‘Triumph’s build quality won me over’

Oli Ashby

‘I covered over 17,000 miles on an A2 Triumph Street Triple.’

Age 22

Height 5ft 6in Current bike None

Been riding 5 years

First bike KTM 125 Duke

Dream bike Ducati Panigale V4 or Triumph Thruxton R

“When I gained my A2 licence at the age of 19 I considered a few different bikes such as the Yamaha MT-07, Suzuki Bandit 600 or SV650 and the Kawasaki Z600e, but after much thought and deliberation I opted for a 2017 A2restricted Triumph Street Triple. “As well as its glorious triple roar and beautiful styling, the Triumph’s build quality won me over as well. I was also sold by the fact it came with traction control, which none of its rivals did, ABS and power modes. It appeared a more premium product and the ride quality was also excellent. Obviously I wanted the most I could possibly get for my money, and the fact the Triumph felt that bit more special than its rivals really helped swing my decision.

“I have to admit that the brakes were lacking a bit of punch, especially against my expectation, and the suspension was a touch spongy but I couldn’t fault the performance of the triple motor – despite the fact it was restricted.

“A friend of mine had a Street Triple R which was full power and from 0-70mph they were neck-and-neck. It was only above those speeds that mine started to lose out as his bike kept on pulling. Because of the restriction mine just lost puff. Having said that, I did see 122mph on a German Autobahn! “I covered over 17,000 miles on my A2 Street Triple in three years, including two tours of Europe and many more miles around the UK. Having owned the Triumph I can say truthfully say that there is nothing at all wrong about being restricted to an A2licence. If you buy the right bike you can still have lots of fun while getting grips with a ‘big’ bike. The Triumph showed me that.”