2020 TRIUMPH THRUXTON RS
R I D E R E V I E W
P70
WE WRECK THE 2020 TRIUMPH
THRUXTON RS. OR DID WE?
Three impossibly tight second-
gear bends snake their way
through the Portuguese moun-
tains, carving side to side like
they're trying to shake me off
their back. I enter way too fast
for an old bike, the steel cradle
chassis ties itself in a knot, each
rear shock fighting the other for
control; the road runs out, and the
ditch offers a dusty embrace.
I lay there hoping that the tail
rider doesn't spot me, so I can
prolong my embarrassing apology
for wrecking a bike with only 300
miles on the tacho. At least, that's
what should have happened.
Instead, I throw the new
Thruxton RS into the first turn,
flick through the second, then
immediately into the third, drag-
ging boot at each apex before
picking the front wheel up out
onto the straight. This is sports
bike nonsense; this is how you're
supposed to ride a Street Triple,
not a damn retro café racer. What
does the Thruxton think it's play-
ing at, holding a wheel high in
the air through second, third and
fourth gears? Silly Triumph, bad
Triumph, awesome Triumph.
UNDER THE SKIN
Triumph has taken the Thruxton R and
tweaked the engine to rev a little higher, make
more power and to spin up faster. Modifica-
tions to the crankshaft, clutch basket and
alternator have reduced inertia of the engine
by 20 percent—in English, that means it feels
more responsive, more eager to pick up
speed. Triumph proudly announced that the
alternator now features a rare-earth magnet.
Brembo M50
monobloc
calipers are
mated to a
rather quiet
ABS system.
