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ance, even though if you can finally persuade him to do so, he falls in love with the way the bike performs. But why do so many people buy Suzukis, which look so awful, or Hondas which are so boring? Because they're looking for Japanese quality - they'll put up with the looks, because they know the bikes perform well and are dependable, so that's okay. Well, here's Triumph, the only non-Japanese company competing against them as equals in terms of product - but for Triumph, it's not enough just to be okay. What you're expecting now from Triumph is European charisma as well as Japanese quality - and John realizes now that having got the quality right, that's the kind of thing he has to be concentrating on now. You'll see a lot of great-looking, more distinctive Triumphs in the next few years, I'm sure of that - and the Sprint RS.S is the first of that line." Okay - but what's the rationale behind this specific model? "I travel to Hinckley twice a month and spend all day with John Bloor talking about motorcycles: John and I have a totally different approach to motorcycling. Because I'm Italian, I think that if you make it pretty, people will buy it - but because John is British, he says if it's good quality, then people will buy it. The idea of the RS.S is to combine the two - make something that is well put together, reliable and performing, which also looks good. As well as quality, you need passion and style - but never one without the other. Look at Buell: they've made good-looking bikes with an individual style, people bought them - but the quality was very poor, and see what happened? Buell is struggling for its existence. So John was completely right to build up a factory that was totally dedicated to quality - but now is the time to add some sex appeal, and since the triples are the baseline of the company, it made sense to start there. So that's why we agreed that I would develop the RS.S styling, using as the basis my own customized Sprint RS, but this time creating the prototype for a volumeproduction model to be built here in Hinckley, modified to deliver improved aesthetics, but at a small cost - so we couldn't alter the essential structure of the frame in any way. We had to do it right - but working to a budget. But I stress, this is a prototype future model commissioned by Triumph, not another Carlo special!" So, to create the RS.S - note that the Latin design process starts with the name: not merely an RSS, but with added punctuation! - Talamo has taken the standard existing Sprint RS triple, retained the stock chassis and of course the engine, but changed the design of the fairing, screen and front fender, while retaining the distinctive Triumph 'face' to the bike, as well the stock headlamps - a key issue in holding down costs, since these are very expensive to redesign and homologate. Note the addition of a decal , bearing the Triumph factory's address, as well as the Union Jack on the tail section - Carlo wants to stress the Englishness of the Triumph product, even if this one was restyled in Italy. A chin spoiler has been added, and the stock molded-plastic fuel tank subtly altered, to now include a pronounced handlebar crease, with the Triumph decal also repositioned. The handlebars fitted are from the Sprint ST sports tourer, which are slightly higher than those on the RS and give a slightly more upright and so more comfortable riding position, while the tum signals are more parts-bin stock. this time from the Tiger 955i. The mirrors, however, are stock RS ones, but because the fairing is narrower, they don't intrude so much on the styling by sticking out so far, and from sitting on the bike (sorry, no test ride - yet!) it seems they give adequate if not exceptional rearward vision. It's noticeable too, when you sit on it, that the RS.S seems slimmer and lower than the stock bike, even if the seat height is apparently unchanged: that's because the new seat is narrower than the old immediately behind the fuel tank, which also makes it easier to put your feet on the ground at a standstill - in tum making the RS.S a more attractive proposition for shorter riders, including women, than the bulkier-feeling stock RS. But the biggest change is in the RS.S's much lighter, shorter-looking appearance from the tank backward while still retaining space for a passenger. This is achieved with a new subframe carrying a different seat and tail unit (the seat pad is also new), now incorporating a Speed Triple rear light which has been reversed to provide a completely different look, and a bolton license plate carrier-cum-wheel hugger which is beautifully shaped, but begging to be replaced by an optional carbon-fiber unit from a future Triumph accessory catalog. Creating a bike which looks this good in factory-fresh form stands to provide an excellent basis and added incentive for customers to personalize it, which as Talamo knows from his days with Harley, is not only profitable for the manufacturer and its dealers, but also delivers added brand loyalty through a closer customer identification with the product. So, just as Yamaha originally created the plainJane TRX850 as an inexpensive Jmarket-only base product for its customers to personalize with custom sportbike parts, expect RS.S owners to add not only a performance exhaust and optional tuning parts, but also upside-down forks, an uprated rear shock, Brembo brakes, aftermarket wheels, a carbon wrap exhaust, carbon front fender and numberplate holder, etc. Hmm - I feel a project bike coming on. Back to the Talamo treatment, which also includes new footpeg mounting brackets which allows the exhaust can to be rotated in the opposite direction from stock, and so lifted up in a simple but effective means of altering the system's appearance. But the biggest single modification is the replacement of the stock conventional swingarm with a single-sided one from IIlIz"IU...... • .......... 