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/128620
Cycle News BOOee Sportbike Shootout 2000 B Umey!: Hous ing a fue l -i nj ec ted 600cc In lln e four that works great right out of the box, the all-new Triumph TT garnered more tha n a few votes for best streetblke o f the l ot. A step behind the racers o f the b unch, the TT manages to ...,.---, be competitive without being competitive••• . Get It? m uch flog it aro u n d t he t ra c k wit h re c k le ss a bandon. Ha ney even managed to hold the bike wide o pen th ro ug h a tricky double-apex right-hande r that sta rts you back down toward the longest straight away on the track. Powe r delivery isn't the only thing that was soft. All our te sters noticed that the Triumph was a little o n the cushy side in the suspension department, a nd also that the dual 310mm Nissins used up front a re no t qu ite as powerful as the binde rs on some of the other bike s in th e shootout. Though the bike imparts a rather bulbous feel on the track, handling remains neutral until the soft s us pe nde rs ar e pushed too ha rd . T hen the TT tends to fe el a littl e wis hy -wa s hy up front . In fact , th ink CBR600F2 and you wo uld be getting close to matching the performan c e - and styling for that matter - of th e TT600. Th e Tr iumph can g et around a trac k, e ve n th ou gh it ma y never see one in th e heat of battle . P~hrump More Than Just a Start Ha rd to be lie ve th at it has already be en five years s inc e J o hn Bloor began bu ilding new British motorcycles und er t he Triu m ph b a n n e r. Th o s e first m a c h in e s we r e a bi t c obb y , but they showed p rom ise , and the motorcycle world embraced them in the hope that better days were still ahead. Fast forwa rd to today and the blockbuster action thriller Mission Impossible II , where our hero Tom Cru ise pulls off a ra d ic a l 180-degree stoppie aboard a Triumph Speed Trip le whilst attempting to pop a cap in his Day tona-mounted riva l. Po int being that Tr iumph appears very much as though it is here to stay, the company having found ways to re m a in competitive without actually competing on the rac etra ck. STREETCREO Hen ce the TT600 , Triumph's entry into the dog You shoul d already hav e gu e ssed this on e : Most eat-dog world of 600cc S upersport. Now, do n 't g o of our testers rated th e Triumph as th e best pure run ning up and down pit road at your next AMA or streetbike in the group for a ll th e sa m e reasons that FIM S uperbike event, looking for their race team ; kee p it a s te p be hind at th e tra ck . It' s smooth throttle you won 't find o ne . Like previ res ponse, "Cad illa c " s us p e ns io n ous models , Triumph is counta n d incredibly roo m y la yout Wh ite Bro thers R&D Dept. ing mor e up on m ar ket ing 90 90 mean that the m a ch ine c a n han F ' m h. ", Pow R 88. Tl po sit ion th an track pos ition in = Idle so me seri ous roa die m ile s. =80 o rde r to m ove TT600s off the 80 / One te ster even logged a lot of = sh owroom floor. It is a sportI/ =70 time o n the bike two -up , a nd he 70 bike , yes , but it is a st reet-ori= C/) re po rte d th at his usually finick y CD =SO ~ ented sportbike. ~ so Iwife felt th e pas c. ,= e;t s enger athatomm Triumph's were / CD T R A C K SAVV Y cc odations ~ 50 50 ii o I F 1 c: th e best that s he 'd ev e r sampled = C1l Le s t yo u think th at the W 40 40 ? on a sportbike such as the TT. TT60 0 be d es er v ing of a -c 1 / F C/) Com pla ints? Like we said , I"sle d" mon iker like its desert30 30 / function is one th ing, but people ra cing a nces to rs , we can te ll / 20 20 ar e s till drawn to the styling of a you that the Triumph is no dog F I motorc ycle when