Not so long ago (October 2023) Triumph Motorcycles announced it was dropping the 1200 Thruxton from its ever-expanding line-up.
While disappointing for some of us, it was perhaps understandable given the marque’s expansion into new market segments that must have stretched resources.
It was the end of the road for a reawakened model name that could trace its history to 1969. That was when the firm saw modified versions of its T120 twins take out the first three places in the Thruxton 500 mile race. (Thruxton, by the way, was a WWII military airfield.) Of course the factory leveraged the event by releasing upgraded Thruxton T120s.
Move on several decades and the Meriden factory is long gone, while the revived Hinckley concern launched a new Thruxton 900, essentially a 2004 Bonneville in cafe racer clothing. It was a nice enough thing for the time.
However, it was in 2016 when the factory took a different approach, releasing a version of the 1200 Bonneville platform with a significantly more powerful engine, along with different swingarm, steering geometry and suspension. This time around, the cafe racer theme had real teeth.
By far its most endearing quality is its handling, which is simply delightful. It has quick and tactile steering, great brakes, and enough power (97 horses) to kick it down the road at a decent rate. And its suspension has great control without punishing the rider by being overly firm.
The engine is punchy, with a fat midrange – exactly what you’d hope for in a bike like this. Pick a gear for a tight set of turns, tip in and pull the trigger. It’s a very capable sports bike without being intimidating.
You have six gears to play with, accompanied by a light clutch action.
The suspension by the way is premium gear, with a Showa Big Piston fork up front and Ohlins shocks on the rear – all with full adjustment.
While this 2016 model looks old school, it has ABS, switchable traction control and a choice of three electronic rider modes.
As a package, it feels like one of those machines the development riders dialled in just perfectly.
What’s hot on the auction front?
1928 Douglas Racer
Donington Auctions
Date: February 23, 2025
Sold for: $23,250
Visit: doningtonauctions.com.au
Following a successful beginning, the range of motorcycles produced by Douglas Motors Limited in their Kingswood, Bristol works proliferated in the 1920s and into the 1930s, reflecting the demand for increasingly powerful machinery and the ever-increasing popularity of dirt-track racing, a sport indelibly linked to the marque.
With the boom in dirt-track racing across Australia, many Douglas motorcycles ended up being raced here, the early Bailey-designed RA/RW/TW machines proving popular in the 1920s and beyond. Riders like Billy Conoulty, Charlie Dawson, Vic Huxley and Paddy Dean achieved great success and even road-oriented Model OB and OC machines did well thanks to their low centre of gravity and excellent power-to-weight.
Douglas paid attention to its Antipodean customers and began offering factory-built dirt-track and speedway motorcycles in the late 1920s, the DT5 and DT6 models aimed specifically at this new form of racing.
Given most bikes were raced into the ground, survivors of this Golden Age of speedway racing are all too rare and keenly sought after.
1928 Indian Scout 101 600
Mecum Las Vegas
Date: February 23, 2025
Sold for: $41,050
Visit: doningtonauctions.com.au
Along with the larger Chief, the legendary Scout is considered one of the most significant motorcycles in the history of the Indian Motorcycle Company.
Designed by Charles B Franklin, who joined the company after emigrating from Ireland and ultimately rose to the position of vice president, the middleweight Scout utilised a V-twin engine and proved a great success from the time of its launch in 1920. The first Scout built in Springfield, Massachusetts had a 37 cid (600cc) motor, but was joined in 1927 by the larger 45 cid version, capable of reaching speeds up to 70mph under the right conditions.
The Scout utilised a semi-unit frame with a low centre of gravity and a long wheelbase for stability, and a three-speed transmission bolted directly to the engine, with helical-gear drive. Thanks to its low-slung design, early Scouts gained a strong reputation for excellent handling and responsiveness, and became popular with riders on the street, dirt tracks and for endurance races.