7 .................. the 955i Daytona, with a restyled chainguard and stylized rear-sprocket protector. The result is a sportier, leaner, lighter-looking bike than the stock Sprint RS, which by comparison looks exactly what it is - a half-faired Sprint ST sportstourer with a double-sided swingarm and no passenger grab handle. Oh - and added sex appeal. "Everyone today is building world bikes for the whole planet," says Talamo, "but Harley-Davidson's success and profits have come from swimming against this current. Before the arrival of the V-Rod, Harley built 21-22 different models based on one motor and a half - but here at Triumph we have 12 models in the range, and four different engines. I believe it's time for Triumph to join Harley in the water and swim in the same direction, by developing a range of different bikes based on the same basic platform - and I believe John Bloor feels the same way. That's why we've created the RS.S, and our customers will be able to buy one in a couple of years. There will be more bikes like this from Triumph in the future - wait and see!" So does the creation of the Sprint RS.S mark the start of a new era of Harley-style, niche-target products for the British manufacturer? Triumph's export boss Ross Clifford supplies the answer. "I think the Bonneville and the Sprint are ideal models to create specialized models on the back of," he says. "I don't know yet if we'll carry that across to all families, but certainly those two will see other versions appealing to different market niches just as Carlo has already done in Italy, with his Bonneville Scrambler and Cafe Racer specials. But now that Carlo's created the RS.S prototype for us outside of Triumph as a finished conceptual bike, what we'll do now is develop it technically and put it into production. I'm not sure yet when that will be, because we're still adjusting our sights after the fire - and even if we started tooling for it right away, it would take 18 months to reach production. But I should stress this isn't a replacement for the existing RS, which has a great core market consisting of customers who want to go touring with it - this is a supplement to that, rather like an AJpina BMW or AMG Mercedes. But it'll definitely get built for sale in a cucle I. 1 .... _ I '__.... - ....... .. form pretty close to the way you see it now, probably at least two years from now - the fire has had zero impact on our product development, but this is just one of several new models we have in the pipeline. We'll be very interested to know what the public reaction is to the bike now they can see it for themselves, and to know if they want us to put it into production sooner rather than later, and if they'd like us to develop more bikes like this." So what's next, Carlo? "Firstly, I'd like to emphasize what fantastic potential Triumph has for doing this kind of thing - expanding the range to include many different models," says Talamo. "By moving away from the traditional Triumph model format, we've opened up a wider perspective - think of BMW, where they can only build Boxers or Rotax-engined singles, or Harley who can only make V-twins, or Ducati who can only build desmo V-twins painted red. This is a problem for them, because they have not enough charisma to be able to produce short-run special bikes with a variety of platforms - some maybe in a classical style with retro references, others with a more fresh, radical look. But Triumph can do this - because John has been careful not to tie the company's hands behind its back by only focusing on one kind of bike, on one kind of engine. So we're in the middle, and we can produce any kind of bike with a niche-model charisma - even scooters: why not? "So now that we've established this close working collaboration between myself and the people here at Triumph, the next thing I'd like to do is a completely new concept - still based on an existing bike, but instead of showing how I think we could do the same model even better, I want to demonstrate a completely different idea about where Triumph could be in the marketplace. And the third project, which has already been designed, is a bike that simply doesn't exist at the moment in any catalog - again, it's based on an existing bike, but it'll offer customers a completely new kind of model they can't buy anywhere just yet. " It appears as though there are more ideas yet to come from Triumph's semi-detached style studio in the land of Tamburini, Terblanche - and Talamo. l:IIII n e _:IS . AUGUST 7, 2002 45