Triumph Thruxton R 'Black' spied

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Special 'Black' editions aren’t new to Triumph and it looks like the firm are readying a Thruxton R Black to add to the line-up. You can already get a Bonneville Bobber Black, Bonneville T120 Black or Bonneville T100 Black, all featuring dark finishes wherever you’d normally expect to see bare aluminium or chrome.

Related: 2016 Triumph Thruxton R review on MCN

Now we’ve caught this Thruxton R on test sporting a similar treatment. Satin black coatings cover the wheel rims, engine covers and cylinders, as well as replacing the normal gold colour on the Showa Big Piston forks. The headlight is the higher-spec LED unit from the Thruxton TFC with matching clear-lensed LED indicators.

More subtle tweaks include a swap from chrome to a gold-colour for the fork tubes to stand out against the new black brake caliper brackets and matching the gold preload adjuster in the fork bottom.

This prototype was caught near Triumph’s factory, and it’s clearly having a tough life; scuffs on the clutch cover and silencer suggest it’s been down the road and there’s corrosion on the bare alloy cam covers.

It’s likely Triumph are testing the durability of the new black finish. Riding on salt-covered winter roads and putting the prototype away wet is a sure way to highlight potential problems and avert expensive warranty claims after the finished bikes reach showrooms.

Improvements like the LED lighting mean the Thruxton R Black could cost a bit more than the £12,400 of the stock bike and from the look of this prototype it’s likely to get an official unveiling sooner rather than later.

What we expect from the Triumph Thruxton R ‘Black’

New forks: Showas are finished in black instead of gold, with matching caliper brackets and contrasting gold tubes. Blacked-out headlight: Chrome headlight ring is gone and the light is now the LED version as debuted on the Thruxton TFC. Dark engine covers: A £275 option on the stock Thruxton, black covers will be standard on the Thruxton R Black. Black wheels: Shiny rims are gone but it’s hard to tell whether the spokes on the prototype are black or chrome Wrong exhaust? The finished Thruxton R Black is expected to get a black pipe to complete the transformation.

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