‘Triumph have smeared a layer of grunt across the 1200’s rev range’
Speed Triple RS along for company – and the bigger bike underlines its superior flexibility every time you tease its super-smooth throttle. Compared at spec sheet level you may question the point of the 1050cc Speed Trip’ given the power-to-weight of the Street. But the bigger bike makes perfect sense as soon as you sample its grunt. The engine displacement is 37% larger than the Street but the 1050 produces 50% more torque, and its instant thrust, rampaging cornerexits and deep exhaust note make the 765 seem hard work. On the larger Speed you can stalk through a village at 30mph and under 2000rpm in top gear, then scorch to prison-sentence speed on the mere scent of unleaded. Torque makes the Speed RS so damn good to ride. Riding position helps too, though. You’re plugged-in through a stance that’s a just-so combination of sporty aggression and road-going friendliness. After the Street and Speed Twin you seem to sit ‘on’ rather than ‘in’, though it quickly feels entirely natural. And it’s the ideal perch for enjoying the Speed RS’s sportsbike-like chassis. Proportions and kilos mean it’s not as delicate and tossable as the Street RS; however, the 1050’s steering is sharp, movement of its hyperadjustable Öhlins feels sumptuous and the brakes have staggering bite. The way it turns into a wellsurfaced corner is exceptional. Like the Street it’s too stiff for a pure road bike – you’re informed about each and every detail of the tarmac. But unlike its smaller stablemate the Speed RS is bearable between the brisk sections, thanks to more luxurious damping and the bumpswallowing ride quality that comes from greater mass. Talking of quality, there’s also a premium air to the 1050 that the smaller RS doesn’t have. Some of it comes from having fancy bits such as light-up switchgear, Öhlins, cruise control and selfcancelling indicators, but most of it is just from touch and presence. The Speed RS is the most expensive here by £2900, but also the classiest.
This isn’t to say the quality of the traditionally styled Speed Twin is a bit duff. Far from it. But next to the glistening Speed Triple RS the parallel twin’s spec list doesn’t look that exciting. At 96bhp from 1200cc the Speed Twin is the least powerful of our trio, with just half the power-per-cc of the Street RS. At 196kg (dry) the retro is weightiest too. The simple chassis has right-way-up non-adjustable forks, twin shocks and traditionally mounted brake calipers. Lean-sensitive traction, cornering ABS? Yeah, right.
Yet as soon as you bound forward on its instantaneous drive and flick through a serious of turns, you realise that widgets and adornments and gold suspenders matter not a jot. Because the Speed Twin is a glorious road bike. Triumph have smeared a deep layer of grunt across the full width of the 1200’s rev range. It’s a textbook torque curve, with as much grunt across its entire usable range as the way more powerful Speed RS produces at peak. This huge punch is dished out through snappy road-focused gearing and means the Speed Twin has amazing
‘Torque makes the Speed RS so damn good’
flexibility. It’ll leap from zero to 60mph as quickly in second gear as first. Crack the gas at 50mph in fifth and this retro accelerates so hard the Speed Triple needs to be a gear lower to keep up. The 765cc Street is left in the mirrors. This of course means its sound, feel and performance are very different to the triples. The Twin hasn’t as many revs to play with and devours gears quickly, but this only accentuates the sense of acceleration. And once in a tall gear you rarely need to change down. Surprisingly, it’s the 1200 that has steepest steering angle here at a race-like 22.8˚. With an easier-turning 160-width rear tyre, shorter wheelbase than the Speed Triple and commanding riding position it can be chucked around with astounding ease. You sit up and lean the bike beneath you, like we used to before all this upper-body-shoulder-dropping malarkey, and it’s so easy to scamp along swiftly. Suspension ultimately doesn’t have the quality