Ok, Had the day off yesterday and it was perfect bike testing weather so I thought I'd pop down to Holeshot to take the new Street Triple for a blast, since it had finally been run in.
I had approached this test with some sceptisism regarding the non-adjustable suspension (rear preload only) and 2 piston front brake calipers. Other than those two things, it looked like a potential successor to my much-loved Speed Four which has just come up on 55,000km over the last two years (and is running beautifully I might add).
With an initial walk around the gleaming black beauty you can see that it's a tiny bike. I love the look though, it's totally me. Climb aboard and the tiny theme continues. Very skinny, very light. All controls fall to hand nicely, and have a tidy, quality feel to them as we've come to expect from late model Triumphs.
The dash is a neat, compact unit with all the features of the recent models, Digital speedo, analogue tacho combo. Trip computer, trip time, average speed, top speed, lap timer (ooo!), average fuel consumption, current fuel consumption and clock of course!
On firing up the bike, it's unmistakably triple. They sound just gorgeous and this particular unit has some great quick-revving character to it.
Trundling out onto the road, easing out the light, smooth clutch you notice that it provides very tractable power delivery right from the bottom of the tacho. Already feeling like a great commuter and traffic carver, the gearbox is positive and smooth. All controls are light, the bars positioned well with comfortable pegs. The bike feels unbelieveably small and light beneath you. It really is tiny. I was reading that she weighs in at a miniscule 190kg fully wet (full tank!), for reference thats approximately the dry weight of the SPEED Triple.
My trip for today was Kaukapakapa and back, on SH16 via the riverhead-coatesville highway so off I pootled in that direction already with a grin on my face. Not sure what had come over me, maybe it was the bike, but every traffic light I reached seemed to include a personal invitation to wheelie. This bike hoists the front wheel with minimal effort, infact it seems to encourage you to do so. The easiest bike I've wheelied, ever. Pop her up under throttle in first, then shift to second and then into third, it's so easy and so controllable! This thing will have newbies turning into stunters in a day!
Out into the twisties around riverhead-coatesville and this thing comes into it's own. I'd found out already it was a great street bike, but out here, it's an absolute riot. A hooligan in fact! It turns so easy, with an enormous amount of mid corner stability, yet still with the ability to change lines at whim. The torquey powerplant and short gearing just firing you out of the corners, occasionally with the front wheel on the ground should you so desire
The non-adjustable suspension seems to be well sprung with all surfaces in mind. I could feel that it does better on the smoother roads as the front end appears a little under damped, which leads me onto the next topic, stoppies...
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Originally Posted by Wolf
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