Triumph have made some slight improvements to the Sprint ST in 2008. The changes are a new steel fuel tank to enable magnetic tank bags, better headlights and more durable rubber on the foot pegs. That's all Triumph are telling us anyway. TS
NEC 2007: The babes are out, Charley Boorman interviewed, 250 pictures!
It's all out there now, the news from KTM, BMW, Ducati, CCM, Royal Enfield, Megelli, Triumph, Hyosung, Benelli and Vectrix. The 990 Supermoto, The Woodsman, CMX, Gorgeous Triumph show specials, 08 BMW's, Charley Boorman and a lot of babes! See it all here!
2008 Triumph Rocket III Touring tested!
Just back from Texas we have added some pictures and text from the world launch in San Antonio. More pictures here. Video below.
We are now in Texas at the world launch of the Triumph Rocket III Touring unveiled in Milan. The main changes are that the Touring have got a new frame, new wheels, new tyres, new headlight, new mega-wide seat, hard panniers, new fuel tank and a detuned engine that now produces a massive 209Nm at very low 2.000rpm and horsepower hence reduced to 107bhp @ 5.400rpm. Much more and test later here.
2008 Triumph Rocket III Touring, first official picture and info!
The big new Triumph Rocket III Touring model is now official news. The new Rocket model gets the same 2.300cc triple engine as before, but an all new frame, suspension, seat, fuel tank, lights and instruments. Being a Touring model it now gets hard luggage and a big windscreen as standard, both easily detachable. Tear shaped footboards are in place and the tyres are now narrower than on present Rocket models. Price: £12799 OTR
2008 Triumph Rocket Touring, first picture (top left)!
Triumph have left some news for later this year. In Paris the upgraded Speed Triple, Thruxton 900 with new bars and fuel injection and the Daytona 675 Special Edition was launched. Not one all-new model, but the Street Triple 675 was launched early as an 08 model to satisfy demand. The Rocket Touring is literally the biggest new bike as we're talking the next Rocket III model. The Rocket Touring will as you can see on this shady picture be long and low fitted with a big wind-screen and hard luggage. We don't expect it to be too different from the current Rocket III Classic fitted with touring gear so we have added a picture of that too next to the mad Tribal we spent much time on this year. So for now our speculation of a Gold Wing version of the Rocket III is out of the window for 2008. Perhaps 2009? We really do hope Triumph will build a massive fully faired and modern mega tourer in the future, but such a bike demands heavy investment and a lot of development time. The 2008 Rocket Touring will be launched later this year in Texas and we'll be there. Raptors & Rockets have tested all the mammoth touring machines available on the market today. See links below. Tor Sagen
2008 Triumph Street Triple tested! First UK road test!
Raptors & Rockets have now done the UK's first road test of the 2008 Triumph Street Triple. Which means you will be treated to some stunning video (really, onboard, roadside, walk around etc), a huge photo gallery, test and a lot more. First impressions are of one extremely entertaining motorcycle. Even more so than the firms very own Speed Triple! We say you don't need a 1000 no more after riding the Street Triple 675! Where Triumph found all that torque whilst still maintaining a class leading horsepower figure we don't know, but one thing is for sure; the Speed Four is now firmly in the history books alongside the 600TT! Triumph has done it again and made the most entertaining naked midrange motorcycle on the market. Just wait for our onboard video and you'll see what I mean. TS
Triumph Tiger 1050 after being hit by car from behind!
This Triumph Tiger 1050 belongs to the Triumph marketing department and one of the Hinckley employees got the shock of his life when a reckless car driver hit him from behind whilst at a standstill. The rider was catapulted forward, but luckily survived the accident which must be any bikers nightmare! Raptors & Rockets caught these pictures on mobile phone camera as evidence of how bad some car drivers observation skills are. there is pretty much nothing anyone can do to protect themselves from such an incident apart from always filtering to the front of the queue. Safe riding!
2007 Triumph Bonneville America featuring Billy Bob and Harley XL1200R
Take one 2007 Triumph Bonneville America and add our very own Billy Bob Leyfield into the equation and you get an interesting mix. Apart from the Suzuki 2008 news this last week has been all about America. So we thought we'd add an English motorcycle made in tribute to American consumers to all this. Triumph's whole Classic range will get upgraded fuel injection to replace the current carbs this Autumn so the America is one of the very last new carburettor motorcycles we will ride. The video below is a celebration to America and for good measures we've added another video showing the Triumph America with the Harley-Davidson XL1200R Sportster as well. TS
The funniest official motorcycle video ever, Triumph Rocket III!
