Dark And Handsome
Dark and Handsome
Special Edition Speed Triple
Don Canet
Great motorcycles, even a bike voted as Best Standard by Cycle World just a year ago, can quickly become yesterday’s news as attention shifts to the latest models. Looking to keep its award-winning streetfighter at the forefront, Triumph now offers a Special Edition Speed Triple 1050. A limited run of 50 such machines will be sold exclusively within the USA.
Basically, the Special Edition is a standard Speed Triple 1050 outfitted with several tasty bits selected from Triumph’s partsand-accessories catalog. At $11,999, the bike offers $1000 in savings compared to shopping for all the items individually and applying them to a $9999 base model. It’s worth noting that the SE’s parts package is installed by the dealer, and the stock items that are removed belong to the buyer. Can you say eBay?
So what makes this all-black Triple so special? The list of carbon-fiber parts includes the front fender, rear inner fender, upper and lower chainguards, heel guards, radiator cowls and sleek flyscreen. A chin spoiler and rear-seat cowl, both made of black plastic, offer sporting flair while black-anodized rear-axle covers complete the look. All up, about $1850 worth of aesthetic upgrades.
The big ticket item, however, is Triumph’s recently introduced Arrow 3-into-1 exhaust system-some $1300 when purchased separately. According to a company spokesman, the lightweight, low-slung performance pipe provided the catalyst that prompted this whole SE exercise. Featuring a stainless-steel header and midsection capped with a titanium muffler, the system is said to shave nearly 18 pounds of weight while also lowering the bike’s center of gravity for improved handling. Weighed on the CW scale, our test bike came in 19 pounds under a stocker, 444 without fuel.
Just as impressive was the performance improvement witnessed when rolled onto the CW dyno. Thanks to remapped fuel and ignition curves, power output remains as smooth and linear as the stock setup, while offering about 5 more ponies and an equal number of foot-pounds across the rev range, with a 10horsepower peak gain for a total of 127 hp at 9460 rpm.
Our SE 1050 proved every bit as fun and practical a ride as the base machine that had already won our Ten Best Bikes vote. The addition of the flyscreen provides a hint of wind protection for freeway comfort without introducing any helmet buffeting, and the deep note of the freer-flowing Arrow exhaust was pleasing to our ears. While the fit and finish of every replacement part passes judgment, the subframe’s unused mounting tabs for passenger pegs and stock exhaust stood out like a wart.
It’s a small price to pay for such an excellent overall value. Besides, don’t be too quick to sell those footrests, as you just may find yourself wishing to share the SE experience with someone special.
