Launch: 2016 Triumph Speed Triple

I have a great mate who won't part with his 1999 model 955i Speed Triple come hell or high water — and even regaling him with tales about just how good the updated 2016 version is doesn't even raise an eyebrow.

Bert — you are now dismissed and can go back to mowing your lawns. To everyone else: the 'original' hooligan has just got better again, and two days of ridiculous high-tempo fun in the mountains of north-east Victoria — in fact, the most entertained I've been on a launch for a decade — has clearly rammed home the gains that Triumph has made across the board.

Triumph's most recognisable icon has been given a new lease on life. Add in a great bunch of launch partners on some of the best roads in the nation, and this was one unveiling to remember — magic from go to whoa.

And that's no mean feat — turning a new chapter on the performance front that is. The 1050cc version of the venerated triple has now been available in Speed Triple configuration for 11 years, but this time around Triumph has made a huge number of changes to it.

The headline act is a Keihin ride-by-wire throttle that has not only improved fuel economy by up to a claimed 16 per cent but more importantly has allowed the introduction of variable riding modes: five in all including a configurable 'Rider' version. All the modes offer the full 140hp to the rider but, in a system that was first pioneered on the new range of Tiger 800s, it's the way the throttle talks to the ride-by-wire motor and butterflies (ie different throttle maps) where the different power responses come in — except Rider of course where you can set your own parameters. All the mode toggling is done via easily accessible switchgear and is visible in the LCD instrument panel.

For each riding mode there are pre-set traction control, anti-lock braking and throttle map settings, with the shackles loosened as the rider moves from 'Rain' to 'Road', 'Sport' and then 'Track'.

As for the real heart of the matter, Triumph has, among 104 claimed component changes, lightened the crankshaft, counter balancers and flywheel; changed the gearbox to more of a Daytona 675 setup (shift mechanisms, shift drum, etc); fitted a new ECU and camshafts; and there's a new airbox. The engine also has a new slip-assist clutch (three springs instead of six) for better engagement, and that was noticeable from the moment we rolled out of Albury.

Power is now up by 4hp to the aforementioned 140 (at 9500rpm), and peak torque is 112Nm at 7850rpm — with appreciably more poke between 3500 and 7500rpm over the 2015 Speed Triple.

The engine is brilliantly torquey, so stitching together corners — tight or open — is a ridiculously no-nonsense affair, with the slick gearbox never missing a beat as well. Mind you, the Speed Triple's always produced that type of full-bodied flavour, but the extra little charge in the latest version definitely adds to the muscular appeal — complemented beautifully by a much more sleeker and aggressive design.   

What the Speed Triple doesn't bring to the performance table is the wicked top end of bikes like the BMW S 1000 R or KTM Super Duke 1290 R. On a few occasions, it would have been nice to split a kink in half with a ferocious, seat-of the-pants power surge, but that was probably more a function of the 'thirst' for even more given the frenetic pace. If the tempo was a little mellower the demands may have been very different…

Still, there's no doubt the 1050cc engine is more of an industrious elder statesman these days, but it's still a crowd pleaser par excellence. And just so responsive and flexible.

TWIN ATTACK
There are two Speed Triples coming to Australia: the base S for $17,900, and the R for $20,350. The biggest difference between the pair is that the R has more up-spec Ohlins suspension, while the S has Showa suspenders. Both fully adjustable, of course, while both bikes tip the scales at 192kg (dry) and carry sticky Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa 17-inch rubber.

2016 SPEED TRIPLES

On a smooth road, the R is simply sensational — which on the launch translated to some extremely obliging tarmac between Mitta Mitta and our overnight accommodation at Anglers Rest, about 25km from Omeo.

Under brakes the R is beautifully stable, and then settles quickly before driving out of turns with absolute conviction, the signature tubular twin-spar frame holding the plot together.  The frame is titanium-coloured this time around — the best choice yet.

As potent as the Brembo monobloc brakes are, the NIX30 upside-down forks on the R model are more than up to the demands, so there's no pitching or flightiness under brakes. It's just always on an offensive footing.

Sharp-edged bumps can certainly shake and rattle the R a bit with the stiffer suspension, but the R more than lives up to its name as the sportier Speed Triple option.

The R would be great fun around a race track — which is where Triumph Australia held a portion of the last Speed Triple launch. However, I'm glad it took the road-based launch route this time as the R, as good as it is, is primo material for tearing up country roads.

The S still offers a superb ride, but the suspension is softer and there's far more compliant initial damping, so for 90 per cent of riders — and I count myself as one of them — it's probably a better option than the R.

In addition to the suspension, the R's $2450 premium over the S  is focussed on aesthetic touches, including carbon fibre (mudguard, tank infills), machined aluminium billet bits (handlebar clamp and risers, swingarm pivot covers), a colour-coded belly pan, red painted sub-frame, wheel pinstripes and red seat stitching.

If you want to go further with both bikes, accessories can take a 'performance' angle (Arrow exhaust, quickshifter), as well as 'style' (colour co-ordinated seat cowl, billet levers, etc) and/or 'practicality' (fly screen visor, frame protectors, power socket, grab rail).

The Speed Triple has a twin-channel anti-lock braking system from Continental, which I simply left on all the time — as well as traction control for that matter. In fact, I only made a few fleeting forays into the 'Rider' mode to play with variable settings, as it's not such an issue on a road bike compared to adventure fare when you're tackling a much wider variety of surfaces.

The Brembo brakes are mightily strong, which is par for the course, but they do take a little while to really bite hard. That took a little getting used to, and the setup doesn't really lend itself to a lot of trail braking.

