Thiple Threat
THIPLE THREAT
Return of the Triumph Trident
ALAN CATHCART
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF the motorcycle enthusiast.
One would have thought that in the rise of Triumph Motorcycles from its own ashes, the bike creating the biggest sensation would be the Daytona supersport machine. One would have been wrong. Both the Daytona and its sister, the Trophy sport-tourer (see "Triumphant!" CW, September, 1991), have been very warmly received. But the new Triumph that's met with the most affection is the new standard-style Trident Triple, a bike that provides a direct connection to the old Triumph Trident so beloved by classic-bike types.
The reasons for this have to do as much with the Tri dent's unfaired retro-styling as with the rebirth of one of history's most evocative engine configurations, the trans verse inline-Three.
The new Trident retains a lot of the charisma of the old T160 Triple, but in a completely modern context. You feel that charisma the moment you hop astride it and thumb the starter button. Cranking the liquid-cooled, dohc, 12valve motor to life produces a muted version of the famous low-key boom that was such a distinctive feature of the old BSA Rocket 3 and Triumph Trident. Twist this new Tri dent's throttle in any gear and the meaty torque of the 885cc engine propels you effortlessly forward, while the drone from the exhausts ihtensifies, though never to the point of repeating the legendary howl of the famous racing Triples of yesteryear.
One thing's missing, though-the high-frequency tingles you used to get from the old Trident. Today's Trident cre ated through Triumph's modular design philosophy by lopping a cylinder off the four-cylinder block, has no such vibration, thanks to a single balance shaft. It runs at engine speed, and is geared directly to the crank. This eliminates the vibration endemic to a three-cylinder motor with its crankshaft throws spaced 120 degrees apart.
This new 900 Trident, with its 76 x 65mm bore and stroke (a 750 version with a shorter stroke will be available shortly), is uncannily smooth. It doesn't matter if you accel erate through each gear, running the engine on each shift to its 9500-rpm redline, or if you allow the amazing flexibil ity and heaps of torque to pull you from a 1500-rpm fast idle in top gear. With a claimed 99 horsepower, this is a machine capable of 135-mph top speeds and 11-second quarter-miles. Either way you choose to accelerate, you'll arrive at top speed without a carburetion hiccup or hint of driveline snatch.
The Trident's six-speed gearbox is the same one fitted to all the new Triumphs; but with this engine's incredible willingness to pull, at least one of those ratios is superflu ous. As it is, the midrange torque is so massive, peaking at 6500 rpm with 60 foot-pounds, that you soon realize there's only one way to ride the bike. And that is to surf its waves of torque by shifting 3000 revs shy of the redline. This makes the Trident a relaxing, effortless mount whose per formance is in keeping with its friendly appearance.
Iflough it employs the same high-tensile steel spine frame and box-section aluminum swingarm common to all new Triumphs, and is fitted with Kayaba suspension front
and rear, the Trident has a different riding position from the Trophy, with the handlebars slightly wider and higher.
Triumph claims the decision to use these bars, as opposed to a flatter, narrower style, was a result of reaction by potential buyers when prototype Tridents were unveiled a year ago. The result is an upright riding position with, paradoxically, the footrests quite a long way back. This is comfortable enough for a quick blast to the shops or the morning grind to work, but it spells disaster for going much faster than 80 mph, at which speed the rider's upright body begins catching a lot of wind.
Unfortunately for those who like to fiddle with motor cycle suspensions, the Kayaba rear shock is not adjustable: What you have is what you're stuck with. Fortunately, standard shock settings seem to cope just fine with most condi tions, and the same is true at the front. Indeed, suspension calibrations are so well thought-out that the bike eats up bumps and road shock without a murmur, and doesn't chatter when pressed hard around ripply surfaced corners. A slight excess of front-end dive under braking is bother some, but even at that, the Trident provides a com fortable ride.
Though the extra leverage obtained through the higher, wider handlebars makes the Trident seem to steer more quickly than the Trophy, in fact the geometry of both bikes is identical: a 27-degree steering-head angle, 4.1 inches of trail and a 58.6-inch wheelbase. All of this combines to yield stable handling on fast curves, but slightly heavy steering on slower turns.
The original-equipment Dunlop radials (soon to be replaced by Michelins, according to factory sources) give excellent grip in dry and wet conditions. One consequence is that the footpegs ground relatively easily, making this a bike for cruising and commuting rather than for high-ener gy, backroad scratching.
The Trident's standard chassis specifications should suit most owners just fine, especially as the Nissin brakes and their two-piston calipers work well, doubtless because at a claimed 467 pounds dry, the unfaired Triple scales 84 pounds less than the Trophy, which uses the same brakes. Though the twin, 11.65-inch front discs are fixed on the Trophy and Trident-rather than floating, as on the sport-
oriented Daytonas-they give more than adequate stopping power, with lots of sensitivity.
So, in the end, the reborn Trident represents a return to the notion of a motorcycle as an everyday instrument of travel, rather than a macho performance weapon. It is seen, by those who welcome it, as a multi-use, no-frills, two-wheeled runabout. Yes, it is capable of highly illegal speeds if the owner really insists. But it is equally happy-and capable-trickling through city traffic on the way to work, or swinging through one's favorite set of curves at a comfortable seven-tenths pace on a Sunday morning ride.
This new Trident 900 incorporates all of the values inherent in traditional motorcycles, mixed with a healthy dose of modern efficiency and performance. The result is a machine quite unlike anything else available in today's marketplace. To stamp it a "multi-purpose" machine might imply that it's jack of all trades but master of none, competent at the expense of being boring. That's not the Trident. It is an everyday bike that excites. In creating it, Triumph has created a 1990s motorcycle with all the charisma of that company's most individual model of yesteryear, a bike endowed with a distinctive personality that sets it apart from almost anything else you can buy.
