I was having a beer one night in Los Angeles in 2013 with the head of Triumph USA when we got to talking about Harleys.
He’d been sent to LA in advance of that year’s launch of the Thunderbird LT, an extremely capable cruiser which Triumph hoped would convince American riders that there was more than one type of bike in the world.
On his first weekend there, his Harley counterpart took him to an open day at Bartels, the city’s biggest Harley dealership, where hundreds of riders and their families were enjoying a free hog roast, burgers, raffles, gifts, music, beer or soft drinks and test rides.
