Back from the 2500 mile vacation ride!

[Hashadenough]

We've returned from our tour of the Natchez Trace / Mississippi / New Orleans areas. The new 2017 Triumph Trophy SE performed great!!

I'll add some pics over the next couple days. (lots of work to catch up on!)

The route was Raleigh, NC to Knoxville, TN to Nashville, TN to Tupelo, MS to Natchez, MS to Baton Rouge, LA to New Orleans, LA to Birmingham, AL to Greenville, SC to Raleigh, NC.  (those were the cities we spent the nights in)

All told, with side trips and all, we did about 2500 miles over 10 days. We spent two full days in New Orleans with no miles accumulated. The main reason for the trip was the travel the whole Natchez Trace Parkway - 440 miles.

I had just purchased the bike a couple weeks before the trip and only had enough time to get the first service miles, plus a bit more on it before leaving for the trip. I have to say, I was very impressed with the bike! I'm used to touring on a HD Ultra Limited and I was not sure how this bike would compare on long days. Obviously the seating positions are very different on the two bikes. I found the Trophy to be very comfortable (for me) on the long days. I'm 5'10" and about 180. I have also spent lots of time on a Ducati ST3. That is NOT a comfortable long day bike! (again, for me)

I was very happy with the bike on the highway as well. We had several days where we just needed to blast at highway speeds to reach a destination. The TTSE did great at highway speeds ~ 70-75 And, if something came up and I needed to "get outta there!" man, you just kick it, and you're gone! Very nice. Not Ducati fast - but very quick and more importantly, very controlled.

I think that's the thing that impressed me the most about this bike on the highway. I reminded me of riding the smaller sport bikes of old. We had five bikes in the group (four big Harleys) and we wanted to stay together - as much as we could, allowing for traffic of course. If I needed to grab a lane to allow the other bikes to merge, it was so easy to match speeds with the surrounding traffic! You can just put this thing wherever you want it. The word surgical comes to mind. Fastest bike I've ridden, no. One of the most precise and all around capable, absolutely!

I will mention that one day on the Trace, we hit a pretty heavy rain for several hours. I know there has been talk on the forum of concerns about riding in the rain. During the rain storm I had the cruise cut out on me one time. I re-set it and it never did it again. This was the only time I had it do that since I've owned it. Rain related?? Don't know. But it would seem weird that it would only do it once during the rain storm, if it was rain related. Besides that, the bike never gave a single hiccup during the rain - or after. And I mean, it got wet!!  If you ever look through the rubber "seals" where the windshield arms travel, you'll see all the nice electrical stuff right in there. But, never a blip!

For those that have said the bike feels top heavy or cumbersome when moving slowly, like parking lots and such, I think this thing feels great to flip around at low speeds! Much easier than a 1000 pound Harley! Easier to deal with in the city too, I feel. It's a bit wider than the Limited was, so you have to make sure you're gonna fit through whatever gap your trying to get into. Parking it is still easier than the HD though, just because of the weight difference.

I created a route on BaseCamp for my Zumo 660 before we went and that also never missed a beat! More later, and happy to answer question about the trip. Just wanted to get some initial thoughts out there! So far, I'm a very happy customer!

J

[Coconut]

Great write up - sounds like you had a fantastic time !

Looking forward to seeing those Pic's 

[trophied]

Two full days in New Orleans didn't even give you time for all the Emeril's restaurants and the Camellia grill!  Great trip!  Cruise control in the rain may well have been related to TC shutting it down if it detected even the slightest loss of grip on the rear.  Agreed, a handfull of throttle gets things moving quickly depending on road speed and gear.  I surprised my Concours friend in one lower gear than he under heavy acceleration (his extra torque was the reason for not downshifting).
Enjoy!

[lemuriano]

We did the Natchez Trace last year with the obligatory photo at the bridge, (Jacksonville - Natchez - Loveless Cafe- Two Wheels of Suchez - Jacksonville). The loop is about 2200 miles and my wife and I enjoy every inch of it. Glad to hear that you also enjoy the Trophy and the ride.

[Coconut]

lemuriano,

You can't mention an "Obligatory Photo" and then not let us see it ! 

Cheers 

[lemuriano]

Coconut,

You are absolutely right; 

[Coconut]

Much better ! 

Cheers 

[HACKLE]

Perfectly framed.