The Light Touring ’Bird features long-haul amenities like a quick-detach windshield (by National Cycle), removable leather saddlebags (with liners), and a passenger backrest and floorboards, while the Commander has a tougher, stripped-down facade, including dual headlights and low-profile tires. The muscular Commander and the light-touring LT are nearly identical mechanically, differing mainly in styling and tire sizes, with each bike stylistically true to its fat-custom purpose.
They’re less two brand-new motorcycles than two versions of the same bike. To create these “fat customs” (Triumph’s term), its designers obviously worked with one eye fixed on the U.S. The Thunderbird LT is the highway-ready “Light Touring” model. So the company went back to the drafting board, and now the new 2014 Thunderbird LT and Commander seem to have the goods to stand proud in the distinguished brand’s legacy.
Both offered well over a liter and a half of torque-laden parallel twin power, but neither has managed to draw enough attention to make Triumph happy. In the tradition of the original, the Thunderbird is a well-built, good-looking bike, and it was followed with a blacked-out, bug-eyed, hopped-up version called the Storm.
But it wasn’t until the introduction of the liter-class Thunderbird in 2009 that the cruiser lineup really made heads turn. It’s also building cruisers, and its Bonneville-based customs have been best sellers. Triumph’s return has succeeded because the company is producing excellent motorcycles, from eager sportbikes to first-rate dual-sports to an exquisite line of modern classics. Designed to appeal to the American cruiser market, both new Thunderbird models combine big-inch power with plush appointments. Even with these improvements, however, the V-6 falls far short of the Ford's SOHC V-8 in sensual rewards: It doesn't feel or sound as smooth and refined.The 2014 Triumph Thunderbird Commander is a streetwise power cruiser. To quell unwelcome noise and vibration, the 3.4 V-6 now has a laminated oil pan, direct-mount accessories, a new cam-drive belt, and composite cam belt cover. Of course we're comparing a V-6 with a V-8 here, but note that while the Monte Carlo boasts a five-horsepower advantage, the T-bird delivers an extra 60 pound-feet of torque. This gives it an impressive 63.2 horsepower per liter, well above the Ford 4.6's 44.6. The Z34-standard 3.4-liter DOHC V-6-which is the 3.1 block mated to DOHC heads-boasts redesigned intake and exhaust manifolds, cylinder heads, pistons, and a higher compression ratio (up to 9.7:1 from 9.25:1) to help raise its power peaks by five horsepower to 215 ponies at 5200 rpm and five pound-feet of torque to 220 pound-feet at 4000 rpm. Under the hood, the base 3.1-liter OHV V-6 found only in the lower-level Monte Carlo LS produces 160 horsepower.
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