Less is more
When RIDE tested Triumph’s top-of-therange Street Triple RS, we said it was worth waiting for the more affordable, lower-spec R model. We were right…
THIS IS THE acid test – the moment when the truth will be revealed. Second gear, revs hovering at a leisurely 4500rpm, bike banked over and tracking round a tight little right-angle B-road bend. Ahead, a straight with nothing coming. Wind the throttle open as the bike picks upright until the twistgrip won’t turn any further. The exhaust note doubles in volume, its understated grumble mutating into a harder-edged, buzzsaw burble. Hold on and head down as the Triumph Street Triple R slingshots through both its midrange and the countryside with instant intent. Test passed? Oh yes...
To explain the past four seconds, let’s rewind four months, back to the launch of Triumph’s enormously anticipated new Street Triple. Not only has it grown in capacity, up from 675cc to 765cc, but also in number of versions – from two (the regular Street and a sportier R) to three (standard S, sporty R and trackready RS). And it’s the flagship RS that Triumph has launched first.
But of course, the RS is the highestspec of the new Street Triples. It’s the one with all the bells and whistles, the fanciest components and the most power. But unlike previous Street Triples the bigger, bolder RS didn’t boast a fat, flat, even-handed power delivery. Instead, it seemed a little top-endy. “It’s noticeably more interested between 9000 and 12,000rpm than it is from, say, 4000 to 7000rpm,” I wrote in RIDE’S May issue, concluding that; “it’s worth waiting to see what the new Street Triple R brings to the party before deciding where to put that deposit.”
That’s because while the R and RS share the same 765cc triple, the two motors are tuned differently. The RS has more peak power (121bhp to the R’s 116bhp), but this comes at a cost lower down the revs. Overlaying Triumph’s own power curves reveals that the less pricey R actually has more guts all the way from tickover up to 10,000rpm. And that’s the bit we’re interested in, the bit I’m looking for.
So while the R is less – at £8900, it undercuts the RS by a full grand – out here, winding from Cambridgeshire through Suffolk and Essex, it actually feels like it is more; more flexible, more
grunty, more willing to pull from regular revs. More like a Street Triple. More how I hoped the RS would feel. Today is the longest day of the year and I can’t think of a middleweight naked streetbike I’d rather be spending it riding.
The ergonomics and geometry of the R are identical to the RS. The riding position is compact and focused, with a clear desire to shuffle you towards the bike’s front end so you can boss the bars. The new Street Triple doesn’t need much input to turn – not when it’s 2kg lighter than the outgoing 675 – but something about its stance encourages you to get more actively involved than some other roadsters. The Street loves it when you push down through the pegs to take your weight off the seat, to kind of hover above the bike and hustle it from side-to-side. It’s definitely not for sitting back like a sack of spuds and gently bend-swinging.
That’s something you can also tell from the suspension. The R has Big Piston Forks like the RS, but the flagship’s Öhlins shock has been traded for a less-expensive (though still fully-adjustable) Showa item. Both ends are set very firm – the kind of set-up that priorities poise over posterior pleasure. Thunk over a rough section of road at motorway speeds and you’ll definitely feel it. I reckon if this was my own bike, I’d probably be winding back both ends’ compression damping bit by bit in search of a slightly plusher ride.
The trade-off of leaving it as Hinckley intended is that on smoother, faster roads, like the belting B1057 from Haverhill to Finchingfield, there’s minimal back-andforth weight transfer. And on the rare occasions you need to, you can squeeze so hard on the front brakes – a pair of Brembo four-piston radial calipers, just not as posh as the RS’S top-shelf items – without the front end diving into the floor.
After passing through Sudbury and crossing Dedham Vale, I cross over the River Stour and pick up the B1352, tracking the water east until it becomes the North Sea at Harwich. It’s a superb run – any serious traffic sits on the A120 running parallel, leaving me to enjoy half a dozen miles of twists, turns, dips and drops. I leave the R set in
“It’s not for sitting back like a sack of spuds and gently bend-swinging”
Despite being Euro4 compliant, the Triple R still very much sounds the part
‘Wiggly Road’ mode. There are four riding modes, chosen with the new switchgear and displayed on the colour TFT dash as four icons: Drizzling Cloud, Straight Road, Wiggly Road and Crash Helmet. I later learn these are Rain, Road, Sport and Rider, which change throttle response and traction control – though all four get the full 116bhp. Rider is a custom mode, so you select the mix you like – or disable the traction control to get the motor’s full force, unhindered by anti-wheelie.
Even using the most aggressive Sport map, the fuelling is still perfectly smooth and predicatable – it’d be no bother using this mode in a downpour. Come to think of it, the R would actually be better in the rain than the RS, as it comes with heavier-treaded, roadfocused Pirelli Rosso Corsa tyres rather than the RS’S near-slick Supercorsas.
Over a Mr Whippy at Harwich harbour, I can’t think of any reason I’d buy the RS over this R – not until my track miles exceed my road miles. If you want the RS’S quickshifter it’s a £300 accessory on the R, and you still save £700. For my money, this is the true flagship of the new Street Triple trio.