Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128380
2005 Triumph Speed Triple 7050 a decade ago with the T509 - allowed Harley-Davidson to hijack the "street rod" moniker for its new V-Rod ultracruiser, because the Triumph is still the original, the best... The One. Only. now even more hot to trot. more ready to rumble. Though its short-assed street-fighter styling makes the Speed Triple look short and stubby, in fact it's not excessively so, with a 57.16-inch wheelbase that delivers good stability around long. fast-sweeping turns taken at ton-up speeds as the alloyframed Triumph is happy to do. But it's in the tighter stuff that the Speed Triple excels. First thing's first, though: Riding the Speed Triple is an aural delight. with a muted but evocative-sounding threecylinder howl coming from the airbox and twin exhausts when you gas it up hard. varying in pitch according to how hard you have it wound open. It's quite an achievement by Triumph that such a musical motorcycle should still be Euro 2-compliant in this day and age. and the result is a bike that demands to be ridden without earplugs. In spite of its ultraflat torque curve. you'lI find yourself looking for excuses to change gear on the Speed Triple even when it absolutely doesn't need it. You're always aware of this motorcycle's melodic nature as you ride the flat. meaty torque curve and short-shift through the six-speed gearbox. with its muchimproved remote-linkage change action. 44 before taking care to blip the throttle very emphatically as you downshift. just to be sure of a full concert performance. Triumph has obviously taken on board the criticisms of its bland-sounding, sewing machine-silent, as-delivered Thruxton Bonneville sports twin and made sure it couldn't be faulted for the same error this time around on the Speed Triple. which. each time you blip the throttle. delivers a visceral thrill - not only for the sound but also for the way you're always aware of the engine revving beneath you. Though vibration-free thanks to the gear-driven counterbalancer. the Speed Triple is far from being as electric-smooth as a four-cylinder hot rod of the likes of the Z I 000 Kawasaki or MV Agusta Brutale. Rather. like a Benelli TnT I I30. the only bike it resembles in character. the Speed Triple has much more personality in the way it responds to the throttle. There's an elemental rawness to the Triumph's makeup, not only in its cut-down. stripped-back styling but also in the whole riding experience it offers. However. the Triumph shares the same smooth pickup and impeccable fuelling as the small-cube 7S0 Brutale. in this case from the refined-feeling Keihin EFI. which delivers liquid but muscular response. Though it shares the same motor as the equally new Sprint ST sports tourer I was riding in South Africa just three weeks ear- JUNE 1,2005 • CYCLE NEWS lier, the Speed Triple version of Triumph's new liter-plus engine has returned to deliver not only more bhp but also increased low-down punch and an even more linear torque curve and power delivery. pulling without a hiccup or any hint of transmission snatch from 2000 rpm in top gear all the way through to the 10.5OO-rpm rev limiter. This means you can ride along just minding your own business in town or in a line of traffic. and the Speed Triple will just go with the flow. without complaint. But show it the open road and a series of bends, and Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde just by hooking it back a couple of gears and going for it. leaning your body weight forward to load up the front end as you use the good leverage of that high-set handlebar to max out the grip from that great new Michelin Pilot Power rubber as you crank the Triumph from one side to another through a series of second- and third-gear comers. The narrower 5.50-inch rear wheel fitted to the new bike does a good job of making it more agile in changing direction. Without unduly affecting ride quality (the Speed Triple rides broken surfaces okay and doesn't jiggle around over bumps), the Showa suspension is quite stiffly sprung at both ends - the rear shock presumably to counter the torque from that meaty motor. the front to avoid compressing the upside-down fork too excessively under the weight transfer delivered by those brilliant Nissin radial brakes, which not only stop the Triumph so hard and fast, but do so with lots of feel and response. It's an ideal setup which. even with the stiff front end. doesn't have the back wheel waving in the air or the bike weaving about if you slow hard and late for a second-gear bend. and there's enough compliance from those fully adjustable forks - once you've taken a bit of time to dial them in - to make sure you can exploit the Speed Triple's poised. balanced handling in maxing-out turn speed. In spite of its meaty power delivery, this is very far from being a point-and-squirt motorcycle - though once you get back on the gas for the drive out of a bend, you'lI revel in the grunt of the long-stroke threecylinder motor as you surf the torque curve and howl toward the horizon. Even if there's the inevitable temptation to make those shifter fairy lights flash in your face by redlining it all the time. you'lI soon get tired of that and instead find yourself shifting up at around 7000 rpm in every gear, which (especially in the top three ratios. which are closely spaced) will have you right back in the meat of the action in the next-higher gear. The waves of torque deliver impressive acceleration. allowing the front wheel to lazily waft in the air very easily but still controllably - no wonder Triumph is the approved supplier to Keith Code's wheelie school in the USA. If you can't loft the front wheel on this bike just by twisting the wrist. it won't take you long to learn how! Though the Speed Triple is geared for a top speed of around 150 mph. in practice you won't want to cruise at more than 100 mph for long. with the needle on the whitefaced tacho parked on the 7000-rpm mark. That's when the wind blast becomes uncomfortable and you start having to hang on tight to stay aboard. But this isn't a bike for criss-crossing continents, and it's cer- tainly not for riding very far or long two-up - check out how high those passenger pegs are set. Instead, it's for boulevarding to the beach via the twisty coastal road. or for heading into the hills via the odd mountain pass or two. or for simply getting from A to B via the scenic route as fast as possible. taking no prisoners with any other twowheelers you find along the way. Like the Benelli TnT I I30 that it will inevitably be compared to - for following the same long-stroke three-cylinder route to added muscle - the new Speed Triple 1050 is a bike you'll be looking for excuses to go out and ride on. and for the kind of roads which demand to be hustled along, using the bike's great grunt and poised handling to the best advantage. Like Postman Pat said. this is indeed a bike with attitude, backed up with the performance to punch its weight - a mighty and very angry ant that's set to out-monster anything else in the "real" street rod marketplace. eN 2005 Triumph Speed Triple $9999 1050cc Liquid-cooled. DOHC. inline three-cylinder BORE x STROKE 79 x 71.4mm COMPRESSION RATIO 12: I CARBUREnON Eleetronic fuel injection IGNITION Digital inductive TRANSMISSION Six-speed STARTING SYSTEM Electric FUEL CAPACITY .4.7 gal. WHEELBASE S6.2 in. RAKEfTRAIL 23.S·/B"!mm SEAT HEIGHT 32.1 in. FRONT TIRE 120/70-17 REAR TIRE IBO/SS-1 7 FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL .N/A REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL N/A FRONT BRAKE Dual disc REAR BRAKE Disc FINAL DRIVE Chain CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT "! 16 Ibs. LIST PRICE DISPLACEMENT ENGINE TYPE