said b ik e is on th e track . We were qu ite F .r 10 10 parke d. We jus t feel that in th is impre s s ed with t he sm ooth F ," , , , o o F.. e ra o f rep li-racers, T riumph powe r d eli very o f the sho rt 1 2 3 4 S 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 woul d ha ve don e well to at least stro ke , DOHC 16 -va lve motor, RPM (x1000 ) a tt em p t to look mor e ra c y. Per no d oubt due to the mult ip oint s e q ue nt ia l fuel -injec tion that is a first on a haps th is wo uld h a ve co n fuse d the issue , but we 600cc sporting inline four. Other than a bit of a lurch wouldn't ha ve m ind ed see ing a TT600 that lo o ked right off the very bo ttom (Triumph went through nin e more like th e TI 0 (120 0cc) conce pt drawing that hit fuel -injection maps before settling on this on e) , the the pag es of a few monthly m ags a while ba c k. Furthermor e , we do hav e a couple of negatives to motor runs cleanly from bottom to top , possessing a very linear t y p e of powe r clearly feeling s everal report about th e Triumph . First off, ours leaked o il. This occurred at th e tra ck , th e offending ooze comhorsepower sh y of the others. That didn't sto p us from ha ving a gr eat tim e on ing out of a ru bbe r g ro m met th a t was d e s ign ed to th e T ru m pe t, however, as we were a ble to pretty ke ep th e c rude in while letting som e wires out. Who 1/ ~ V g 30 JULY 5 ,2000 ' cue I e n eo vv s knows if this will be a problem with all TTs? Second, get it hot, and the Triu m ph spends a lot of time on the fan - more so than any other 600 and t he fan is so n oi s y t hat it's rathe r a nnoying. These things as ide , we'd hav e to give th e Trium ph two thum bs up for a first -year effort tha t doesn't fee l like a first -yea r effort . On the street, the TT6 0 0 ca n ha ng with any b ike in the class. For Triumph fa ns, that ought to be worth so meth ing , TRIUMPH TT600 FEIT.RES E,.l_ • • • • • • Sh ort stroke fo r high revs Sagem B ectronic Fuel Injection High-pressure die-cast ca ses Nitride cran k Lightweight forged pistons N ikasi l·coated cylinde rs C hass is/Suspension/Wheels • Four-celled extruded alum inu m twin -spar chassis • Aluminum coc kpit frame • Three-spoke cast-alloy wheels Controls • Single -piece forged-aluminum clip-on handlebar What' s ho t? The hrst 600cc inline four w ith electronic fuel -lruectio n A • refined - freshman attempt As good a streetbike as the re is in the cla ss W h at ' s not? More power please Lack of track savvy kills it s chances Somebody turn off the fan! B ottom Line: The Triumph TISOO is a welcome addition to the SOOcc spo rtbike class. even if it does tend to polarize our group a bit. The Anglo contender boa st s impeccable stree t manners and a pac kage refinement to mask the fact that It is a fresh man effort. Specifications DISPLACEMENT ENG INE TYPE 599 cc Liquid-coo led DOHC In-line four-cylinder 1S·valve in-tine four-stroke S8 x 4 1.3mm BORE x STRO KE COMPRESSION RATIO 12.5:1 CARBURETION Muln-poi nt sequential elec tronic fuel injection w I fo rced-air Induction IGNITION D igital. induc tive -type , via electroni c management sys tem TRANSMISSION s-speed STARTING SYSTEM Elect ric FUEL CAPACITY ' , 4.8 gal. WHEELBASE 54 .9 in. RAKEITRAIL 24' /82mm SEAT HEIGHT 31.9 in. FRONT TIRE 120/70- 17 REAR TIRE 180/55· 17 .43mm conventional cartridge fork FRONT SUSPENSION wi dual-rate springs and w/ 4 .8 in. travel M o noshock wi 4 .8 in. travel REAR SUSPENS ION FRONT BRAKE ....... •....Nissin hydrauli c w / tw in 31 Omm floating discs & 4·piston calipers REAR BRAKE Nissin hydraulic wi single 220mm disc & single -piston caliper FINAL DRIVE , C hain CLAI M ED D RY W EIGHT 374 lbs . LIST PRICE $8299