Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS
More cubes, more power and much more speed – but make sure your definition of performance is the same as Triumph’s
‘The RS massages senses with its deep exhaust roar and leaping performance’
Hinckley’s leading motorcycle assemblers should sling a few Speed Triples in a van and loiter discreetly outside KTM, Ducati and Aprilia dealers. Whenever they see someone returning from test-riding a Super Duke, Streetfighter or Tuono they could leap out and offer a spin on their big inline three for a back-to-back comparison. They’d sell loads.
Of these bikes it’s the Speed Triple 1200 RS that makes the biggest initial impression. Its substantial 1160cc engine feels mighty, the blingy adjusters on its track-ready suspension give racy presence, and the handsome looks and just-so stance entice you to ride. Even the modelspecific colour dash stands out as a bit different, a bit special. And as demo rides are usually short (and possibly on roads you don’t know) the Triumph’s instant punch, unplanned wheelies and firm and skittish ride have instant impact. It is the most exciting to ride. And if you’re after a large supernaked this is surely a huge part of the attraction. With a claimed 178bhp the Triumph is right up with others in the pointless power stakes, with an electronics-straining 92 lb.ft of wallop. The revs where the motor makes its output peaks are around where the other bikes splurt out their biggest numbers, yet there’s something about the British bike’s delivery that feels stronger; where the Aprilia and Ducati are powerful the Triumph feels torquey, muscular. Roadfocused gearing plays a massive part. The Speed is the meatiest here. It’s also the firmest. I can only assume
Triumph employ bonkers-fast racers as test riders and so base new bike set-ups on their requirements. Either that, or there’s an influential old boy in the chassis department who used to work for Italian factories in the ’70s and ’80s and still believes that hard equals handling. Several of their current bikes would benefit from more absorbent suspension, including the mildly fidgety Trident 660 and overly stiff Street Triple RS, but this new 1200 RS takes another stride towards track irrelevance. It’s way too firm. I get that it’s a supernaked, a bike to give ‘the ultimate performance naked sports ride’. But the Öhlins forks and shock are so unyielding in normal road riding that the Triumph is uncomfortable, tiring, hard work and frustrating. Full adjustability means you could meddle to try and find a more road-friendly set-up, but there’s only so much adjustment and you can’t do anything about the spring rate. And anyway, if I’m spending £15,500 then I don’t really expect to have to set the bike up myself. This is a real shame, as in every other way this latest Speed Triple is on the money. Yeah, the mirrors are a bit buzzy and the dash interface is a tad annoying until you’re fully acclimatised, but the riding position is spot-on and the bike shimmers with desirable techy gubbins. Though it hasn’t quite the old Speed Triple’s precise-yet-fool-proof steering it offers greater outright handling, the new chassis being nimble, accurate and (so long as the road’s smooth) it glues itself to a line with surefooted reassurance. ‘I find it really stable in hard cornering,’ says Bike art bloke Paul Lang. The RS massages plenty of senses too, with its deep exhaust roar, leaping performance and vivid chassis connection.
‘The Triumph feels like it competes on every level with the others,’ notes editor Hugo Wilson. ‘Maybe it doesn’t quite match them in every respect – it’s overshadowed by the top-end might of the Ducati, the visual appeal of the KTM and the sheer riding charm of the Aprilia – but you could say that it’s the best compromise.’
Except, of course, that the suspension is anything but a compromise. Unless there’s been a sudden surge in the popularity of naked bikes among trackday addicts that we haven’t noticed, it’s hard to understand quite what Triumph are thinking. There’s more to performance than what a stopwatch says, and on the road the 1200 RS would be quicker, more enjoyable and more likely to entice you into using it day-to-day if it didn’t constantly fidget, shimmy and buck. The Speed Triple RS is still a very good bike… but it could have been great.