2013 Triumph Street Triple R: owner update one

The running-in period of any new vehicle is an imperative part of protecting its longevity. Ride it too hard and you’re bound to bugger something up. Too soft and you’ll ruin any chance of ever achieving anything like the manufacturer’s claimed fuel consumption figure… among other things.

So, with these thoughts swimming in the nether reaches of my mind I was perplexed to find the shift light of my new Stripler was illuminating a vivid blue at 3500rpm; especially when the decal on the tank clearly states a maximum of 5000rpm for the first 480km. Time to consult the owner’s manual.

Apparently the manufacturer sets the shift light to 3500rpm as a matter of course and with the push of a few buttons the indicators were set to a more reasonable – and rideable – level. Five thousand revs are enough to keep the Street Triple R’s 675cc at a comfortable 100km/h, and accelerate commensurately with the flow of inner-urban traffic – all without having a blue glow at low revs. Crisis number one over.

The engine felt expectedly tight for the first couple of hundred kays but pleasingly, the gear shift did not. As the former owner of a MY08 Street Triple R it’s easy to draw comparisons, and although the gearshift was never an issue on the old bike, it’s obvious the new one feels, well, new.

Once the initial couple of hundred kilometres were done the three-cylinder felt closer to what I remember of the old bike, even developing its power across a familiar rev range. What wasn’t familiar was the change to the ratio of first gear.

The taller cog now assimilates the Street Triple and Daytona range making for an easier (and cheaper) process at the manufacturer’s end. It doesn’t, however, make for easier starts at the rider’s end. With a few more revs required before letting the clutch grab it’s simply a matter of familiarity, and in truth the bike does feel similar to my MY06 Daytona 675 in the way it accelerates from rest. The good news is that gearing down from second to first is now a lot better, especially thanks to the electronic controls which prevent rear wheel lock-up.

Also different is the way the new bike turns in to a corner. It’s keener, and responds quicker to input from the new black-painted bars. New tyres (Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa as OEM) make this process a little tentative, but I’d say with some confidence that the nose feels more stable, as does the bike’s response to fast changes in direction.

With these small exceptions the Street Triple R still retains the character I love. In fact the only other changes are positive ones, like the addition of a fuel gauge, (significantly) more under-seat storage, a deeper intake note, and an improvement (yes, already) in fuel economy. It’s early days, and I’ll admit to being suitably gentle thus far, but I’m already looking at an extra 35km from a tank.

If there had to be any downsides, and I’m nit-picking here, I think the seat padding is a little soggy and the instrument panel is somewhat obscured by the routing of the throttle cables. I’m also noticing the extra 15mm seat height, but that’s simply because my ass is too close to the ground.

They’re trivial points in the scheme of things, but ones you notice nevertheless when skipping from one bike to the next.

The Christmas break gave me a chance to get my knees in the breeze and in no time the magic 1000km had appeared on the Stripler’s odometer. By and large I’d serviced my old bike at home though with something so new (and let’s face it, expensive) it’s important to have trained eyes look for anything I might miss. It’s a simple procedure and otherwise amounts to little more than an oil change. But peace of mind, and my warranty, is worth the time and effort.

There’s a reason the Street Triple R is Triumph’s best-selling model, and I’m guessing that like thousands of other buyers it’s the same reason I’ve come back to the feisty naked a second time. It’s a great bike with an intoxicating engine note, a swathe of personalisable accessories and a blend of performance and handling that allows the rider to really enjoy the machine’s full potential.