making it less tiring to ride than
an equivalent four-cylinder.
The soundtrack that accom-
panies the revs remains one of
the Triumph's defining traits.
The intake howl hardens as revs
climb, while the exhaust note
carries the distinct raspy tone
only a triple seems capable of
producing, and a British one at
that. It has personality in abun
-
dance, something increasingly
rare in a world of highly refined
performance motorcycles.
Unfortunately, low-rpm fueling
leaves a little to be desired in
standard trim, as there's a bit
too much throttle twist before
you get the go juice. I have,
than its displacement suggests.
Once you've got the engine
spinning north of 7000 rpm,
there's an immediacy to the throt
-
tle connection that makes the RX
addictive on track. Drive out of
corners is strong, linear and pre-
dictable, while the engine's will-
ingness to rev encourages you to
chase the upper reaches of the
tacho simply because it sounds
and feels so good doing it.
The RX's is thus (in my
humble opinion), the ultimate
midsize track engine. The pen
-
chant for revs is something ear-
lier iterations of the Street Triple
could only dream of, and it's
coupled with mid-range torque,
figures that place it firmly at the
sharp end of the middleweight
class and that we're hearing will
see a sharp boost in 2027 with
the arrival of a revamped model.
The three-cylinder layout
gives the RX a broad, flexible
spread of power that works
nearly everywhere in the rev
range. Below 6000 rpm, the bike
pulls cleanly and smoothly, but
it still suffers from that dreaded
emissions-induced flat spot,
which is sadly a character of
nearly all sub-1000cc engines.
Once you burst through that
6000-7000 rpm barrier, the engine
transitions into an urgent top-end
rush that feels far more serious
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P91
The RX sits at the top of the
Street Triple tree (excluding the
limited-edition Moto2 model).
