P108
COMPARISON I MIDDLEWEIGHT NAKED-BIKE SHOOTOUT
The Triumph lacked bottom-
end torque compared to the simi-
larly engined Yamaha, but it has
the smallest displacement of the
lot at 765cc. What the Triumph
lost on the bottom end, it made
up for on the top end, the engine
getting faster and faster as the
revs increased.
The engine has the highest
claimed power of the test at
128 horsepower at 12,000 rpm,
although claimed torque is the
lowest at 59 lb-ft at 9500 rpm.
These numbers, again, suggest
where the Triumph is most at
home—the racetrack.
Like all the bikes here, the
Triumph's power and throttle
response could be mitigated
through various ride modes,
but, like the Kawasaki, the dash
isn't the easiest to navigate and
feels a bit dated compared to
the Yamaha's and KTM's, which
is saying something, because
I personally have always loved
Triumph's dashes and the little
mouse on the left switchblock
used to control them.
The Triumph—like the KTM—
doesn't come stock with cruise
control, which hurts its ratings.
If you choose that option, it's an
additional $365 at the time of pur
-
chase. It should come standard.
In terms of the chassis, an
Ӧhlins STX40 shock matches to
41mm Showa forks and offers
exceptional ride quality, and the
brakes are the best of the lot in
the Brembo Stylemas and Brembo
radial master cylinder with huge
amounts of power and feel.
The 765 has the shortest
wheelbase at 55.08 inches with
the steepest steering rake at 23.2°
and with those front-biased ergos
and top-quality suspension, it will
rail through corners better than
everything here when the speeds
are high. Pirelli Supercorsa V3
rubber also helps here.
Low-speed stability isn't as
prevalent as the Yamaha, which
has a friendlier demeanor than
the Triumph. The 765 is a bike
that needs to have its legs
stretched. It's a bit of a caged
animal compared to the other
bikes on test here, and perhaps
Ryan was right in saying it didn't
belong in this test of street-
focused naked bikes. Still, if it's
a sporty naked bike you want,
regardless of whether it's a
hyper naked or below in terms of
engine size, you could do much,
much worse than the 765 RS.
