Most bikemakers, when they strip a sports bike to create a “street fighter”, re-tune the engine for more torque and less top-end power (makes big wheelies easier) and shorten the overall gearing for explosive mid-range acceleration.
Not Triumph.
The 1050cc engine in the Speed Triple, probably the most basic, meanest-looking naked bike out there, has been borrowed from Triumph’s new Sprint ST but in this guise it makes 3kW more than it does in Hinckley’s suave sports tourer – a claimed 95.5kW at 9100rpm.
Peak torque is the same, however, a solid 105Nm at 7500rpm.
The final gearing has indeed been shortened; the bike tops out at 244km/h, way past the power peak and 200rpm on the wrong side of the 10 000rpm redline. Given perfectly still air and a longer run, it would probably hit the rev limiter (10 500rpm) in top.
But it’s the way it gets there that grabs you; the big three-cylinder engine will pull from 2800rpm in the lower gears and becomes seriously muscular from 4000 up. Then the power curve gets really steep, the front wheel comes up almost automatically and you find yourself hanging on as the Speed Triple tries to make a dent in the horizon.
Above the torque peak it begins to vibrate noticeably (below 700rpm it runs uncannily smoothly for a litre-plus three), making the experience even more intense, accompanied by a throaty three-cylinder howl – as much from the air box as the two under-seat exhausts.
Its acceleration is breathtaking, helped by a positive if rather remote-feeling clutch and a slick, quick-shifting six-speed gearbox that lends itself to clutchless shifts above second gear – although in traditional Triumph fashion the first-second shift is vocal.
But unless you drape yourself over the tank you’ll be concentrating on staying aboard rather than enjoying the ride. High-speed touring is not what this bike is about; it’s an urban cowboy and on its home turf it’ll have few peers.
When the lights turn it’ll get to 100km/h in a little more than three seconds with only one gear change, front wheel just grazing the tar.
The grand prix-style Nissin radial mount callipers on 320mm platters will haul it down just as hard with the exquisite control conferred by braided stainless-steel hoses and minimal dive from the 43mm front upside-downies.
The electronic fuel-injection has been set deliberately lean at idle so the bike pops and crackles bad-temperedly on over-run – a telling example of how the Hinckley boffins have bought into the Speed Triple’s “bad boy” persona.
Plenty of leverage
The wide, almost straight, motard handlebars give plenty of leverage for jinking through commuters, making this 189kg bike almost absurdly easy to ride. The upright seating position is comfortable and relaxed in the city and allows you to see over most four-wheelers.
Out in the country, on our standard test route, it’s a different story; the dual-rate front fork springs that give the bike its pinpoint turn-in stiffen up early on the bumpy test track, making the front end harsh to the point of discomfort.
The short wheelbase that allows the major masses to be clustered around the centre of effort for lightning changes of attitude translates into a choppy ride with some pitching and the occasional bone-jarring thump if you hit a bad patch at speed.
Reassuringly stable
The bike sometimes shakes its head disapprovingly at the state of our secondary roads (and always does so on full-throttle upshifts) but remains reassuringly stable on our (very smooth) “ride and handling” section.
Here everything comes together; the Speed Triple knifes through the long sweeps, settling early and accelerating hard from the apex on, and dives in and out of slow tight corners like a hawk after a rabbit, giving some sports bikes an unexpectedly hard time.
The abbreviated saddle is well-padded and surprisingly roomy although pillion accommodation basic – and the neat alloy footpegs are right under the point of the saddle for balanced ergonomics.
As litttle as possible
The big thing about the styling on a street fighter is that there isn’t any – or at least as little as possible. The Speed Triple’s tail light is built into the back of the saddle and the smallest possible brackets hold the number plate and indicators.
The bike’s front end is almost as minimal; a narrow central bracket holds two round chromed headlights and the same little LCD instrument panel as the Sprint ST.
It has a proper analogue rev-counter on the right with inset digital speedo while the screen is dominated by a digital clock and the engine temperature graphic; I suppose the emphasis on time is appropriate on an inner-city tool.