2023 TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLES, CHROME COLLECTION, AND PERKINS CHAT

Normally, a MotoGP race weekend would be a rubbish place to launch your new naked middleweight roadster machine. But, of course, Triumph has a very special link with the Grand Prix world, and Moto2 in particular, where its 765 Street Triple engine is the control powerplant. So, it was at the final round of the 2023 championship in Valencia where the new 2023 Street Triples were unveiled.

There are two standard models now – the R and the RS, with the old entry-level 675 S variant replaced by the new 660 Trident. The R and RS have had a hefty engine revamp, with about 7bhp more peak power, meaning 118bhp for the R and 128bhp for the RS – nice. The extra power comes from a comprehensive top-end retune: revised inlet ports, altered combustion chamber, new pistons, con-rods and gudgeon pins, and more compression, now 13.25:1 from 12.65:1. There are new valves and camshafts with shorter intake trumpets, and the bottom end is also refined, with improved crank, balancer, clutch and transmission setup. A new slipper/assist clutch and revised gearing helps get the new power down to the Tarmac, and you get a standard up/down quickshifter, too.

The chassis has had less done to it, with the frame and swingarm remaining largely as you were, but there is an upgrade to the brakes, with Stylema calipers on the RS.

Suspension is Showa both ends on the R, with the RS getting an Öhlins STX40 rear shock. The electronic riding aids also get the onceover, with a new IMU-assisted suite and a fancy colour LCD dash.

The big news at Valencia was a new Moto2 edition of the Street Triple. This has all the RS performance and kit, but adds Öhlins forks, clip-on bars, and a load of carbon fibre bodywork. Prices are reasonable for the spec, we reckon: £9595 for the R; £11,295 for the RS; and £13,795 for the Moto2 edition.