Weird Science
Weird Science
CW RIDING IMPRESSION
ALAN CATHCART
Minimalist mayhem: Triumph's T509 Speed Triple
SITTING IN THE SUNSHINE AT THE Triumph T595 Daytona's international press launch was a solitary, jet-black T509 Speed Triple. Triumph's newest alloy-framed naked bike was in Spain for static display only, meant as a strong reminder that Triumph's Great Leap Forward is based on two new models, not just one.
Having arrived one day early to help Triumph representatives coordinate suspension and tire settings for the racetrack portion of the introduction, I was rewarded with a half-day street ride on the T509-with strict instructions to bring the bike back alive or incur the wrath of company boss John Bloor. Stoppies and wheelies were blacklisted, of course, but no one said anything about smoky burnouts!
If the first-generation Speed Triple was a born-again 1960s cafe-racer with twice the horsepower of a Dresda Triton or a Seeley Condor packaged in updated Ace Cafe styling, then the T509 comes from the opposite end of the style studio. This is a streetfighter with an attitude, a bad-ass bomber that looks mean and homy just resting on its sidestand. The color-coordinated flyscreen is the crowning glory. Wicked! It’s coupled with a twin-pack of halogen headlights, which-except for the chrome bodies-are the same as those fitted in the nose of the T595’s fairing.
The mechanicals are there, too. Indeed, the T509 has all the performance credentials of the old Speed Triple, and then some. The aluminumalloy, twin-spar frame, for example, is identical to the Daytona’s, right down to the steering geometry and wheelbase. Same goes for the Nissin disc brakes, Showa suspension, single-sided swingarm and fat, 6-inch-wide rear wheel. As a result, the bike is much more racetrack-friendly than the old bike, a fact that will benefit both roadracers and street riders.
Fitted with aftermarket suspension and a steering damper, previous Speed Triples handled acceptably on the racetrack. Even then, though, making the Triple turn took a lot of physical effort, underlining the compromises of Triumph’s modular design strategy. At a claimed 432 pounds dry, the new machine is a very different piece of hardware. In fact, it may be the besthandling naked bike in the world.
This thought registered loud and clear during my half-hour racetrack session at Cartagena. The fact that the T509 doesn’t have a steering damper says it all: Thanks in part to the fantastic grip offered by the Bridgestone BT56s, you can generate unlikely cornering speeds, but without fear of headshake. Hit a bump at the apex of a comer and the softly sprung Showa fork soaks it up like a sponge-just try that with the old bike’s Kayaba front end.
Real-world ride quality is excellent, too. Heavy braking or a really nasty bump will bottom the fork, but the stock settings are very good. Similarly, the single rear shock, though underspmng for the racetrack, is a nice compromise on the street. You’ll likely want to increase spring preload when adding a passenger, though.
Triumph says the riding position is identical to that of the T595, but the Speed Triple feels more aggressive. It’s as if the rider is tilted farther forward and the clip-on handlebars are mounted at a steeper angle. Chalk it up to the absence of a fairing and windscreen, I suppose. Nonetheless, the bike is fairly comfortable around town, more so when blasting down an open stretch of highway. The tiny flyscreen provides a surprising amount of protection, even if it looks like a Star Wars fashion accessory. For the more conservative, a 19708style single-headlight conversion kit is also available.
Though not as dramatically improved as the chassis, the new engine nonetheless transforms the Speed Triple into something special. Fuel-injected like the T595 but with a different management map, the liquid-cooled, dohc inlineThree uses compact, Daytona-type engine castings in a slightly detuned, smaller-capacity guise. Cylinder dimensions (76.0 x 65.0mm) are identical to the old Speed Triple model; displacement remains 885cc.
As with the Daytona, Lotus Engineering assisted in cylinder-head development. Valve sizes are 30mm intake and 26mm exhaust, down from the T595’s 32.5mm and 28mm, and with a slightly lower 11.0:1 compression ratio (versus 11.2:1 on the T595), the T509 produces a claimed 108 horsepower at 9100 rpm-a gain of 10 horsepower over the old model.
Power delivery is truly impressive. Unlike the more overtly sporting Daytona (which suffers from a debilitating, midrange flat spot), the T509 pulls cleanly off idle, accepts full throttle under 3000 rpm in top gear without hiccuping, and spins to 10,000 rpm before power tails off. The Triple is packed with midrange torque, making for an easy, pointand-squirt ride. Gear changes are superfluous, even when passing slower traffic.
It’s a real hooligan bike, too. Just crack open the throttle, fan the clutch and the front wheel reaches for the sky. This bike was made to ride its rear wheel (sorry Mr. Bloor, I couldn’t help myself).
In spite of the single, gear-driven balance shaft carried over from the previous model, the engine transmits a hint of vibration through the footpegs. Honestly, though, this tingling only enhances the experience, as does the slightly muted howl emanating from the oval, carbon-look muffler.
Triumph incorporated most of the Daytona’s weight-savings measures (magnesium covers, aluminum cylinder liners, a redesigned crankshaft, lightened crankcases, etc.), but failed to include the new six-speed gearbox with its narrower and lighter gears. Admittedly, the Speed Triple’s gear cluster is a new design with thicker, heavier gears presumably aimed at making a more robust package, but gear changes are nonetheless irritatingly notchy. Triumph gearboxes generally loosen-up after about 3000 miles, but I’ve ridden brand-new Japanese bikes and even Ducatis that shifted impeccably right from the get-go. To Triumph’s credit, though, this is the only chink in the armor.
Along with the Ducati M900 Monster, the Buell SI Lightning and the KTM Duke, the redrawn T509 Speed Triple joins the small world of down-and-dirty production streetfighters. A welcome addition, I’d say. □
