There are few absolutes in life and the same goes for motorcycles and how they're regarded. It’s mainly what they’re used for which defines how good they are apart from the very rare lemon which sinks without trace. Also, a learner stepping up in capacity is likely to have a different view of a bike than someone stepping down from a bigger bike – just like me in fact!
The decision to move from a Honda Blackbird owned for 8 years to a Triumph Street Triple was for a number of reasons but the main driver centred around increasing age, short legs and a heavy, tall(ish) bike in the shape of the Blackbird. I’ve loved that bike with a passion. It’s seen me through long distance events like the Southern Cross and Grand Challenge, through to racetrack behaviour round East Cape with the lads and even pootling along with Jennie for an ice cream at the next coastal village. From the outset, a conscious decision was made NOT to replace it with a pure sports bike as it would be all too easy to make direct comparisons with something that became part of my soul. Dissatisfaction and regret lies in that direction!
However, one of the non-negotiable criteria after owning a ‘bird was something with errr… “decent” performance. After many hours poring over paper specifications followed by visits to dealers and an eventual road test lasting for just over an hour, the Triumph Street Triple seemed to fill both the performance requirements and that elusive but important emotional appeal.
Money was handed over and a pick-up date set. However, the question remained whether that hour and a bit of a test ride had been sufficient to warrant saying goodbye to the ‘bird and parting with a not inconsiderable sum of readies.
Well, a mate drove me to Hamilton this morning to pick up the Triple and we set off back to Coromandel in perfect, sunny conditions. Heath from Hamilton Motorcycles simply couldn't have been better to deal with - fantastic guy.
First impression is how easy it is to just get on and ride. Normally, there's a bit of nervousness in getting on a new machine bit the Triple felt "right" from the onset. Controls were ergonomically perfect for my build and coupled with the light weight, I found the whole package confidence-inspiring for slow speed work in town. The more upright riding position also gave a good all-round field of vision. The only slight annoyance when in traffic was more snatch on a trailing throttle than the Blackbird. On the open road, it was far less noticeable.
On clearing the city limits, it started to reveal more of it’s character with a sexy induction howl drowning out the whistle from the fuel injection – niiice….The first part of the journey was on open roads with just a few sweepers and sitting at just over an indicated 100 km/hr, there was surprisingly little wind blast. The seat-footpeg geometry must be similar to that of the ‘bird as there were no appreciable differences and the seat itself was perfectly comfortable for the 170km trip home.
On reaching the Thames – Coromandel coast, the differences between the Triple and the ‘bird started to make themselves apparent. Whereas the 230-odd kg of the ‘bird requires a bit of precision to get set up for the twisties, the 167 kg Triple simply doesn’t seem to care; it’ll handle anything even if you’re a bit sloppy. It does bounce around a bit more on an uneven surface, but not in a disconcerting way. Even keeping the revs and load within prescribed break-in limits, torque delivery for driving out of corners was excellent and far better than I’d imagined it to be when comparing it with a torque monster like the Blackbird. As you might expect, directional changes required no effort at all and there was plenty of grip from the Dunlop Qualifiers.
I arrived home as fresh as a daisy with a huge grin on my face and wanting more. The Blackbird and Triple are both wonderful bikes, although with likely different end-uses in mind. I think that for my home patch of the Coromandel Peninsula, the Triple might well prove to be the better bike.
Oh yes, and something else. The Blackbird is the sort of bike that says “I have nothing to prove to anyone because I’m all class” (ahem…with a few notable exceptions). The Street Triple on the other hand says “Who are you lookin’ at?” Not quite the motorcycle equivalent of the car “Christine”, but definitely a “Bad to the Bone” on the MP3 player type bike. Going to have to watch that in the coming weeks!
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Originally Posted by Chooky
Oh bugger
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