sportster vs. thunderbird the 30-year battle continues?

sportster vs. thunderbird the 30-year battle continues?
CLOTHING CREDITS
SPORTSTER RIDER
HELMET: SHOEI
HARLEY-DAVIDSON: JACKET BOOTS, GLOVES AND JEANS TRIUMPH RIDER
HELMET : BELL TRIUMPH: JACKET, BOOTS, GLOVES AND JEANS
BY HOWARD KELLY
PHOTOGRAPHY: WES ALLISON
As far back as most of us can remember, the biggest battle in motorcycle-cling was waged between the Harley-Davidson Sportster and the Triumph Thunderbird. At every stop light,racetrack and bike shop in the country the two battle it out for bragging rights, and every week race results brought a new champion as the two swapped paint and first-place finishes. Owners were treated to bragging rights if only for a week at a time. It was an exciting time to be a performance bike enthusiast.
Throughout the '60s and even the early part of the '70s the battle continued. But the triumph was slowly pulling ahead as the performance after-market industry put a full press on hot triumph parts. The tried and true Sporty was overlooked by racers and street riders who bought the less expensive and easily hopped-up Thunderbirds. In fact, if you talk to most long-time Harley riders, most have at least ridden, if not owned an old "Triumph was on top of the U.S. market with bikes like the Honda CB-750 and the Kawasaki triples. Suddenly, no amount of performance goodies could make the Triumph competitive and sales dropped dramatically. The Sportster, on the other hand, continued to lumber along with steady sales, although most owners pointed them in a more cruiser/ chopper oriented direction