The Speed Triple has been around for some years now and was given a serious update for 2005. The British by nature are reserved, but the Speed Triple is as unreserved as you can get. A minimalist triple that at the same time is as luxurious as a naked bike can get.
Text: Tor Sagen/Photo: Carlos Ballester, Claire McHugh
The first thing that hits you with this bike is that the torque in this big 1050cc engine is shifted to the bottom of the register. Right from 4.000 rpms it’s approaching top torque. We’re storming through the roundabouts like they don’t exist and grinning at how lightly this new Speed Triple handles. The broad handlebars shake from side to side when gassing hard in first, second and third gears. The Speed Triple is a bit two-faced in that it feels aggressive and rip-roaringly fast with a three-toned shriek in the high revs. In the low revs it is still rudely quick (and this is down to the new torque register) but the engine is so gentle and flexible that you won’t believe it from the rider’s seat. But it has to be said that the most impressive thing is just how easy it is to flick the triple from side to side and how light it feels to ride in spite of its very average dry weight. The Triple has got top spec tyres and brakes and the new Michelin Pilot Power are really impressive. Triumph has made the new Speed Triple more lively with the new 180/55-ZR17 rear tyre and ten extra horse-power in addition to the extra torque right from the low revs.
Lively engine With such a lively engine it is great that Triumph has improved the gearbox so that all that is required is to press lightly up for inspired riding on twisty roads. There is more movement in the chassis when riding over uneven surfaces but riding off-the beaten track I got an insight into why this may be - my thought is that this flex is most probably designed in deliberately. The sound is a design matter as well, the triple burbling like an old coffee pot when engine braking before the bends. All this gives the otherwise soft and flexible engine more character. It doesn’t take a hard twist on the throttle before the Triple rears up on its rear wheel either. It is almost as playful as a Supermotard but with speed resources up towards 150MPH. The seat height at 815mm and no faring, sitting exposed to the wind does get tiresome for the neck muscles on the motorway. On the test bike there is a little faring, but it is mostly for show. We rode several long trips and one of these with a pillion. The pillion seat is tiny and the foot pegs are uncomfortably high unless you happen to be carrying a midget. The Speed Triple is meant for neither long trips nor pillion comfort, but we didn’t regret all those motorway miles when we finally got to the mountain roads that were our goal. The Speed Triple is perfectly suited to narrow roads even if we got tired of the on/off fuel injection. Changing the Speed Triple for the Sprint ST, the ST showed no hint of this tendency. This led me to believe that one of them had been ridden-in and serviced better than the other. It was enjoyable in any case on the mountain roads and life was great until the heavy rain started. Oh well, only 100 miles home in a wet set of leathers.
Tyres and brakes The rainy weather gave a chance to check out how the tyres moulded to the wet road surfaces. With the motorway clogged up with traffic and already drenched to the core, all I wanted was to get home as quickly as possible. The tyres are grippy and the rear tyre didn’t slip at all even accelerating through traffic. Having built up some confidence in the Michelin Pilot Power tyres, I accelerated and braked fairly hard without losing any grip. Even though the Pilot Power tyres are quite sporty, they grip well on the wet tarmac even after a period of riding at low speeds. At motorway speeds of around 60-70Mph they shift away the surface water. The effectiveness of the front brake diminishes a little with motorway driving, especially in the wet so I didn’t use them as often. However the radial Nissin brakes along with the new USD fork and Michelin tyres give outstanding feedback to the rider and this is especially useful in the wet when it is essential to know what the front tyre is doing in a braking situation. The day after-out riding again but this time thankfully in the dry. I tried setting the adjustable front-brake lever to 1 as I like a lot of bite early on in the delivery. However it still seems that the effect is too far into the brake-lever travel and the unlubricated back of the brake blocks are squealing. It is easy enough to lock the front wheel with the new Nissin radial brake even if you do have to squeeze quite hard. The gold-coloured calliper is in keeping with the gold fork leg and gold design on the test bike. This is clearly a bike for the fashion conscious rider.
