Well here it is, the new Triumph Speed Triple. Now I know you can just go and watch the Triumph release videos, but what I am going to do is condense all their fluff and scripted BS down into a shorter format that will still give you all the important details.
Alright this is it. It looks A LOT different to previous Speed Triples so no doubt the looks will be pretty divisive. Personally I think it looks fantastic. From my last video on the Speed Triple we looked at some leaked photos. Now the bike is exactly the same, but now it isn’t covered in road grime and masking tape, it looks a shit load better.
I’ll start with the engine as let’s be honest, that’s the first thing most people care about. It is an 1160cc triple with 177hp and 125nm of torque. The engine has been completely redesigned so it’s smaller, 7 kg lighter; it revs higher and has 12% lower inertia. Going by the dyno reading Triumph has presented, it makes similar power early on but where the old engine kind of taper off, this one just keeps building power. What I find hilarious is on the reveal video, they said it sounds amazing and Moto2 rider Jake Dixon rides it out. He revs the bike up and it sounds like a fucking sewing machine. It definitely needs a pipe on it.
Ok chassis time. To me the bike looks a lot slimmer and sportier. Triumph said that was one of their main goals and the bike is 22lbs lighter (10kg). So basically the whole bike has gone on a low carb diet and has been mass centralised.
To me they’ve have done a fantastic job of making it look neat and tidy too. I know that sounds stupid, but all the wires and cables have been hidden and it just looks…nice.
The Street Triple’s headlights are a bit hit and miss with people and the same ‘angry eye brow’ look is going on here, but it definitely suits the style of the bike. Gone too are the signature Speed Triple dual pipes and we now have a single, dual outlet exhaust on the right hand side. While it sounds like a blender, it actually doesn’t look too bad, especially with how massive some of the exhausts are on newer bikes.
I really like the redesigned rear end, in particular the rear tail light. If you haven’t noticed, the illuminated part is in the shape of the Triumph ‘T’, very trick. The rear number plate looks like it will be very easy to replace with a tail tidy too.
The bike has Ohlins suspension front and rear; we have more details on them now though. The forks are NIX30’s that are completely adjustable and the rear shock is a TTX36. The front brakes are Brembo Stylema’s and the rear brake is also Brembo. So in other words, this is all good shit.
The front of the frame looks very similar to previous model Speed Triples, but you can see the mid-section and rear sub frame are completely different. The rake and trail have been changed, the foot pegs have been moved inward to give you more ground clearance while keeping the leg room similar, the handle bars are wider and the seat is completely new too. It actually looks really comfortable from the photos.
As predicted, the bike has a ton of tech that’s pretty well standard now days on a high end bike. There’s an up and down quick shifter, IMU with cornering ABS and traction control, 5 riding modes and a nice looking 5 inch TFT dash. The bike also has keyless start and a keyless fuel cap. Now I’m not sure how the fuel cap works, but I hope it’s lockable.
A couple of things I found really cool is the navigation on the dash and all the switches are illuminated. Very trick and I really like how that looks. It comes with some good stock tyres, Metzeler Racetecs and a lithium battery stock.
What I find interesting is Triumph make a point of saying the bike was developed ground up for the road. It seems to be that they are marketing it as a more accessible road bike compared to say the Tuono V4 and Streetfighter V4. They kind of contradict themselves by showing a shit load of footage of the bike on the track!
Ok let’s get into the price and then we’ll talk specs. The price is starts at $18300 US, 15000 pounds or 17500 Euros. As usual there is no Australia price, but 15000 pounds is roughly $26000 AUD and then you have the Australia tax on top, so let’s say between $27-29,990.
I’ve got the specs here so let’s have a look at some of them. The seat height is 830mm which is 32.7inches, the wet weight is 198kg’s which is 437lbs, the fuel tank is a pretty small 15.5 litres but fuel consumption is said to be 50mpg (5.6l/100) which is bloody economical, but that’ll have to be tested. The service intervals are pretty long, 10000 miles (16000kms), no doubt most people will half that, but that’s decent. I’ll put the specs and press photo’s up on my website so you can have a detailed look at them.
So that’s it, the new Triumph Speed Triple 1160, I mean 1200. I think it looks great and on the surface, they’ve done a bang up job. I really like the matt silver colour, but the black looks like ass to me. Hopefully they bring some new colours in for future models. The price is very similar to the current Tuono V4 Factory. Surely they’ll do a standard version and an R version, but weirder things have happened before. I’ve never owned a Triumph, but this one has me intrigued people. What do you all think?
OnTheBackWheel.com 