Whatever you are doing today, whichever bike that you might own, watch this video from Triumph about the scientific aspects of creating a Rocket III from scratch. Now naturally, to create a Rocket III from scratch, you need to kick-start the universe first-but Rocket science never was funnier! When Triumph first came up with the idea to make this film they wanted a Harley in the film too. The Harley would sort of merge into this fat American bloke and the Rocket into an average English bloke. Puns intended, but Triumph left it to what you can see below. It's very funny so make sure you watch this video. TS2007 Triumph America test coming...
2008 Triumph Street Triple 675
Triumph have finally unveiled the final design for the 2008 Street Triple. It is a fine mixture between the donor Daytona 675 and the big brother Speed Triple 1050. Take some finely tuned triple power, tune for even more torque at revs where you need it. Then add some stylish S3 underseat exhaust and double round headlights and voila you've got the new Street Triple. Simon Warburton told us in an earlier interview that the Daytona 675 was designed from the beginning with a naked version in mind and here it is. In the UK the new naked will retail at £5.500. Raptors & Rockets will ride the new bike on the road in the UK as soon as the Street Triple is ready on the press fleet. TS
Simon says-short interview with Simon Warburton, Triumph Product manager
New products are more important now than ever. Manufacturers like Triumph and Ducati spend pretty much every penny that they earn on new products and R&D. Triumph have seen instant good results with spectacular new models such as the Rocket III and Daytona 675. What's next?, Tor Sagen asked Simon Warburton:
SW: There have been many rumours circulating about a new middleweight naked bike. At this stage I can only confirm that we will shortly be announcing a bike that has been inspired by both the Speed Triple and Daytona 675. It's a bike that particularly France and Italy have asked for since the big Speed Triple is so popular there.
TS: Being the Product Manager for Triumph you also know all the secrets. Most will remain a secret until you are ready to launch, I know. However, with the 675 being semi-official. Can you give me some trivia or detail about the design/concept period on this bike? And also please confirm the correct name. Speed Triple 675, Sport Triple 675, Street Triple 675 (this is the one isn't it?)
SW: I’m afraid most secrets will have to remain secrets! One thing I can point out is that anyone who looks closely at the way the Dayton 675 engine and frame were designed and made can see that they were always intended to be used in a naked bike at some point. For the name, you’re very close with your guess, but I can’t confirm exactly what it will be.
TS: Can I please have an official statement on:
The Classic range: Fuel injection or not in 2008? Any new additions in the future?
SW: I can’t confirm fuel injection, but obviously we will comply with emissions regulations.
TS: Rocket III: In how many directions can you go with different platforms for the Rocket III. The luxury touring option seems to be the one everyone wants to talk about, but how about an extreme performance (I know, the R3 is already pretty extreme, but with 200bhp big displacement Yamaha Vmax rumblings in mind...) version that would take the world by storm, 2004 re-visited? I know from what I have learned on the tour and from other sources that the current Rocket III engine is very unstressed. Why don't Triumph "stress" it up a bit?
SW: You’re right in that there are several possibilities with the Rocket III. Looking at our range as a whole, there are lots of possibilities for us and we have to prioritise which projects we do. At the moment plenty of people around the world are using our Rocket III as a basis for their high performance projects, and maybe one day we’ll do something like that. Not just yet, though.
TS: Litre class Daytona 675 concept: You said to me that Triumph could go about it in the same way as with the 675 and produce an equally stunning concept in the litre+ class. Most likely the best concept would be litre+ rather than litre, similar in concept to the Ducati 1098 (as in narrow, stunning with big bore displacement, brilliant handling but not necessarily more horsepower than the big four). But that there is no such bike on the table now. Such a bike would take years to develop.
Give me your ultimate big Daytona statement please?
SW: I don’t think anything I can say will stop the speculation – I have tried! Either people try to find a way to work around my words, or they say I’m not telling the truth! The best answer I can give is that maybe we will do it one day, but we have other priorities at the moment.
TS: Can you envision a Triumph "Hypermotard" featuring the 1050 triple in Tiger tune? The way I see it the Tiger is in concept the same as Ducati's Multistrada. It has done Ducati a world of good to launch the Hypermotard. Can you see the same thing happening for Triumph if you also chose this direction for another 1050 (or even 675) platform?
SW: Ducati have certainly received a lot of publicity for the Hypermotard, and it looks like a very nice bike. We have projects in development that will be just as interesting for motorcyclists, but currently do not have a “hypermotard” version of the Tiger planned.
Primal scream from Triumph Tribal!
More about our Triumph Rocket III Tribal longtermer coming... It's all action this time and motorcycle triple sounds to die for!
