Triumph Live 2012
To celebrate Triumph's 110th birthday, the factory organised a weekend of events and shows at Mallory Park race circuit in Leicestershire, not far from the Triumph factory in Hinckley over the weekend of 31 August to 2 September 2012. Using a similar theme to the previous (and to date only other) Triumph Live event in 2010, which celebrated 20 years of Hinckley Triumphs, the event comprised two separate nights of various bands performing on an outdoor stage (Head line acts: Friday night - Reef, Saturday - The Kaiser Chiefs), trade and other stalls, various shows, including legendary Triumph supported stunt man Kevin Carmichael, dealer and catering stands and the entire Triumph range available to view and sit on. In addition, subject to booking in advance, the option to participate in a 20 minute track session! The theme of all Triumph organised events was 110, with many items of merchandise available all featuring a 110 logo.
We arrived at the circuit early in the day on the Friday and waited for our allotted track slot. Neither of us have ever taken part in a track day and so were both more than a little apprehensive, especially looking at some of the obviously track only bikes taking part in the same session! Our bikes with panniers and top boxes looked more than a little out of place! Once the obligatory safety briefing and noise checks had taken place, we all too quickly found ourselves in the pit lane waiting to go out on the circuit. Mallory Park is a tight and narrow circuit but with a number of long-ish straights to complement the tight hairpins and chicanes. 20 minutes sounds like a reasonable amount of time - it absolutely flew by! Having the opportunity to open the bike up as much as we dare without fear of a speeding ticket was fantastic. Two things were particularly scary, one, the quasi racers trying to get past at every opportunity (the advice from the briefing was very difficult to ignore - "DO NOT look in your mirrors, it's the responsibility of the overtaker to undertake the manoeuvre safely, not the overtaken") and arriving at corners going much faster than intended! We thoroughly enjoyed it, and wish we had come on a faster and more appropriate bike. That said, we weren’t the slowest on the circuit, and Chris overheard another Tiger 800 rider in the paddock once we'd come off the track lamenting the fact the he'd been overtaken by exactly the same bike "and with a top box on it!" which made Nick feel quite good!
After the track time, we wandered around the various stalls and dealer stands, and of course poured all over the new Triumphs on display. Triumph used the event to launch the Tiger Explorer XC as well as having every other bike in the range on display, including the new Trophy and Trophy SE. Chris was totally hooked!
We didn't stay for the Friday night concert, the prospect of camping for the night or trying to get out late at night along with lots of others not really appealing to either of us. Unfortunately we also missed Kevin Carmichael as he was only performing on the headline day, the Saturday. Despite that, it was a fantastic day out and the weather was perfect. Having both popped our track day cherry, it's definitely something we'll do again, preferably in a novice only group...
We arrived at the circuit early in the day on the Friday and waited for our allotted track slot. Neither of us have ever taken part in a track day and so were both more than a little apprehensive, especially looking at some of the obviously track only bikes taking part in the same session! Our bikes with panniers and top boxes looked more than a little out of place! Once the obligatory safety briefing and noise checks had taken place, we all too quickly found ourselves in the pit lane waiting to go out on the circuit. Mallory Park is a tight and narrow circuit but with a number of long-ish straights to complement the tight hairpins and chicanes. 20 minutes sounds like a reasonable amount of time - it absolutely flew by! Having the opportunity to open the bike up as much as we dare without fear of a speeding ticket was fantastic. Two things were particularly scary, one, the quasi racers trying to get past at every opportunity (the advice from the briefing was very difficult to ignore - "DO NOT look in your mirrors, it's the responsibility of the overtaker to undertake the manoeuvre safely, not the overtaken") and arriving at corners going much faster than intended! We thoroughly enjoyed it, and wish we had come on a faster and more appropriate bike. That said, we weren’t the slowest on the circuit, and Chris overheard another Tiger 800 rider in the paddock once we'd come off the track lamenting the fact the he'd been overtaken by exactly the same bike "and with a top box on it!" which made Nick feel quite good!
After the track time, we wandered around the various stalls and dealer stands, and of course poured all over the new Triumphs on display. Triumph used the event to launch the Tiger Explorer XC as well as having every other bike in the range on display, including the new Trophy and Trophy SE. Chris was totally hooked!
