Triumph Trident 660
Triumph padlocked their gizmo cupboard and went back to basics when they built the new, £7195, Trident. And do we miss all those 2021-style whizzbang adornments? Do we f…
‘Like getting on a 250… quick steering and unflappable’
According to a nice man in a crisply-ironed Triumph polo shirt, 2012’s Trophy was a turning point at Hinckley. Back then all models were still signed off by Bloor Senior and there was an aversion to new-fangled electronics and technology. Designers and engineers had to flutter their eyelashes to get the fullyloaded Trophy passed – but the response of both critics and customers showed cutting edge was where to go. Triumph went full throttle across their range with the more-is-better approach, highlighted most by the evergreen Street Triple: the middleweight naked got ever racier, sharper, ever more powerful, and today bristles with technology and whizzbang adornments.
Which is why we’re here with the new Trident 660: little more than two wheels, some basic running gear and an old engine.
‘It’s classic marketing,’ says Bike editor Hugo Wilson. ‘You create a brilliant bike that sells well, then keep making it “better” so riders upgrade to a new version. Which is fine, but you get to the point where the bike isn’t what it was and find a hole in your range. It’s what has happened to the Street Triple, and why Triumph now have the Trident.’ The new 660 is stuffed full of the easy-access and fuss-free goodness that made a generation of riders fall for the first Street Triple. Its engine is based on the same wet-liner inline three, and the Trident’s geometry, straightforward suspension and bling-free brakes are also all virtually identical. And at 189kg it weighs exactly what the 2008 Street Trip’ gave on our scales. Triumph really have gone back to the good ol’ days. Evolved from the 675cc triple first seen 15 years ago, the Trident’s crank throw is reduced by 1.2mm to drop capacity to 660cc. Redesigned cams, pistons and other oily bits too. The claimed 47 lb.ft of gurgling grunt is what the old Street Triple gave on our dyno and the Trident has the same glorious feel and soulful exhaust hubbub, but actually has even more thrusting drive at realistic road revs. The polo shirts boast that almost 90% of maximum oomph is available across the rev range, and I’ve got no reason to doubt them. Chuff-all splits the Trident and Yamaha’s twin-cylinder MT-07 on outright performance, but the 660 has more luxurious drive in the lower half of the revs. Jump straight from triple to the revvier, more powerful Aprilia, and its surging drive makes the Italian feel like its airbox is full of that squirty expanding foam builders use – the Tuono needs to be a gear (or two) lower for the same response. The Trident’s modest 80bhp power peak is irrelevant with such usable, fun grunt. It’s not completely escaped modernity as there are two riding modes, Road and Rain. But there’s sod-all difference so leave it in Road.
It’s a compact package. The benchmark MT-07 is hardly a bloater but feels noticeably larger, and with its higher stance the Tuono seems longer. ‘The Trident’s like getting on a 250’, laughs Hugo. Handling has the Hinckley trademark of quick steering and agility with glueddown stability and unflappable confidence. As with the Yamaha the suspension is more than adequate for a seven-grand bike, though it’s a firmer and slightly choppier ride than the Yamaha on gnarled B-roads and more crudely damped than the Aprilia. The Trident’s not quite as playfully light as the other two bikes, though this is a bit like saying you’ll be giddier after 12 pints than 11. And with a greater sense of weight onto the front, the Triumph’s payoff is ego-boosting confidence ricochetting through turns. You just grab it and ride, with an old-school sat-up style. Nowt wrong with two-pot sliding calipers either. ‘My favourite brakes,’ reckons Bike’s art bloke Paul Lang. ‘More than enough power, but without grabby bite to unsettle me.’
Dreary black paint and awful oversize logo aside (£100 extra please), the 660 also promises ownership pleasure. Switchgear is decent, the dash is easy for a tired middle-aged brain to understand, the level of finish is high, and Triumph’s thorough understanding of the engine means an impressive 10,000-mile service interval. There’s something else the Trident has too. ‘I like how it has the fun side of the old Street Triple,’ says Langy, ‘and that it looks like a proper bike. I like the badge and I feel like I’m buying into Triumph’s heritage, and that it’s made in Britain... whether it actually is or not.’