SCREAM CRACKER
» Power: 177.5bhp » Weight: 198kg » Engine: 1160cc 12-valve DOHC inline three » Price: £15,100
Cast your eye over the new Speed Triple’s ingredients: crackers 178bhp engine; sub-200kg wet weight; high footrests, quickshifter; no pillion provision; track mode; quicksilver steering; firm suspension; high first gear. Remind you of anything? Yep, you’ve got it. The 1200 RS is a sportsbike, albeit one with high bars and no fairing. Riding it confirms the assessment – the brakes, steering, acceleration, ride quality and handling are all pure sportsbike, which is very, very entertaining in many, many ways. When you get above 8000rpm there’s a rush up to 11,500rpm that’s so ferocious it’s borderline unusable on the road. If you can see anything ahead, no matter how far away, you best not open the taps because you’ll be arriving there in two seconds. On my first test ride I nearly visited the inside of a distant caravan that suddenly wasn’t. It takes a while for your brain to get up to Speed Triple speed.
There’s lashings of midrange too – just as much as the punchy old 1050. You can swan about all day surfing torque, savouring the lush throttle response and easily keeping up with your mates. And when your adrenaline levels require a spike, mutter a plea for long life to your chosen deity, open the throttle and hold on while the electronics act as invisible wheelie bars. A brilliant engine.
At road speeds, the steering is much like the old bike’s – ie, accurate and confidenceinspiring – but feels friskier thanks to the reduction in weight. And like any good superbike, the faster you go, the more pinpoint accurate it feels. By all accounts it’s a superb track weapon, though one requiring toned forearms if you want to last a full 20 minute session.
And so to the downside of sportsbikes: the ride quality. There’s no doubt about the suspension components themselves – premium Öhlins front and rear – but the set-up is aggressive. ‘It’s so stiff that it only feels like it’s working at TT speed,’ wrote Bike deputy editor Mike Armitage after his first ride. I can see his point – the suspension is firm – but I’m not so bothered because the riding position takes enough weight off my wrists for the ride to be rattly rather than painful. But would it be a better road bike with softer springs? Undoubtedly. Ultimately, whether the 1200 RS appeals to you depends on your approach. If you want an updated version of the 1050 Speed Triple to thrash round your local B-roads, the new bike will deliver a spine-compacting, cheek-wobbling surprise. However, if your requirement is for a brilliant sportsbike with flat bars and no fairing, you definitely won’t stop grinning for months.
‘A spinecompacting, cheekwobbling surprise’