We didn't stay for the Friday night concert, the prospect of camping for the night or trying to get out late at night along with lots of others not really appealing to either of us. Unfortunately we also missed Kevin Carmichael as he was only performing on the headline day, the Saturday. Despite that, it was a fantastic day out and the weather was perfect. Having both popped our track day cherry, it's definitely something we'll do again, preferably in a novice only group...
Triumph Live 2010
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This was the first Triumph Live event and hopefully not the last. Celebrating 20 years of Hinkley Triumph it promised to be a great day out and indeed it was...
On 18 September 2010 Triumph celebrated 20 years of Hinckley machines. The event was held in Mallory Park, in Leicester, and it was a lovely sunny day. Sadly Nick couldn't join me as he had family duties and also was committed to test riding a Speed Triple 1050, which he bought! However, Steve and Harry, his son, joined me for the event.
We met up in the Ace Cafe and had a great Ace breakfast before heading up the M1 to Leicestershire. Steve and Harry were in a car as Harry had a broken arm and didn't want to risk hurting it riding pillion on Steve's CBR600S. I was of course on my trusty Rocket Roadster - there can be no better bike than a Rocket to attend a Triumph event on!
My journey up the M1 was about 1.5 hours shorter than Steve's as sadly there was a crash and massive queues which I could pass but Steve and Harry in their cage could not. We parked in a large field with 1,000s of Triumphs. It had poured with rain all the previous night and so I was very nervous my Rocket would sink!! Thankfully the stewards had Triumph Live discs to put under our stands so the bikes did not topple.
I wandered in to Mallory Park and was amazed at how tight the circuit was. The track was probably only the equivalent of a 3 lane motorway (one way only) and probably narrower in parts. Unfortunately I had missed the opportunity to ride my Rocket around the track - a limited number of Triumph owners were able to book to do that in between races and stunt shows. However, having looked at the circuit I would have had to go very slowly round the tighter bends!
I crossed the track into the centre area where the various Triumph exhibitions were situated. I visited the Triumph Tiger tent where two of the new 800 models were hidden in crates. The back was off one and the front another. Also holes were drilled in the crate so you could get the odd glimpse of the machines. Photos were forbidden as the bikes had not yet been revealed to the press.
After that I tried the clothing marque. I was going to buy a Triumph Live t-shirt but the queue snaked around the tent several times so I gave up. I then left the arena and watched a couple of races and the stunt show. I had positioned myself badly for that so I didn't see much of the show but I did get the longer wheelies and higher speed antics. And most importantly I saw Kevin Carmichael wheelieing the Rocket III Roadster - awesome.
I then watched more races as I called Steve to find out why he and Harry still hadn't arrived. When Steve and Harry arrived we visited the Tiger tent and then watched some visitors learning how to perform wheelies on Street Triples attached to a clever piece of kit which simulated riding the bikes.
We then went to watch the finals of the 675 and the Street Triple challenge and got brilliant positions right up by the hairpin bend. The races were very exciting to watch. Amazingly fast, noisy and unbelievably tight. I don't often watch bike racing on telly but can't believe it is anything like watching it live. The guys riding the bikes are very skilled and clearly have no fear. Steve met up with an old school friend who had ridden to Mallory Park on his Ducati.
After the races we walked down to watch the stunt dhow and got prime position from my earlier experience. It was excellent but sadly Kevin Carmichael went to the far side of The circuit and we watched his partner in crime. He was excellent but didn't do any stunts on the Rocket.
Whilst there was a lot more on and the Stranglers plus Mumford and Sons were playing a concert in the evening I needed to get home so left and had a great journey home. Porridge Steve and Harry got caught in another traffic jam and were several hours behind me again!
I hope that the event is repeated next year. I will definitely go again.
Great fun.
Cheers Chris
On 18 September 2010 Triumph celebrated 20 years of Hinckley machines. The event was held in Mallory Park, in Leicester, and it was a lovely sunny day. Sadly Nick couldn't join me as he had family duties and also was committed to test riding a Speed Triple 1050, which he bought! However, Steve and Harry, his son, joined me for the event.
We met up in the Ace Cafe and had a great Ace breakfast before heading up the M1 to Leicestershire. Steve and Harry were in a car as Harry had a broken arm and didn't want to risk hurting it riding pillion on Steve's CBR600S. I was of course on my trusty Rocket Roadster - there can be no better bike than a Rocket to attend a Triumph event on!
