‘It’s spot on!’ Reader rates first year with his Speed Triple R
‘Ifell off the back of a friend’s Bultaco 350 when I was a kid and my mum went mental,” says MCN reader Peter Sage-Passant. “Unfortunately I couldn’t get my own bike as I was living at home back then, so when I turned 17 I took the car test, bought an old Mini for £50 and that was that.” Fast-forward to 2015 and Peter was inspired by his own offspring to get back into bikes. “My son was moving to Hong Kong and had found that a UK motorcycle licence can be exchanged for a local one,” he explains, “so he decided to take his test here. I’d never lost my love of bikes and have even ridden a few belonging to my mates, so I thought I’d do mine as well.”
Peter passed Mod 1 first time and had a couple of stabs at Mod 2 before tasting success. “I think it gets harder as you get older,” he says, “mainly because of nerves - I really enjoyed the experience though.” Father and son shared a Yamaha YBR125 to practice on, but with his newly acquired entitlement Peter only had eyes for a Suzuki SV650. “I really loved that bike,” he says. “It was absolutely bulletproof, but after a year I wanted to step up to something more powerful.” With that in mind, Peter set about a road test odyssey that reached a conclusion in his local Triumph dealership when he became the proud owner of a Street Triple R.
miles 0
The Street Triple was the last bike that I thought I’d end up with. I was looking for something retro and test rode the Kawasaki Z900RS, BMW R nineT and Triumph 900 Street Scrambler. I liked them all, but didn’t fall in love with any, however after reading reviews of the Street Triple in MCN I thought I’d give one a go. As soon as I was on it, I thought ‘This is it!’
miles 600
I couldn’t wait to start using all the power so covered the mileage required in just over a week before taking it to Pure Triumph in Woburn for the first service. I really liked the quickshifter on the RS I test rode, so had one fitted at this point – I ordered it as part of the initial purchase (£400) but as I couldn’t really use it during the breaking-in period they recommended that I waited until the engine was ready.
miles 1000
After the first service it was a totally different animal and I really felt like I’d got the machine I wanted, not least because of the quickshifter. It can feel a little clunky between first and second gear so I don’t tend to use it there, however in general the shifter is super slick. I also considered an autoblipper for downshifts, though in all honesty I don’t think I need that… yet.
‘As an engineer I love all the work that’s gone into it’
miles 1500
The engine is the heart of the beast. It’s got a fantastic turn of speed. It’s not so much a hooligan machine as there’s a significant element of refinement there, but it absolutely hums along. The second thing that makes me smile is the sound. It’s very quiet when you’re just pootling, but once you get it spinning out of town it makes a sensational howl.
1800 miles
I’m glad I chose the R suspension over the RS as it’s not so stiff and feels much more road focused. The plush set up on the R really comes into its own on bumpy B-roads such as the B660, a favourite playground of mine. I’ve experimented with different settings to find a sweet spot that suits me – overall it’s just an increase in preload which makes changing direction effortless.
2100 miles
It performs very differently under the different engine modes. Throttle response in ‘Sport’ can be a bit snatchy, especially in town, but ‘Road’ is pretty much perfect for most situations and makes it an incredibly addictive bike to ride. If the roads are wet I’ll stick in ‘Rain’ as it gives a much greater degree of control over the power.
2500 miles
The Pirelli Rosso Corsa tyres are sticky, although they’re not great in the wet. It was the handling that sold the bike to me and the combination works well, making the whole package light and agile. It just goes where you look without much effort at all – it’s confidence inspiring. Comfortwise it’s good for a couple of hours and feels like it was designed around the ideal riding position.
2865 miles
As an engineer I love the work that’s gone into it and think it’s a very well screwed together bike. I’ve added a few extras such as heated grips (£197), frame protectors (£124) and Thruxton bar end mirrors (£91), although I wasn’t too happy with the Triumph tail tidy (£117) as it still left the numberplate hanging out over the back wheel. I modified it by taking a section out of the middle. There’s actually not that much you can do to it as they leave the factory spot on – I love it!