Bigger, racier new Triumph Street Triple RS
New 765cc Daytona-derived engine with 121bhp Flagship of new five-model Street Triple range Track-ready chassis includes Öhlins shock
NO, IT’S NOT a typo. The new Street Triple is now powered by a 765cc engine, replacing the beloved 675cc triple that’s been at its heart since 2007. But that extra 90cc doesn’t come close to the full story of what’s changed. There’s also new suspension, brakes, tyres, electronics, gearing, swingarm and steering geometry, and a 2kg diet. But perhaps most notable of all is this brand-new version: the Street Triple RS.
The RS is the lightest, most powerful, sophisticated, aggressive and most capable version of the Street Triple that Triumph have ever made – and also the most expensive. At £9900 on the road, this leaves the ‘budget middleweight’ tag far behind on both counts.
As the showcase model, the RS is the first we’re getting a chance to ride. And even before the new engine fires up there’s plenty of evidence of how deep the changes run. The new dash is a full-colour digital panel – a Thin-film Transistor – about the size of a smartphone. Turn the ignition key and the screen warms up with a welcoming Triumph logo, before settling into one of six different displays, each with a different place and shape for the speedo, rev counter, gear position and so on.
Select your preferred layout using the new switchgear, which now includes a ‘Home’ button on the right bar (sadly not an autopilot to whisk you back from the pub) as well as a new five-way ‘joystick’ on the left bar under the indicator. You can even choose to lock the display to whiteon-black, or let it flick between day and night mode based on the ambient light.
At this point it dawns on me that I’d be several miles up the road by now on the old Street Triple. It was a bike that celebrated purity and simplicity – an instant, engaging engine in a sharp, welcoming chassis, and nothing more. This one, clearly, has an awful lot more. And I haven’t even got to the five rider modes yet, or navigated to the menu to customise the traction control, throttle modes, ABS setting and more.
Time for that later. The 765cc triple fires up with a familiar mix of smooth whistle and edgy gristle. The clutch lever’s action is lighter (thanks to the new clutch’s slipper/ gripper design), first gear slots in easily and we’re soon rolling through the mountains north of Barcelona. Fuelling is faultless, the unchanged riding position still a shade more head-down and front-end focused than many nakeds, so the compact 765 swings easily from side-to-side on cold, slightly damp roads.
But it’s the motor I want to get to know better. It’s based not on the previous Street Triple engine, but on the latest Daytona 675 motor. That’s ‘based’ in a fairly loose sense. The Street’s engine has new pistons, rods and crank, with a bigger bore and longer stroke to give that 765cc capacity.
In the RS, this engine makes a claimed 121bhp and 57lb.ft – a decent leap from the previous Street’s 105bhp and 50lb.ft. Power and torque are higher at all revs and the 765 definitely pulls harder everywhere from tickover to its 12,650rpm redline – though the advantage is muted slightly by taller gearing, thanks to a tooth-smaller rear sprocket. There’s also a definite difference in the delivery. The previous Street had a famously flat torque curve, with a bulging bottom end that barely budged as the revs built. The RS is a little less even – it’s noticeably more
“It’s sophisticated, powerful, light and aggressive”
“Unsurprisingly, the RS feels right at home on track”
interested between 9000 and 12,000rpm than it is from, say, 4000 to 7000rpm.
But let’s be clear: the 765 RS is not revvy. It’s still flexible enough to pull from 30mph to three figures in third gear, sounding absolutely fantastic while doing so. Despite meeting ever-shrinking noise limits, as it sears through the revs the 765 gives off a hair-raising yowl, an addictive mix of intake noise and exhaust. Like the 675 before, the 765 motor remains dripping with tangible character. What a relief.
The second-biggest relief comes from discovering the track-ready chassis parts don’t feel like overkill on the road. The RS has Showa’s Big Piston Forks and an Öhlins rear shock, yet both ends feel surprisingly plush and forgiving even in mixed road conditions.
Similarly, the Brembo M50 front brake calipers – the same premium parts you’d find on top-end superbikes – bite immediately and incredibly strongly, but don’t feel grabby or excessive on the road. At least, not when an ABS system is keeping watch. The only part of the RS that feels compromised is its tyres: Pirelli’s Supercorsa SP is essentially a road-legal track tyre, and while its incredible agility might help the RS feel as light on its feet as possible (offsetting the frame’s slightly more relaxed head angle) it doesn’t perform well on cold or wet roads.
The test route leads through the gates of the Catalunya Grand Prix circuit, where tyre warmers are applied, spanners are twirled to stiffen the suspension, and the riding mode is set to Track (sharper throttle response, less traction control, no antiwheelie and no rear ABS). This is a mammoth track that lets you find sixth gear down the start-finish straight, heading for the RS’S near-150mph top speed.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the RS feels right at home on the racetrack. Braking force is immense from high speed down into the second-gear first turn; turn-in is instant; steering precision perfect; lean angles seem endless, with no ground-clearance problems; and the motor is permanently ready to serve up huge dollops of drive. The up-only quickshifter (fitted as standard) doesn’t give the slickest full-throttle changes, but it never misses a gear. The Track ABS mode interferes prematurely once or twice, but it can be switched off. The only thing a 765 RS really needs to go any quicker on track is a fairing… and maybe some lower clip-on bars…
In short, the RS is an absolute weapon – but it doesn’t render the bikes that came before it obsolete. This may be the most extreme machine to bear the Street Triple name, but for many riders part of the old model’s appeal was its lack of sharp-eyed focus. People valued its light-hearted, easy-going character, where you could get on and have fun instantly, anywhere, at any speed. Put the 2007 Street Triple side-by-side with the 2017 Street Triple RS and there’s no question which is the faster, objectively superior bike. But which one is more fun? Well, that’s harder to call…
The RS feels like a more serious bike than previous Street Triples. It is seriously fast, seriously advanced and seriously capable. Current Street Triple R customers who long for a bike that’s faster, firmer and packed with more futuristic features will be seriously delighted by it. But for lesscommitted riders who never go near a racetrack, I suspect it’s worth waiting to see what the new Street Triple R – which will have more midrange, road-focused tyres and a £1000 cheaper price tag – brings to the party before deciding where to put that deposit.