My journey up the M1 was about 1.5 hours shorter than Steve's as sadly there was a crash and massive queues which I could pass but Steve and Harry in their cage could not. We parked in a large field with 1,000s of Triumphs. It had poured with rain all the previous night and so I was very nervous my Rocket would sink!! Thankfully the stewards had Triumph Live discs to put under our stands so the bikes did not topple.
I wandered in to Mallory Park and was amazed at how tight the circuit was. The track was probably only the equivalent of a 3 lane motorway (one way only) and probably narrower in parts. Unfortunately I had missed the opportunity to ride my Rocket around the track - a limited number of Triumph owners were able to book to do that in between races and stunt shows. However, having looked at the circuit I would have had to go very slowly round the tighter bends!
I crossed the track into the centre area where the various Triumph exhibitions were situated. I visited the Triumph Tiger tent where two of the new 800 models were hidden in crates. The back was off one and the front another. Also holes were drilled in the crate so you could get the odd glimpse of the machines. Photos were forbidden as the bikes had not yet been revealed to the press.
After that I tried the clothing marque. I was going to buy a Triumph Live t-shirt but the queue snaked around the tent several times so I gave up. I then left the arena and watched a couple of races and the stunt show. I had positioned myself badly for that so I didn't see much of the show but I did get the longer wheelies and higher speed antics. And most importantly I saw Kevin Carmichael wheelieing the Rocket III Roadster - awesome.
I then watched more races as I called Steve to find out why he and Harry still hadn't arrived. When Steve and Harry arrived we visited the Tiger tent and then watched some visitors learning how to perform wheelies on Street Triples attached to a clever piece of kit which simulated riding the bikes.
We then went to watch the finals of the 675 and the Street Triple challenge and got brilliant positions right up by the hairpin bend. The races were very exciting to watch. Amazingly fast, noisy and unbelievably tight. I don't often watch bike racing on telly but can't believe it is anything like watching it live. The guys riding the bikes are very skilled and clearly have no fear. Steve met up with an old school friend who had ridden to Mallory Park on his Ducati.
After the races we walked down to watch the stunt dhow and got prime position from my earlier experience. It was excellent but sadly Kevin Carmichael went to the far side of The circuit and we watched his partner in crime. He was excellent but didn't do any stunts on the Rocket.
Whilst there was a lot more on and the Stranglers plus Mumford and Sons were playing a concert in the evening I needed to get home so left and had a great journey home. Porridge Steve and Harry got caught in another traffic jam and were several hours behind me again!
I hope that the event is repeated next year. I will definitely go again.
Great fun.
Cheers Chris
Triumph Factory Tour - 2010
Very cold but all in all an excellent day out. Whilst Triumph generally only do factory tours for dealers as an avoid member of the Tiger 1050 forum I persuaded them to let forum members have access and arrange dates direct with Triumph. We had hoped to go as a ride out together but diaries meant that we went separately or in small groups.
Nick and I were some of the last to go on the tour as work was so demanding. In the end we made our get away in February shortly after the latest bout of snow. Our journey up the M1 was uneventful, cold and we arrived covers in salt.
We were shown into the back of the security guards shed and did our best to warm up. One other biker joined us on his bonnie, but he had only ridden from Leicester. The final member of our extensive tour group was from America and as such had driven, a reasonable excuse! The rest of the group, a dealership, had mistimed their visit and were not turning up until the afternoon. All the better for us as it means we got the full attention of our guide and could ask all the questions we wanted to.
While we waited we kept our eyes peeled for glimpses of yet to be released bikes. There we a couple of prototypes ridden in and but they were too well disguised for us to guess at what they were. In hindsight I am pretty sure we saw the new Sprint ST or GT.
After a while we walked across to the factory entrance where we saw a beautiful black Rocket III Roadster. I was completely taken by it and there and then decided it would be my new ride!
The tour started with a brief presentation of the history of Triumph and an overview of their philosophy. Quality, affordable bikes with a distinctive feel that our reliable and rideable. After the presentation we went down to the factory and donned our hard hats and ear protectors. The our was split in to two halves. The first was watching the engines being built. This included 675, 1050 and 2300 triples plus the twins. It was fascinating to watch and highly automated. Raw engines blocks were mounted into massive CAD machines which then went to work on them at great speed and with great precision and out came the finished versions. Some of the engines were then powder painted and others left metallic.
