‘It gives me a mile-wide smile’
Reader review after 12 months with his Triumph Street Triple RS
BIKE BUYING
‘Igot into bikes because my mum said I couldn’t have one,” says Matt Watson, who’s since jumped into life on two wheels with both Dainese-clad feet. “I used to have a Suzuki SV1000 which I loved because it sounded great, but it was a nightmare to do distances on; I was having to stop and fill up after a little over 100 miles. Then my Daytona 675-riding mate got me switched on to the idea of a Triumph.
“I went to Birmingham Triumph and took test rides on both a Speed Triple 1050 and a Street Triple RS, but as soon as I got off the Street Triple I had a smile a mile wide; it was just so much fun on the road and much more agile and flickable than the 1050, plus with all the toys that the RS comes with it felt like better value for money. I arranged a bank loan to finance it, put my order in and then waited for the bike to arrive. I was waiting a couple of months, but it’s definitely been worth it.
“The higher-spec Öhlins and Showa suspension on the RS works brilliantly on the twisty country roads that I usually ride, it really irons out the bumps. The engine is superb, the electronics are reassuring and the quickshifter is really addictive when you’re accelerating hard in a straight line.
“I recently got the lower-spec R model as a courtesy bike when mine was in for service and it made me certain that I’d bought the right one. The RS is better all round and I can’t fault it in terms of performance, but there have been a few niggles.”