‘Right; where it belongs’

Steve spends a day in the saddle of 2021’s best new bike*

BRAKE LIGHTS FLASH like a hundred evil eyes all opening at once. A lorry smears two huge black arcs across the lanes, while a white hatchback spears right at 90° to the carriageway. The smell of burnt rubber and cooked brakes fills my helmet. Somehow no-one crashes. Cause? Unknown. But that’s a big tick for the Trident’s ABS at least. Now can we continue with a little less drama please? We’ve barely got going…

This is our first update on the Trident but the odometer already shows over 2500 miles due to numerous road-test performances before I even turn a wheel on today’s trip up north.

A big ride on a small bike is always interesting. And I don’t mean small as in capacity — the Triumph’s 660cc lump is plenty — but the Trident is minuscule. Once you’re on it, there’s barely any bike visible. An hour and 30 into the first leg of the ride and, despite being perfectly Trident-size (5’9”, 31” inside leg), I’m shifting in the seat and getting a bit knees-y. But because of the 805mm seat height, even dangled legs stay bent as boots drag on the tarmac.

These tiny proportions are part of what make the Hinkley’s great-looking-latest a hit. At

1401mm, the wheelbase is 90mm shorter than a Street Triple, while the well-shaped and generously-padded seat is 5mm closer to the ground and weight is a claimed 189kg wet. It’s so easy to man (or woman) handle, for a proper bike it couldn’t be less intimidating. As we roll into York in search of Ghost Merchants and lunch, the nimble 660 near-perfect fuelling and light controls makes easy work of the city-centre traffic and awkward multi-storey that Google told me had motorcycle parking. A word to the wise — there’s free bike parking near Infinity Motorcycles, which I discovered as I was leaving.

With so many new bikes dripping in price-hiking tech, there’s much to enjoy in the Trident’s