LUSTY TRIUMPH’S A TRIPLE TREAT
Around the corner from a newspaper I used to work in was a sandwich shop, and for years I had the same sandwich every day – ham and cheese salad on wholegrain bread with mustard and mayo.
“Geoff, is it just me, or is that the same sandwich you have every day?” said the editor one day, displaying the sort of observational skills journalists are noted for.
“Boss, when you’ve achieved perfection, why keep searching?” I replied.
Which brings me, naturally, to the engine in the Triumph Speed Triple S.
Triumph has made triples its trademark, and it’s easy to see why. They’re more compact and lighter than fours for better handling and braking, and smoother than a Marks & Spencer deluxe custard.
I speak from experience for once, having ridden a Tiger 955i from Chile to Alaska for my book The Road to Gobblers Knob, and a Tiger 1050 all the way around Oz for the book, er, Oz.
If they have one fault, it’s that at speed their highpitched whine makes them sound like a giant sewing machine running late for a giant sewing machine convention. The latest variation on that 1050cc engine is the one in the Speed Triple, so I pressed the go button expecting the same urgent whine as before, only to be happily surprised by a deep, enthusiastic burble, as if it was eager to be off.
According to Triumph, the latest version of the 1050cc powerplant has 105 new parts, which work together to help boost power by 10bhp and torque by 4 ft lb, and the exhaust and gearbox have both been improved for better airflow and easier use.
In spite of the impressive power at speed, it’s remarkably tractable through town, pulling cleanly in top all the way from 2,000rpm to the redline which is reached at 10,500rpm.
Pinpoint handling is a Triumph trademark and the Speed Triple is no exception. It’s so beautifully balanced that all you need to do is think and you’re already carving through a corner.
The riding modes on the S model are Rain, Road, Sport, and Rider for bespoke tweaking. Until now I’d been in Road, with more than enough oomph to bomb past everything around me with ease.
And happy though my marriage with the bike had been up to this point, the change to Sport was as exhilarating as having a fling with an Olympic gymnast with a cocaine habit. Not that I would know, I should add. ■ Test bike supplied by Phillip McCallen Motorcycles, www. phillipmccallen.com.