NEW TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE
Will more power, less weight and fancy Street Triple electronics keep Triumph in the game until an all-new Speed Triple arrives? Quite possibly…
Surprise, surprise: Triumph announce tweaked Speed Triple.
IN A MOVE that surprised everyone from Triumph dealers to internet know-alls, Triumph have given the Speed Triple an engine-tweaking overhaul just two years after the last. It was expected that the 2018 Speed Triple would just get the swanky colour TFT dash from the 765 Street Triple, some new colours and a renaming of the R to RS, to bring it in line with the 765 Street Triple models. But no… In fact, it’s received those plus 105 new engine parts which push claimed power from 140 to 148bhp and torque from 82 to 86 lb.ft. Both look to have been achieved primarily by letting the engine rev higher – peak power now arrives at 10,500rpm compared to 9500rpm on the old version. So what are those 105 new bits? The key ones are reshaped pistons to increase the compression ratio (though Triumph don’t reveal to what so we guess it’s fractional) and redesigned the exhaust ports to improve gas flow. The sump has been redesigned to reduce oil volume, cutting drag and improving weight distribution. Other changes include lighter Nikasil-plated aluminium cylinder liners, a smaller starter motor and a lighter battery and alternator (though overall weight of the standard Speed Triple hasn’t decreased so perhaps these were a matter of grams). Also, the oil routes have changed to get rid of external pipes and tidy up the appearance – oil now flows through the head gasket to the cylinder head. The exhaust is freer flowing too.
The chassis and suspension are left unchanged, but other tweaks include:
Switchgear that lights up in the dark
Cruise control
High-gloss wheels
The RS model (this used to be called the R, and still has all the hlins and Brembo goodies) also gets…
Arrow silencers, which help save 3kg over the standard model
Improved cornering ABS and traction control using a new inertial measurement unit
Keyless ignition
Carbon fibre bodywork and matt aluminium rear subframe
Did the Street Triple’s brilliance force Triumph’s hand?
Why did Triumph suddenly introduce these changes? We reckon there are four factors at play. Firstly, the 765 RS is faster than the old Speed Triple. You can’t have a flagship model duffed up by its little brother for long without it becoming stale. It’s surely no coincidence that the changes to the Speed Triple are just enough to give it a better power-to-weight ratio than the Street Triple 765 RS. Secondly, the big naked opposition is caning the Speed Triple in terms of power. Thirdly, Triumph would no doubt love to bring out an all new Speed Triple for 2018 but the engineers have been busy with Bobbers and Bonnevilles. A revamp was all they could manage. And finally, the engineers know exactly how to tweak the 1050cc engine. In 2016 they revamped the Speed Triple by changing 104 engine parts and gained 7bhp. This time they changed 105 and gained 8bhp.