2016 Triumph Speed Triple R

2016 TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE R

IGNITION

CW FIRST RIDE

The Streetfighter godfather

Thomas Montano

You have to hand it to Triumph for staying true to its soul with the Speed Triple. Triumph has always had a certain sense of attitude and allure surrounding it. Bonnevilles and Tridents ruled back in the day, but neoclassics like the Speed Triple carry on its personality in the John Bloor era.

Since ’94, the Speed Triple’s core design principles have remained intact: a brutish up-bar, café-style motorcycle. The new 2016 Speed Triple S and R models might seem similar to their

predecessors, but they have evolved quite a bit. A redesigned i,050cc three-cylinder powerplant incorporates 104 changes. The result is an increase in torque and power across the entire rev range, with torque peaking at a claimed 83 poundfeet at 7,850 rpm and horsepower up to 140 at 9,500 rpm. Key changes include new pistons, crankshaft, a redesigned cylinder head complete with a new combustion chamber shape and better-flowing intake ports, new transmission ratios, and an

updated slipper clutch.

Equally important is the ride-by-wire throttle system ECU that’s borrowed straight from the Daytona 675 R supersport. The system features five Rider modes with interchangeable ABS and traction control settings. New throttle bodies are fed by a redesigned airbox, which has a more direct airintake inlet positioned between the redesigned dual headlights. A lighter and better-flowing claimed 70 percent) exhaust system completes the equation.

The introduction for the 2016 Speed Triple took place just outside of Barcelona, Spain. Greeted by sunshine but cold temperatures, we focused on the R model, which has the same power output as the S model but features Öhlins suspension components front and rear. First up, we hit the motorway, and the big triple never hesitated or coughed while modulating the throttle, simply providing smooth and steady fuel delivery. Roll-on performance is quite good with plenty of usable grunt across the rev range.

Lucky for me, the Speed Triple was comfortable and accessible. At first, I thought that the bike felt smaller than the previous Speed Triple, but it’s really a revised seating position that creates the sensation. The seat has a smaller central pad and is 20mm narrower at the front with sloping sides, complemented by a narrower tank.

This change moves the rider farther forward and more over the front of the bike.

Giving the bike a good thrash-

ing, we found it handled well too. The 43mm Öhlins NIX30 fork provides excellent feel and feedback, and the damping controlled input from the unpredictable road surfaces nicely. Out back, the Öhlins TTX 36 RSU shock helped keep the bike in line and only allowed unwanted movement under extreme conditions. The bike is responsive with the upright handlebars positioned for good

leverage. The R is easy enough to turn and pretty stable at speed, but on some of the tighter sections you will have to put more effort into the bars to finish off the corner.

The Speed Triple was a pleasure on the street, but an afternoon track session at the tight Calafat Circuit would tell the whole story. Turn-in and trail braking were very predictable, and midcorner stability was

2016 TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE S/R

ENGINE TYPE DOHC inline-3

DISPLACEMENT 1050cc

SEAT HEIGHT 32.5 in.

FUEL CAPACITY 4.0 gal.

CLAIMED DRY WT. 423 lb.

BASE PRICE $13,200/$14,900

excellent. But the Speed Triple does require a fair amount of effort at the bar to get it to change direction quickly. At some point you will need to slow down, and the Brembo 320mm semi-floating rotors with fourpiston, radial-mounted monoblock calipers performed very well with great feel and power. Braking extra hard on the track caused the fork to bottom using Triumph’s recommended setup, which in turn made it somewhat difficult to get it turned. But the slipper clutch was working well, the rear end staying in line and stutter free.

The bike features five Ride modes: Rain, Road, Sport, Track, and Rider (the last of which can be customized). ABS and TC can also be turned off in the menus. The ride modes were easier to distinguish on track. In one session, I tried my own custom Rider map with the Track throttle setting, which was quite abrupt, but the bike had excellent torque and accelerated quickly. The Track setting has the least amount of TC interference, and with the ABS turned off it was about as unruly as possible, which I enjoyed.

The rear end was hooking up nicely and pushing me out of the corners with only a slight hesitation when TC kicked in.

I also tried Sport mode and found response smoother with slightly less power but equally fun to ride.

The thing I enjoy the most about the new Triumph Speed

Triple is the fact that it is a well-rounded bike capable of performing excellent on street or track. It’s no longer the most potent bike in the class, having to go head to head with KTM’s Super Duke R and BMW’s S1000R, but it’s very enjoyable to ride and will always put a smile on your face. CTU