I have had bikes for a long time, and been around many many many more, and Triumph used to make a decent bike with a good bit of a cult following before they really fell off the radar somewhat. I have no real clue what the world wide market is. All my comments would be considered to apply to the U.S. only for knowledge.

As far as Hondas vs, Harley. Perhaps in the past Harleys product waned in quality, especially in the AMF days and before and their name got them through the rough days. The old days of the anti Harley saying There should be a Harley in every garage and an oil stain under every Harley are long past. Since then they have come back strong, and they are making some dang nice bikes. I rode both Hondas and Harleys before buying, and there was no choice to be made, for me. I bought the Harley gladly. It felt better, handled better, road better, and had more responsive power curve feel to me. Of course that is a personal opinion, we have already heard another, that is why both brands sell, and sell well. They both have strong loyal followings for good bikes. I could no fault anyone for a preference one way or he other.

Which brings us back to Triumph, I dont believe they will be able to really challenge the big boys in the long run, being Harley and Honda. I see them more going up against brands like Victory and Indian, which both make some very interesting bikes of their own. But have a much smaller market share, perhaps a niche market one might say. Now those might be more interesting competitions for Triumph, at least as things stand now.