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Thread: Blackbird vs Street Triple - first impressions

  1. #1
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    22nd October 2002 - 11:00
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    Blackbird vs Street Triple - first impressions

    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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  2. #2
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    10th September 2008 - 17:54
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    Good one Geoff......... When's the 1st service......?
    I'll ride over to Hamilton with you....

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chooky View Post
    Good one Geoff......... When's the 1st service......?
    I'll ride over to Hamilton with you....
    1000 km, Graeme. See you on Friday then



    Just joking

  4. #4
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    What are you telling us? Its a good bike for old fellahs?
    Cheers

    Merv

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by merv View Post
    What are you telling us? Its a good bike for old fellahs?
    Nope, it's good for shortarses and old fellas with ATTITUDE

  6. #6
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    Great girl's bike, the Striple. I know someone who'll be upgrading to one from a Scorpio soon.

    kiwibiker is full of love, an disrespect.
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  7. #7
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    promising start eh Geoff. Always takes me a while to adapt to a new ride, essentially the same thing, two wheels and an engine but man how different they can be.

    Thanks for the read, enjoy it mate.
    Oh bugger

  8. #8
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    Haha you HOOON geoff!

    The bird def takes a bit of effort in the tight stuff. Man that striple looks SEXY! I see you have a pack rack on it already! So it is all set for the long hauls!

    So...does it wheelie well

    You gonna put a fairing/screen on it?

  9. #9
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    I got a street triple today too!

    I picked up my street triple today as well. Although not brand spanking new it is only 11 months old and has less than 2000kms on the clock.

    I'm coming from the opposite end of experience than yourself - mine is a step up from a 250 hornet.

    I can totally agree with you on the amazing ease which you can jump on and ride this bike. The seat height is slightly higher than I'm used to but other than that everything felt intuitive about the bike.

    What attracted me to the street triple is the weight versus power. It is roughly the same weight as the hornet with 2.5 times the power. I was also amazed at the balance of the bike. It seems to be perfectly centred (great for low speed straight line - traffic crawling). The weight also means that it is as maneuverable as a 250 through the corners. Engine is great and torquey, hardly needed to get above 3rd gear on a spirited ride around makara.

    The other thing is the engine note. At tickover it has a whirry clockwork like sound. When moving (upto 5k rpm) it has a pretty normal sound (a bit like a quiet v twin). But go over 6k rpm and it positively howls. I've only taken it up to about 9k rpm on my first day (limiter is 13) and that was only once and very briefly.

    I can definitely see why the bike has got all of the rave reviews when it was released.

    Mine isn't snatchy at all. I have heard that they can be though and that the throttle slack can be adjusted to remove this trait.

    Happy riding!

    Couple of pics of mine:
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  10. #10
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    Congrats on an awesome bike purchase guys
    "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing" - Socrates

    "All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind" - Aristotle

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by ital916 View Post
    So...does it wheelie well

    You gonna put a fairing/screen on it?
    Hey Dushy
    a. Wait until the weekend
    b. I imagine it will have a screen (ahem, to hide the radar detector) but there's a nice Italian screen I like more than the Triumph one

    Quote Originally Posted by wild_weston View Post
    Mine isn't snatchy at all. I have heard that they can be though and that the throttle slack can be adjusted to remove this trait.
    Thanks for the heads-up. There's no appreciable play in the cable. It might simply be that the bottom end fuelling isn't as good as the Honda and maybe magnified by the lighter weight.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blackbird View Post
    Nope, it's good for shortarses and old fellas with ATTITUDE
    Yup, that's merv
    Quote Originally Posted by Mully
    The mind boggles.

    Unless you were pillioning the sheep - which is more innocent I suppose (but no less baffling)

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by wild_weston View Post
    Mine isn't snatchy at all. I have heard that they can be though and that the throttle slack can be adjusted to remove this trait.

    Happy riding!

    Couple of pics of mine:
    Well done both of you.
    Yes, check the throttle cable adjustment once run in. From new my 675 Daytona quickly developed some slack in the throttle cables , but this was adjusted on the first 1000km service which made a noticeable improvement. Never needed touching since and now up to 38,000km
    Happiness is a means of travel, not a destination

  14. #14
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    Nice nice rides.

    Nothing wrong with 675 cc (unless you are ACC .....) of triple fun


    Now get on line and organise some bar-end mirrors ......

  15. #15
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    Excellent news. I approve - you even got the correct colour!

    Join the Striplers group...and remember to zero your top speed reading before you go back for 1st service (anything above 200 kmph gives them grounds to invalidate your warranty)

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