TRIUMPH MOTO2 PROTOT YPE
FIRST TEST
P86
this meaty, muscular, middle-
weight motor is so eager to
deliver, with the row of blue
lights across the top of the dash
building in number en-route to
the 14,000 rpm rev limit. The
fact I could only see the upper
numbers on the analog tacho
thanks to Triumph's PR team
sticking a GoPro camera directly
in front of it, didn't help but after
a couple of laps I'd programmed
my mind to cut down on the
gearshifts and rev it right out on
the two short straights. I was
rewarded with the kind of vivid
acceleration a factory one-liter
Superbike delivered only a
handful of years ago, as the
Moto2 Triumph boasting a simi-
lar power-to-weight ratio howled
its way down the track, revs
shooting to that fourteen-grand
rev limit almost instantaneously.
Phew! This is fun.
Having now started to exploit
the extra power available at
higher revs, I thought I should
try to start using that longer first
gear in a couple of the slower
K-Tech has been heavily involved in
the development of the test mule.
Imagine how good 30 un-muffled
triples are going to sound like!
This dash should be familiar to any
Triumph riders.
Triumph last competed in Grand Prix racing
when factory tester Percy Tait (seen here
at Thruxton) finished second to Giacomo
Agostini MV Agusta triple on his 500
Daytona twin in the 1969 500cc Belgian GP
run on the ultra-fast Spa-Francorchamps
circuit. He was the only rider not
to be lapped by the Italian
world champion!
