight problem with tick-over but local dealer sorted out and only charged 1.5hrs labour - something relating to rubber seal in carb. Very comfortable to ride and I have added a taller screen which has made a big difference plus picked up cheap gel seat from ebay. Headlights very good and handles well for a big bike. Fairing gives loads of protection and brakes well enough. Finish on paintwork excellent.

Agree with comments stating hard to place on centre stand but hey - this is a tourer so isn't meant to be be light. Keep missing rear brake but probably due to me being used to riding cruisers so need to get used to it. Value for money fantastic - I paid £3100 for '03 registered bike with only 5500 miles and mint condition so very pleased with buy.

Have had new Jap cruisers in past plus a new Rocket III and this feels just as good as those. As expected handles better than Rocket.

Was a great bike in it`s time but now very dated by today's standard, but for me it does the job very well, has taken us in reasonable comfort at a reasonable rate of knots all over the uk & europe,off to France with the local Rat Pack this August for a week.

It has been serviced by Jenny & Steve of the Two Wheel Workshop in Ellesmere Port ,hence had no problems at all,great guys.

I have added some home comforts such as, Autocom hard wired to the top box which gives us rider to pillion,sat nav ,bike to bike & music, we have a touring scottoiler,extended fender,higher screen,gel touring seat,12v sockets & many more bits & pieces.If I had to have a moan it would include the weight of the bike,leaking panniers,fuel consumption. But every bike has it`s downside.Ed Jones

Originally had a ZZR600 and was going to trade for a ZZR1100 but foolishly went along to the launch event for the new Trophy 1200 and was taken in by the feeling of patriotism plus a good p/ex for the 600.

Meticulously ran it in then the trouble started, first of It had to be returned to the dealer because there was an issue with some early model head gaskets which needed changing which meant splitting the crankcases, then was told the cylinders had to be re-honed due to being out of tolerance too tight?.

Then I got the bike back and had loads of problems with the bike misfiring and stuttering on the over-run or when pulling away usually into the face of oncoming traffic, bike spent most of its first year at the dealers who checked everything and changed umpteen engine ecu's still never fixed it. Eventually it was sent back to the factory when it was out of warranty they had it a number of weeks and their answer was to send it back with the factory accessory spyball alarm in a plastic bag saying this was causing the problem.......not, as It was still doing it to the point it was a danger to ride in the end I took a loss on it and part exed it for a ST1100 great bike, miles of trouble free riding, I have had a number of bikes since culminating in my last 2 bikes being BMW where I just put the key in and forget about it.

I have been put off ever buying 'British' again even though all the recent road tests say otherwise and I know you can say it was a new venture and I was probably a guinea pig but the whole Triumph experience was too of putting to take the risk again

I moved up to the 2001 model Triumph Trophy 1200 after owning a 900 Sprint for the past three years. The bikes are fairly similar build with the exception of the larger touring fairing.

Generally speaking I find the trophy the more eye catching even if it is getting on in the years. The engine gives all the power one needs for a touring machine but still feels very sporty and the bike can handle everything Irish roads throw at it. A very comfortable ride - a recent 300 mile trip left me with no aches anywhere (I'm 52) although some of my pals were complaining after getting off various Jap machines on the same trip. At the time I bought this a friend bought an FJR1300 which cost twice as much. He is the first to admit that it is not twice the bike....

At the end of the day this represents great value for money and a fun bike into the bargain.

A really good bike and stunning to ride.

Had my 1200 trophy since new 9 years ago. Used it every day for work and done over 85k miles. lived in Portugal for 3 years and my Trophy came with me. it's easy to maintain and I do all my own servicing. Looks as good as the day i bought it. Had a bigger screen put on it as Iam 6'2. Can ride for hours and still arrive fresh and ready to ride a few more miles. I keep test riding other tourers with a view to trading it in, but nothing manages to give me the same buzz as riding my trusty trophy.

I've only had this triumph trophy 1200 1996 version for a couple of months and so far have done a couple of thousand miles. Changed the seat after a 100 miles or so as too narrow. Now have a much more comfortable ride. Everything else is standard and so far it outperforms my old Kawasaki GTR in every respect. Am averaging around 50 miles per gallon (UK) on motorways and major A roads.I am now fairly confident of bike reliability and am having accessory socket fitted for sat nav etc as I intend touring Europe this autumn.