2010 Star Midnight Warrior vs. 2010 Triumph Thunderbird - Casual Aggression

We could come up with no better bikes to fit these criteria than the two here. You saw the Star Warrior a few issues ago taking the cake in our Attitude Test. About the same time that issue was coming together, we had also hopped over to Spain to sample the new Triumph Thunderbird. Taken separately, they seemed like two bikes born from the same womb: both good-handling, fast machines that were a blast to ride. While we were waiting for the T-Bird to appear in the U.S. , we hung on to the Warrior since we liked riding it so much. That turned out to be a good thing, as the Warrior got dropped from Star's 2010 lineup. We've been told by the Star people that that's not for good, but "there are plenty of models to be had at your local dealer."

Sales figures aside, there's a reason the Warrior won our 'Tude test. It's a beautiful and beautifully-finished machine with performance to match. A hybrid of lithe sport machine and cool, torquey cruiser, our Midnight Edition sports blacked-out pipes, cases and forks, with subtle red pinstriping to offset the darkness. With an inverted front end, radial tires, beefy brakes and plenty of ground clearance, it wears its performance on its sleeve.

Not so with the more conservatively-styled Thunderbird. With its sole mid-size cruiser offering, Triumph was clearly going for a broad appeal. As such, unique styling characteristics are hard to come by. It has a swoopy teardrop tank that holds a whopping six gallons, nondescript fenders, and a beefy, though conventional, front end. It's well-finished to be sure, but fairly bland. The 'Bird also wears radial tires and has floating brake rotors (with optional ABS) but keeps its performance aspirations on the down low. The 1600cc parallel twin (along with dual mufflers) is unique in this class, and it's apparently all Triumph figured they'd need to stand out.

But as we noted in our initial test of the Thunderbird, it's not the looks but the ride that makes it shine, and why we thought it should run with the Warrior. A long line of bikes marketed as 'sport cruisers' have failed miserably, and despite the Thunderbird's capabilities, perhaps Triumph was smart to downplay that aspect of the bike.

Standing side-by-side, the two bikes have similar feet-forward riding positions, with neutral flattrack-style bars. The Warrior splays the rider out a bit more with wider bars and farther forward pegs. This machine definitely fit taller riders better, as the front, narrow part of the seat is taller and the lower part is wider, causing shorter riders to favor the narrow nose up front. The Trumpet's generically-styled saddle is lower to the ground and the pegs and bars closer to the rider, letting shorter riders touch down easily, but without cramping taller riders, which is always an ergonomic hat trick.