As soon as you release the clutch on the new Speed Triple, it is clear that every outing could end with jail time. The old 955cc version with its big power and ready-for-action upright riding position held a special place in the dark confines of the hooligan's heart, but this new one with a stouter chassis and more displacement will displace it.
See, as much as we loved the old "Trip," it was always a little rough around the edges. Throttle response could be abrupt and the shock harsh, while below-the-waistline "styling" left some unattractive fluid plumbing and front turnsignal mounts that were, if you'll excuse the invented word, "affrontational." New styling cleans up the signal mounts and engine, while giving the bike a new twist on the old punk theme. It clearly remains a Speed Triple (twin headlights, of course!), even with its new docked tail, five-spoke rims and twin, upswept exhausts with stainless silencers.
"We wanted to give the impression of riding an engine with wheels," said Product Manager Ross Clifford about the new 1050cc Tripper.
This thug is livin' clean: Exhaust catalyzers in the stainless exhaust system reduce emissions from the 128-horsepower, 1050cc inline-Triple. Mission accomplished. For not only is the engine the visual anchor, it is the magic center of the Speed Triple's goodness. The dohc inline-Three's sound is throaty, delicious, deep and full of power and gruff soul like Pavarotti after, say, 1050 non-filtered ciggies. Response is immediate and hearty. From 2000 rpm in the lower gears, the Speed Triple jumps forward. Despite the 6.4mm-longer stroke, the bigger engine is smoother than the previous version. In fact, it's really easy to smack into the 10,000-rpm rev-limiter. "Everything is new," said Clifford about the liquid-cooled engine. A redone cylinder head features altered port shapes, while recast cases contain the new stroker crank. Outer covers now have crisp edges, while some of the formerly exposed coolant lines have been rerouted to the back of the engine or up under the 4.7-gallon fuel tank. The oil-cooler is now located under the radiator rather than hung off the engine's right side. The major coolant hoses on the left remain, but ya gotta have coolant and ya gotta have a radiator if you want to make a claimed 128 horsepower and 78 foot-pounds of torque reliably from a liter-class engine.
Like the recently introduced Sprint ST (CW, May)
that uses the same engine, the Speed Triple now features Keihin EFI, which
Triumph goes to great pains to point out was developed specifically for
motorcycle use, unlike the previous Sagem setup. There was only the mildest
hiccup right off idle, but after that the show was on. Ask with the new
quick-action twistgrip, and ye shall receive quick action at the rear wheel.
Tuning of the EFI is much more aggressive than with the sport-touring ST, which
was softened for its more mellow duty. We'll take instant gratification any day.
Fitted to that fork you will note is a pair of radial-mount Nissin four-piston
calipers working on 320mm discs. There is great glory in their power, but as
with the Sprint ST, lever travel is too great and response a little
counterintuitive. Clifford said engineers tuned the brakes for a more
progressive feel than your typical hard-lever/aggressive-response radial setup,
but they went a bit too far for our taste, eliciting the dreaded "mushy"
response from one tester when asked to describe the feeling at the adjustable
lever. Outright power is there, but the in-between stages are just a little off.
Small stuff in the grand scheme—don't let the brakes stop you from getting a
Speed Triple.
At $9999, the Speed Triple is $1400 more expensive than our perennial
sport-standard favorite, the Yamaha FZ1, and $1000 cheaper than our other
perennial favorite, the air-cooled Ducati Monster 1000S, which has 34 less
claimed horsepower.
Such strange tragedies are rarely known in this
business, for when press introductions are scheduled, even in early March, they
always are in places where the world has confidence in the attendance of fine
weather along with the world's scoot-jockey typists. And the South of France has
been a reliable source of motorbiking ambience. Until now.
The first little flakes began to fall at our departure gas stop. By the time we
got into the hills, big, fluffy tufts of snow were blanketing parked bikes and
sticking to the road. We cracked off a few photo passes, because that's what you
do in this job no matter what, then headed up the road to an even higher
elevation for possibly more photos. Source Cycle World
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