The latest salvo in the price war between BMW and Triumph over adventure bikes has been fired by the Brits.
When Triumph launched its 1200 Explorer against the venerable BMW R 1200 GS, the Germans dropped their prices and added some extras at no cost. Triumph struck back with free luggage.
Then BMW brought in the more powerful water-cooled GS earlier this year at $21,250 (plus on-road costs).
Now Triumph has announced price reductions on two adventure models and a cruiser.
Most significantly, the mag-wheeled Explorer is now $20,490 ($500 extra for wire wheels) which Triumph says is a price saving of $800, but according to my Glass’s Guide, it’s a $1300 saving.
Either way, it represents good value and dealers, eager to move stock, have been doing some top deals.
Equally, Triumph and BMW have been at war over pricing for their 800cc adventure models, the Tiger 800 XC and the BMW F 800 GS.
Now, with the F 800 GS Adventure arrival imminent, Triumph has axed $100 off the Tiger 800 which now starts from $13,890.
On the cruiser front, Triumph’s parallel twin 1600cc Thunderbird hit the market a couple of years ago with a bang, but has since suffered a slump in popularity against new Harley and Victory models.
And with the new Indian cruiser powered by a 111 cubic inch engine coming in the next few months, Triumph has axed $500 from the bike.
It now starts at $19,990 and comes in Lava Red as well as Phantom Black and Caspian Blue, or Jet Black.
(All prices are manufacturer list prices which do not include any on-road costs such as dealer delivery, registration, stamp duty and CTP.)