Triumph Rocket III Tribal longtermer update
We have soon spent two months on the Triumph Rocket III Tribal. Lately I have documented (pictures and video) how to remove the catalyst, upgrade the ECU and add performance pipes. I have spent one rear tyre, splashed a whole stretch of the M6 Toll road clean of snow and slush and built up enough material to do a big, big feature on the Rocket III including history, performance upgrades, tests (Rocket III standard, Rocket III Tribal with loud exhaust, Rocket III Classic with touring accessories and soon a standard Rocket III Classic.) and more at the end. More about the performance upgrades soon, but the result is a completely changed bike. To the better I would say, better more free acceleration, more top end, better fuel consumption (!) and a better general feel. And what a great noise from those new pipes! You can hear how it sounds like by checking out the video below. TS
Triumph 2008, Street Triple 675 and a peak into the future…
Triumph in the immediate future is all about fuel injected parallel twins, a new naked triple middleweight, Rocket III luxury tourer and big bore parallel twins. A bit further ahead than all that we might just see that elusive litre plus sportsbike after all…
Words: Tor Sagen/CG’s: Robert O’Brien
I will start with the facts that can be proven and that has been confirmed to us by Triumph or a Triumph insider:
Fact 1: Triumph will add fuel injection to its entire retro parallel twin-motor range. The new fuel injection has now become necessary to tackle Euro 3 (oh how I am starting to hate that word as not only are the manufacturers forced to comply, but I have to use it in every bloody news article that I write…). Last I spoke to Triumph about this there were plans to design a sort of “dummy” carburettor to keep the classic looks.
Fact 2: There is a new Daytona 675 based Speed Triple. It has been seen in finished shape at the Triumph factory by one of our sources. My source could exclusively reveal that the new 675 based triple naked will get these Speed Triple design features: the famous double headlight and double stubby S3’ish high silencers. The new bike (it will not be called either Daytona or Speed Triple) will get a new name. When I have finished with the facts, I’ll give you our thoughts. Triumph’s new middleweight keeps suspension, brakes, chassis and the 675cc triple engine from the Daytona 675. But the 675 motor has been tweaked for even more midrange punch and slightly less top-end. Perhaps the best thing we have heard yet about the new middleweight is that it will retail at just above £5.300 in the UK putting it in direct competition (which in the 675’s case is really good…) with the likes of Honda’s CB600F Hornet and even the dead cheap Suzuki GSR600. Last fact about the new naked 675: The bike will be launched already in June/July and that could mean that it can hit the showrooms already in 2007! See our mock up of a naked 675 with a fly fairing rather than the double Speed Triple one here.
Fact 3: Triumph is always in the process of developing new models. Lately that has involved around 5-6 new models at all times where 2 and sometimes even 3 of these has been launched in a year. That again tells us that around 2-3 new projects are started each year. Not all of these new projects turn into a roadbike in the end. And some projects can take many years to finish.
Fact 4: Triumph is looking to make more of a distinction between the different Rocket III models. When the 2.3 litre Rocket III was launched in 2004 it created a huge vacuum between the parallel 900cc engine and the new 2.300 triple engine.
So with the facts spelt out, here comes the fun part where I get to speculate a bit. I mentioned that the new naked 675 will get a new name. In the world of Monsters, Fazers, Hornets, Raptors, Bandits, Shivers and Tuono’s Triumph needs something striking. Such as the Hurricane 675 that also takes care of British heritage-Sounds different than Speed Four anyway. But the latest is that the new bike could be named Street or Sport Triple 675.
Now over to what everyone wants to know. This can still not be confirmed and hence I am mentioning it here rather than under facts. This is related to Fact 3 and it is now safe to say that Triumph at least has done the research needed. A new big Daytona has soon been speculated to death and that is one of the reasons that we haven’t even bothered to commission a mock up. However, the latest I hear is of a 1200cc triple from a source that is close to the factory. But bear in mind that the official Triumph comment is still that there will be no Daytona 1050… No 1050 it is then. I never interrogate my official Triumph sources, but I did specify a 1200cc triple and got the answer that there will be no Daytona 1050. So just keep thinking what you were thinking and Triumph will soon enough let us in on what is going on regarding big news like this.
As to new parallel twin models it makes sense with a new bike in between the 900cc models and the Rocket III. A model such as the America would suit such a big engine that most likely will be in the range between 1300-1600cc. This is a big market in, yes you guessed it, America where Harley-Davidson rules with its big twins.
Last, but so not least is the rumblings about a Rocket III luxury tourer. Luxury tourer is also a huge market in the US of A and Triumph would be silly not to make more use of the power packed Rocket III platform. Hidden behind a huge fairing less people would have less to say about how the motor itself looks like and it can only be a win-win situation for Triumph to make one. With the 200Nm triple motor such a bike would make mincemeat of Honda Gold Wing and all Triumph needs to do is buy sofas at Ikea, mount them on the Rocket III frame, make at least 110 litres of built-in luggage space and invest in more plastic and a good stereo! Voila, you have got a Rocket III luxury tourer!
