Triumph Street Triple RS
More power, bling and attitude than any version in its 12-year history, they reckon the new RS is the ‘ultimate performance street’. Maybe you can have too much of a good thing...
Forget the usual pigeonholes. Triumph’s newly juiced-up Street Triple RS might have a mid-size motor but this is a supernaked. Yes, like a BMW S1000R, Yamaha MT-10 and, of course, the Speed Triple RS it’s here alongside. If this sounds like I’m stretching it, trust me: I’m not. Powerful, fast, sharp, focused, sparkling with tech, the middleweight RS really is a full-on naked sportsbike. Refreshed with a new exhaust cam, lighter crank, rejigged balancer and other tweaks by people in white smocks, the 765cc inline three has the same 121bhp as the previous Street Triple RS. Which is more than plenty enough – the last one we dyno tested actually made more power than Triumph claim, meaning the RS has almost 20bhp more than their T595 superbike made in the late 1990s (and at 26kg less has a way higher power-to-weight ratio). The fiddling does have an impact, though. Inertia is reduced by a significant chunk, peak torque is up and many more horses have been bundled into the midrange. So now the Street RS isn’t just bloody fast, it’s also more flexible and easier to ride. ‘Great throttle response and a brilliant engine,’ says Bike’s designist and resident Street Triple nut, Paul Lang. ‘It’s revvy, eager and very fast – it’s like a turbo screamer next to the other bikes’ big-bore muscle.’ Though gruntier than before, the Street RS can’t match the easy rollon performance of its bigger siblings. Exit a 40mph limit in a high ratio on the Speed RS and the mere aroma of fuel is all its 1050cc triple needs to flick you to the horizon. The same response out of the Street requires tapping down a couple of gears (new two-way quickshifter, though autoblip downshifts at urban speed aren’t as slick as using the clutch). Get the triple all fizzed up and you’re further encouraged into riding like a numpty by the chassis. Perfectly balanced, the lightweight Street RS feels oh-so together on a smooth, fast road. It’s a sharp, purposeful, nose-down set-up that connects you and bombards with information. The seat’s long, so snuggle up to the 17.4-litre tank and perch upright through town, then shue right back and get the balls of your feet on the rearset ’pegs for slicing up open roads. It’s like a flat-barred Yamaha R6. Unfortunately it’s every bit as stiff as the supersport tool. Maybe stiffer. It’s a constantly fidgeting ride, and catching a generously-applied white line after an overtake causes a shimmy. ‘You immediately notice the lack of weight and nimbleness – it reminds me of the original Street Triple that I fell in love with all those years ago,’ reckons Langy. ‘But the suspension’s not just too hard, it’s way too hard. I’m sure in the middle of summer, hot roads, no trac, perfect surface, it’ll be amazing. But in normal riding it’s bump, bump, bump. I’m not as confident as on the Speed Triple – where the bigger bike is graceful and composed, this feels like I’m going to tip in and then tip off. I’m fifty-pencing corners.’ Despite its race track leaning Triumph remembered to fit excellent mirrors, light-up switchgear and a headlight with a superb full beam. Plenty of modes and new dash settings to play with too, with colour options and a never-ending choice of layouts. Clever, yes, but none of us are particularly fond of any of the options. Worse, the super-small tacho numbers and some bits of trip data are too small for my middle-age eyes. The Speed Triple’s display is easier to read. And the Speed Twin’s ye olde dials and simple trip info make you wonder how things got so complicated. Following their limited-edition Daytona Moto2, there’s rumour of Triumph making a new cooking Daytona. But there’s no point: the Street RS already fills the sportbike slot. This is great if that’s what you want. But the RS ignores the ‘Street’ part of its name and lacks the cheery all-things-to-all-people attitude that made us fall for the original Street Triple. ‘When people ask me what bike they should buy, I say a Street Triple: it’s all the bike you ever need,’ says Langy. ‘Or it used to be. With the RS, they’ve turned a brilliant every day, every occasion motorcycle into something too narrowly focused. If you want one, buy the friendlier and more usable S version. Better still, buy a Speed Twin.’
‘Get the triple fizzing and you’re encouraged to ride like a numpty’