TRIUMPH THRUXTON 900 Ace (2015 - 2016) Review

The Thruxton itself was introduced in 2003 as the café racer version of the retro roadster Bonneville twin that broke cover three years earlier. Customisers have been showing us for years how much more special it could be with a few tweaks and now Triumph has finally done it themselves. Essentially the Ace is a last gasp, limited edition, cosmetically-tweaked version of the popular Thruxton – and a fairly simple one at that. It’s sweet, stylish and useful. 

Again a little basic and old school thanks to budget suspension and twin loop, twin shock frame, but café racer stance gives the Thruxton more attitude and presence than basic Bonnie and it handles sweet enough. Still no hardcore scratcher though and a little ’dinky’ for some…

69bhp air-cooled twin is unchanged from latest Bonnies and more pussycat than wildcat, but it does the job, is pleasant enough, reasonably engaging and easily uprated with louder pipes and the like

Again, donor Bonnie/Thruxton is a little on the basic side with few frills but it’s at least solid and this limited edition version is a significant improvement.

The base Thruxtopn has always been fairly good value and intended as a ‘bike for the people’ and, although pricier and a limited edition, the Ace is no different. All the goodies listed added just £500 to the price when new and, what’s more, being a limited production run, it should hold its value well.

Stock Thruxton is a little on the budget, basic side but this limited edition version gets a decent amount of extras, namely black and white livery featuring Ace Café logos on the tank, side panels and seat hump; a custom, ‘oxblood’ seat; authentically retro, polished alloy, bar-end mirrors; a detachable seat hump and a limited edition plaque mounted onto the top handlebar clamp which all lift it above the average.