Reader Ian Thorogood rates his Triumph Street Triple a year after he bought it
After lusting over motorcycles for the past 20 years, 39-year-old Ian Throrogood decided he would take his full bike test in the summer of 2017. Work and family commitments meant he’d not had the time or money to get a bike before then, but when his children grew up and he started working from home, he decided to get into motorcycling.
With his only previous experience coming from the Compulsory Basic Training he took when he was 20, Ian settled on this white Triumph Speed Triple R because of its user-friendly nature. “My aim was to buy something I wasn’t going to outgrow quickly, but equally something that wasn’t going to kill me on day one!” he said. “I read the tests in MCN and it seemed to tick every box.
“I fancied a bike with extra grunt and more power than the training school’s Kawasaki ER-6n I was learning on. It was quite good fun, but there wasn’t enough shove. I knew I could handle more power. “Secondly, I didn’t want a big, bulky sportsbike. Being a new rider I knew I wouldn’t get enough out of it and would do better with something that was light and powerful. I didn’t want a bike I’d get bored of and need to swap in a year or two.
“The 765 was a real step forward over the old 675 version. The fact that this bike was such a giant leap and not just a cosmetic change was a big attraction. There’s a Destination Triumph dealership down the road from where I live so went straight down there and looked at it alongside a few other bikes at other dealerships. They had this one in there, so I took the plunge and bought it on the spot.
“I didn’t want to go on a long waiting list and my test was coming up that week, so I snapped it up. I felt optimistic that I’d pass – and I did! I didn’t want to pass and then have to wait three months for a bike. “I’ve used it for commuting, but I’ve also bought a new Tiger 800 for going to and from work. Now the 765 is going to be for fun at the weekend or to let off some steam on a sunny evening. It’s the perfect stress-buster.
“I went for the R as I felt the RS was a waste of money for me. I’m not going on track and I’m not going to get anything out of the premium suspension. It was a no-brainer. The other thing was you can’t get the RS in white and I quite like a white bike. My Tiger’s white, too!”
600 miles
“I had the mirrors replaced with some Triumph-own bar-end ones, as the standard mirrors aren’t great. You are just looking at your shoulders and they’re really awkward to position for a decent view. I also I got some heated grips pretty quickly and had a tail tidy fitted by my local dealership. “My next job was to change the plate, as the standard one is ridiculously big. Finally, I took off the rear pegs and put some blanking plates in because I’m never going to carry a pillion. I think it looks a bit better without them.
“I’m now waiting to fit some shorter levers, so I can feel more confident using the controls. If you are giving it a bit of power on the roads and changing gear quickly, I think having two-finger control would be good.”
‘It feels almost like a little BMX with a decent motor in it’
1000 miles
“I had to run the bike in for 1000 miles, which was a pain in the arse. Sticking to the rev limits is doable for the first 400 to 500 miles, but it’s really hard to follow it further than that. I did some long rides in the first month to get it finished.
“I got there after about six weeks. I did a few commutes on it as well, so that helped. In that time, I noticed no quirks, however it definitely feels a lot smoother now it’s run in.
“It did feel a bit snatchy when I first got it, however that seems to have gone now. Of course that could be down to my riding improving or me getting used to the bike.
“It was at around that time that I had a collision with a lorry which went into the side of me on a roundabout at a motorway junction. He was in the very far left lane but randomly decided he wanted to go all the way round the roundabout and seemed to think that I was expendable, so my left hand bar went under the side of the lorry! “I honestly thought that was it, but the bike got wedged under it, the lorry just kept pulling me around the roundabout! Amazingly, I did not crash and there was no real damage, just scuffs on the exhaust. ”
2000 miles
“The road was a little bit damp and, though I thought it’d be fine and I’d go slow, I went around the corner over a little bit of mud and it suddenly slid on its side. It was the first time I’d been down and there was a little bit of a scrape on the exhaust and on the side. I had to replace the brake lever though, which I did myself. Once I’d got it fixed, I checked my tyres and they was three or four PSI under the recommended setting.”
2500 miles
“In November last year, I noticed that the coolant level had dropped quite a lot . I had to top it up again at 2500 miles, but there doesn’t seem to be any sort of underlying fault.”
3000 miles
“The bike still feels lovely. Now, when I go between the Street Triple and my slightly bigger Tiger, it feels almost like a little BMX with a decent motor in it. I’ll probably start looking at tyres soon and I might try out a few different ones and see if that improves the ride at all. I also plan to see one of those guys who specialise in suspension set-up, too.”