First ride: Triumph Street Triple RX

Picture a tricked-up assault weapon that’s had its trigger, sight and breech painted pimp-red so your enemies know they’re being shot with something special.

That’s just what’s happened to Triumph’s already thrill-packed middleweight Street Triple R when it became the RX.

And I have finally been won over. You see, I was never a fan of Triumph’s popular 675 Daytona when it first appeared in 2006. There was too much going on all at once, and it was too cramped, too weaponised and too frenetic for anyone over the age of 25.

Sure, the noise that came from free-revving triple engine when you got in its face was otherworldly. It was almost (but not quite) worth having your spine surgically fused and your thighs blanched by an exhaust pipe that sat mere centimetres away from your leg-meat. And it was tetchy as hell on our bumpy roads.

But that was then, and as time passed the world was offered a less track-focused variant of the Daytona, named appropriately after the place it’s happiest; the street.

Today’s Street Triple is actually mightier and meaner than its original ancestor, but also far more delightful to ride with your bad manners blazing.

And if you thought the base-model Street Triple was good, and the R-version demonstrably better, putting the X-factor into the cocktail takes it all up a notch. Because more vodka and lipstick is always a great thing when it comes to hooliganism.

DO THE MATHS
The RX is the ultimate incarnation of the middleweight naked — and takes it straight to the more expensive MV Agusta 675 Brutale, which it actually out-torques by a little bit.

Is it just a flashier Street Triple R? Well, yes, but it differs from the R in a few significant ways. It runs a Daytona sub-frame, seat and ducktail, so it looks a bit different, but in a better way. Then when you add the flyscreen, bellypan, rear-seat cowl, and the red accents, you can see what good value spending that extra $1000 is.

Just know that money also buys you the Intellishift quickshifter. If ever a bike was screaming for a quickshifter, the Street Triple was it, and the RX runs one of the best units I’ve ever used. It’s made for Triumph by fellow Poms, Translogic, supplier of clutch-free happy-tech to MotoGP, World Superbike and a few other bike manufacturers.

It completes the bike. There’s something just ever so righteous about holding the RX pinned and screaming while slamming through the gears, even while you keep glancing in the mirrors to see if a Highway Patrol car is enjoying your bravura performance.

The switchable anti-lock brakes (Nissin four-spotters up front and a single Brembo on the rear) are excellent, because lots of feel and lots of “Stop now!’ is precisely what’s needed when you’ve quick-shifted your way into the jaws of despair.

But the real stand-out is the suspension. Up front, upside-down 41mm fully adjustable Kayabas work in sublime harmony with the fully adjustable Kayaba monoshock up the back. On the road, the RX feels taut and precise, because it is exactly that. The ride is never harsh, but always firm and controlled.

It’s even mathematically inspiring. When you take something that weighs 168kg (dry) and punt it through brutal corners utilising 104.5hp (78kW) of power and 68Nm of utterly lineal torque, it adds up every time.

It will reward less-experienced riders by being comfortable and very easy to ride quickly, as well as being gentle and kind when nurturing is needed. But if you’re an old warhorse with scars, fetishes and needs, then the rewards you’ll reap on the RX will be so much greater.

Yes, I know. There’s a new Speed Triple in town. Which is all the RX is and much more besides. Except it’s heavier, more pillion-friendly, and doesn’t scream like a demonic lunatic when you’re redlining it at 13 million RPM. So there’s that.

The Street Triple RX will push buttons you might have forgotten you even had as you head into late middle-age.

Even the riding position is a declaration of war, despite its wide-barred, almost upright position. You’re head’s pointing forward, and your feet are canted back, but it’s not at all a racing crouch. It’s just an aggressive posture perfectly suited to spirited riding, officer. Racing crouches are all well and good for racetracks, but out on the road I’ll take the more upright option every time.

NO MORE GROWING
Pleasingly, despite its compactness, the riding position on the RX was not cramped at all. Still, if you’re a big unit with long and sexy legs, you might disagree. I’m 188cm tall with 105kg of heft, and I reckon I’m just shy of being laughed at riding a Street Triple. Any bigger and we’re into greyhounds on golf-balls territory. Still, I reckon they’ll be laughing at your disappearing tail-lights, so who cares? If you can get your feet onto the pegs without using a bystander to assist, it’s still all good.

The $14,990 RX comes in Diablo Red/Matt Aluminium Silver with the red lipstick highlights, though I did kinda wish that Triumph chose a redder red. Triumph’s red tends towards the orange end of the spectrum. Still, that may only be because our sun is sunnier here in Australia. It probably looks perfectly red under England’s washed out skies. But despite our brighter skies, the multi-function LCD dash is still quite visibly and informative. Analogue tacho, digital speedo, clock, fuel gauge, trip computer, gear indicator, lap-timer (of course), anti-lock brake controls, and programmable gear-change lights are all there. And it’s ready to be fitted with a tyre-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) when it becomes available.

It’s the kind bike you’d have a madly passionate affair with. Sure it can commute and doddle around town, growling mutedly under its breath, fitting perfectly into the narrowest traffic gaps (until you put bar-ends on it), its fuelling perfect and its manners impeccable.

But what it really wants you to do is ravish it. Ride it in sublime anger, hear its unique howl, and revel in its precision and dedication to your cause. Rev me, baby. Rev me hard. Treat me mean and make me scream.

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 106hp (78kW) at 11,850rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 68Nm at 9750rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed, close ratio
Final drive: 'O' ring chain
Clutch: Wet multiplate

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame type: Aluminium beam twin spar
Front suspension: Kayaba 41mm upside-down forks with adjustable preload, rebound and compression, 115mm travel
Rear suspension: Kayaba monoshock with adjustable preload, rebound and compression, 135mm travel
Front brakes: Twin 308mm floating discs with Nissin four-piston radial calipers, ABS
Rear brakes: Single 220mm disc with Nissin single-piston caliper (switchable ABS available)
Wheel construction: Five-spoke cast aluminium-alloy, 3.5 x 17 front, 5.5 x 17 rear
Tyres: Pirelli Diablo Rosso -- Front 120/70-17, rear 180/55-17

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Rake: 23.4 degrees
Trail: 95mm
Claimed dry weight: 168kg
Seat height: 820mm
Wheelbase: 1410mm
Fuel capacity: 17.4 litres