After seeing the engines made, some of which are then shipped to the Thailand factories for assembly. The rest were taken next door to the other side of the factory for assembly and that's where we went next.
As we walked around it was amazing to see the final bikes boxed up in great racks high up to the ceiling. What was very exciting was to see the largest boxes with the new Rocket Roadsters in them.
The production line was fascinating. Each station had specific jobs to do and the appropriate tooling to help them complete that job. The production line is a multiple-bike line so Rockets, Tigers, Thunderbirds, 675s and Street Triples were all being assembled when we were there. It was very exciting to see the bikes slowly becoming recognisable and then watching them be wheeled off the end of the line finished and ready to ride - well nearly!
I would recommend the tour to any bike enthusiast and especially someone who likes Triumph!
Nick and I were some of the last to go on the tour as work was so demanding. In the end we made our get away in February shortly after the latest bout of snow. Our journey up the M1 was uneventful, cold and we arrived covers in salt.
We were shown into the back of the security guards shed and did our best to warm up. One other biker joined us on his bonnie, but he had only ridden from Leicester. The final member of our extensive tour group was from America and as such had driven, a reasonable excuse! The rest of the group, a dealership, had mistimed their visit and were not turning up until the afternoon. All the better for us as it means we got the full attention of our guide and could ask all the questions we wanted to.
While we waited we kept our eyes peeled for glimpses of yet to be released bikes. There we a couple of prototypes ridden in and but they were too well disguised for us to guess at what they were. In hindsight I am pretty sure we saw the new Sprint ST or GT.
After a while we walked across to the factory entrance where we saw a beautiful black Rocket III Roadster. I was completely taken by it and there and then decided it would be my new ride!
The tour started with a brief presentation of the history of Triumph and an overview of their philosophy. Quality, affordable bikes with a distinctive feel that our reliable and rideable. After the presentation we went down to the factory and donned our hard hats and ear protectors. The our was split in to two halves. The first was watching the engines being built. This included 675, 1050 and 2300 triples plus the twins. It was fascinating to watch and highly automated. Raw engines blocks were mounted into massive CAD machines which then went to work on them at great speed and with great precision and out came the finished versions. Some of the engines were then powder painted and others left metallic.
After seeing the engines made, some of which are then shipped to the Thailand factories for assembly. The rest were taken next door to the other side of the factory for assembly and that's where we went next.
As we walked around it was amazing to see the final bikes boxed up in great racks high up to the ceiling. What was very exciting was to see the largest boxes with the new Rocket Roadsters in them.
The production line was fascinating. Each station had specific jobs to do and the appropriate tooling to help them complete that job. The production line is a multiple-bike line so Rockets, Tigers, Thunderbirds, 675s and Street Triples were all being assembled when we were there. It was very exciting to see the bikes slowly becoming recognisable and then watching them be wheeled off the end of the line finished and ready to ride - well nearly!
I would recommend the tour to any bike enthusiast and especially someone who likes Triumph!
Brit Night at the Ace - 2009
Nick and I had joined the Triumph Tiger 1050 forum - the best motorcycle forum I have ever been a member of.
Nick and I had joined the Triumph Tiger 1050 forum - the best motorcycle forum I have ever been a member of. After being members for some time I suggested a Tiger Forum meet up at the Ace Café. We chose the Brit Night, appropriate, and rocked on down. I think about 5 members turned up. One bizarre thing was that one of the guys new my brother Mike! Another, Ray, was a biking fanatic and a big fan of Jack Lilley Triumph. It was his recommendation that sent me there to buy my Rocket III Roadster.
We had an enjoyable evening and saw many Triumphs and may Tigers - some with extra special paint jobs.
Time for another visit to a Brit night I think…
See you there…
Cheers Chris
Nick and I had joined the Triumph Tiger 1050 forum - the best motorcycle forum I have ever been a member of. After being members for some time I suggested a Tiger Forum meet up at the Ace Café. We chose the Brit Night, appropriate, and rocked on down. I think about 5 members turned up. One bizarre thing was that one of the guys new my brother Mike! Another, Ray, was a biking fanatic and a big fan of Jack Lilley Triumph. It was his recommendation that sent me there to buy my Rocket III Roadster.
We had an enjoyable evening and saw many Triumphs and may Tigers - some with extra special paint jobs.
Time for another visit to a Brit night I think…
See you there…
Cheers Chris
