Triumph Thunderbird (2009)

The 2009 and later Triumph Thunderbird is a series of large displacement straight-twin cruiser motorcycles made by Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley, England. It revived the Thunderbird name after a five-year gap, following earlier Thunderbirds that included a three-cylinder 885 cc bike and a single carburettor 650 cc Bonneville variant built for police work in the mid-1960s. Design was by Tim Prentice in California. A DOHC eight-valve parallel twin of 1,597 cc, with two balance shafts and a 270 degree crank that imitates the sound and feel of a V-twin, produces 85 bhp, and the final drive is by belt. The Storm variant with a 1,699 cc engine arrived in 2011 and the Commander in 2016. Cycle World named the Thunderbird Best Cruiser in 2009 and 2010.