VOLUME 62 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 7, 2025 P53
T
here's really only one brand that consistently
knocks out superb modern retro motorcy-
cles these days—and to be honest, only one
brand
that has the heritage to do so.
Triumph's range of retro roadsters has had
consistent winners over the past decade, but
the Speed Twin range is its chart topper. We've
tested the 900 version plenty of times and have
always enjoyed our time behind the retro cockpit,
and, more recently, we were pleasantly surprised
by the entry-level Speed 400's performance
when we sampled it in Valencia last year.
The Speed Twin 1200, however, is the cream
of the Triumph retro roadster crop, and for 2025
it has been expanded into two bikes in the base
model and the up-spec RS. This has come
about due to the death of the famed Thruxton
model, and while having two bikes that are not
outright performance-based and share almost
all the same parts may seem a little odd at first,
it's only when you ride them that you'll begin to
understand Triumph's thinking.
The base model will set you back $13,595,
while the RS will garner an extra $2500 from
your wallet at $15,995. Both bikes share the
same SOHC, liquid-cooled (although it really
does look like an air-cooled classic) parallel-twin
motor that pumps out a claimed 103 horsepow
-
er—a five-horsepower increase over the 2024
model—and 82
lb-ft of torque.
Time
