CHARLIE TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE RS
THIS MONTH I HAVE MOSTLY BEEN… “Measuring the power...”
It has already been well documented that the Triumph Street Triple RS is peaky, but it wasn’t until Will rolled the bike onto the Dyno at JHS Racing, and we ran the figures, that the performance really came home.
Will Holland is no stranger to Triumphs, growing up around them as Dad James built many a racer. His initial observations matched mine in regard to the clutch being extremely light and smooth displaying the characteristics of a hydraulic system, as opposed to what you expect from cable. The ride-by-wire throttle response was among the best that he had experienced, and the rapid response of the OE quick-shifter. A further observation, while hooking it up to the dyno, was the fact the wires were so well wrapped up with weather proofing, with so little space to work in, that Triumph have compacted and protected the RS internals extremely efficiently.
Having scrolled through the modes, we picked Rider and turning off the ABS and TC, highlighted the track map and we were away. Three recorded runs achieving 123mph in fourth, 134mph in fifth and 147mph in sixth displaying an even ratio of gears and increases of power via the ECU adding around 10mph with every shift in the top end of the box. This is where you are getting the most out of a Supersport based machine and as expected from an engine destined for Moto2, the results showed a smooth power curve throughout registering 117bhp with 73Nm of torque.
Will then did something interesting by holding the bike at an even 30mph to see how easy this bike operated within the legalities of in-town riding. This was what prompted praise of the throttle as it holds 30mph with an ease that I certainly did not have two years ago, running an MT-09 that jumped around and was difficult to keep street legal. With an overlay of the results between my old MT and new RS, the former delivers at least an additional 15Nm of torque and an increase in power of up to 20bhp between 6,000-8,000rpm. It is at 10,000rpm where the Triumph overtakes the Yamaha, continuing to deliver power and torque when the MT has dropped off.
It’s all a question of what you want, really. If you are wanting to blat away from the lights in town or leave someone standing peeling off of a roundabout you would find an MT far more exhilarating than the RS. A drag race between the two would have to be long enough to get to 10,000rpm plus for the RS to eat into an MT, as while the Trumpet is doing 98mph, the MT would be doing 110mph. However, if you want to keep it sensible, lawful and relatively inconspicuous around town – only to absolutely smash it around a track, then the RS is worth some serious thought.
To complete the data I also found that the RS’s 765 engine is giving an extra 5-10Nm of torque and 5-20 additional ponies over the old Street powered by 675cc. In fact its power output is only 2bhp short of the 1050 engine of its cousin, the Speed Triple, though the lower capacity engine does give 27Nm less of torque.
I have given you some figures to think about then, and considering all of these raises the question as to why have such a track focused engine on a naked roadster? Surely we need to see this engine dropped into an all new Daytona for us to enjoy. Come on Triumph, it can’t be that you haven’t thought it surely?
Thanks to: JHS Racing – www.jhsracing.co.uk