FLAT AND LOW
Flat and low: that was Triumph's mantra for the updated design. The fuel filler tank is the highest part of the 2016 Speed Triple, while there's a sleeker tank (it now holds two litres less) and bodywork. As well, you can add in new radiator panels, heel guards and brake fluid reservoirs. The seat is also 20mm narrower, and majorly comfortable.

The headlight design has also changed — there are still two of them as Speed Triple history dictates, but they are not as 'dogs bally' with the integrated flyscreen. The headlights are also flatter.

Australia will also get the Speed Triples with the DRL headlights (not all markets will), and there are also bar end mirrors and LED indicators.

There's a fair reach to the bars with the new setup, which in cruising mode means fairly straight arms for my short-ish torso — but once the fun really begins that's soon forgotten about…

Triumph's Speed Triple is now a mature product, and we all know the challenges companies face to keep such inventory at the forefront of people's minds; it's all about constant improvement and reinvention. Triumph has seemingly achieved that with the new Bonneville range, and now you can add the Speed Triple to the list.

Is it the benchmark in the category? Certainly not in raw performance terms, but for universal appeal there's plenty to like — and absolutely love — about the 2016 Speed Triple. Evolution has just taken another big step, and the hooligan is more alive and mischief-making than ever.

SECOND OP: BORIS MIHAILOVIC
I was weird about Speed Triples before anyone else was weird about Speed Triples. My weirdness was all-encompassing. I instantly loved the whole naked, feral, twin-headlighted concept. It looked like something a visionary drug-freak had built in his shed with tools he barely knew how to use.

I bought three of them. No-one else bought any.

Still, Triumph persevered in making them, and after almost a decade of manufacturing obstinacy, other people began to get weird about them, too. These people were coming to understand what a great and versatile bike they were. You could tour on them and still walk upright at the end of a long day. You could take them to track days and not be ashamed. You could do cool hooligan things on them when girls were watching. And if you knew what you were doing, you could keep lots of sportsbike riders very honest in the tight stuff. They were not the fastest bikes in terms of top-end, but they had a lovely torque-rich engine and handled well enough if you were bold and sassy.

Which brings me, quite neatly, to the boldest and sassiest Speed Triple yet built. Now Mr Fattore would have already regaled you with all the technical upgrades, Newtons, Kilowatts, Brembos, Öhlinses, engine map variables and techno-wizardy introduced onto the 2016 models – of which there are two, the S and the R. The only difference between them is the R costs $2360 more than the S because it has Öhlins suspension and some extra jewellery.

Personally, I would buy the R. Öhlins suspension is, after all, Öhlins suspension. There’s nothing at all wrong with the fully adjustable Showa units on the S, other than the fact that they’re not Öhlins. I just felt the R turned in better, and was certainly far more…well, Swedishly efficient in its treatment of bumps.

But at the pace Mr Fattore was riding, it wouldn’t have mattered if the Speed Triple R I was on had a MotoGP engine and was carried on the wings of angels. I still wouldn’t have caught him. Mister Fattore certainly gets along right sharpish when he has a mind to.

I did, however, do an excellent job of not chucking myself into a tree or off a cliff, thereby causing everyone involved in the press launch a massive inconvenience. And thus I also enjoyed myself immensely.

It was like getting back with an old girlfriend who used to do the dirtiest things with you. Then you parted ways, and when you found her again, she had transformed herself into a nova-hot centrefold, and was aching to do even dirtier things with you. And to you.
I surrendered immediately. Like a Frenchman. And I gave myself over to the new Speed Triple and the 54,933 corners that lie between Albury, Mitta Mitta, Omeo, Mt Hotham, Mt Buffalo and some place righteously called Happy Valley. I was not disappointed. I was actually exalted.

The 2016 model is not just a little better than the 2015 version. It’s a lot better. It steers sharper, it brakes outrageously harder, and it’s got a good deal more torque. There’s a whole 16 per cent more Newtons spread out through the rev-range. It’s also a much more refined bike, but despite that refinement, it’s lost none of the sting that made it so popular with people like me. In fact, that sting now boasts even more venom.

And crucially, it’s so much better-looking than every single Speed Triple built since the 955i, which I simply adored. Finally someone in Triumph’s tea-drenched design department understood that big, stupid lollipop mirrors look better in the bin than they do on the Speed Triple’s handlebars, and swapped them for bar-ends. They also lowered the iconic twin-headlights a few vital centimetres.

The bike’s face and profile went from being a vaguely muscled and goggle-eyed insect, into a grimly slit-eyed, hunched and brutally sexy weapon. Once those awkward-looking high-set exhaust cans have been thrown into the local landfill and replaced with a low-slung Arrows system, and a man can actually strap luggage to the back seat again, it’s job done.

I have five mates who have owned or still own Speed Triples and love them passionately. There is no mistaking them for anything else, either in the way they look, or the way they sound. And there’s just something about them that whispers to the evil side of your brain.

Yes, there are more powerful bikes. And there are bikes that arguably handle better – though the 2016 version gives nothing away in that department.

But there is nothing out there that slams its gnarly fist on the table, orders more whisky in a booming deep bark, and makes you grin like a fiend quite in the way that the Speed Triple does.

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame type: Aluminium twin-spar
Front suspension: 43mm Showa (Ohlins) upside-down forks with preload, rebound and compression adjustment, 120mm travel
Rear suspension: Showa (Ohlins) monoshock with preload, rebound and compression adjustment, 130mm travel
Front brakes: Twin 320mm discs with Brembo four-piston radial calipers, ABS
Rear brake: 255mm disc, with twin-piston caliper, ABS
Wheels: Multi-spoke cast aluminium-alloy, front 3.50 x 17, rear 6.00 x 17
Tyres: Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa, front 120/70-17, rear 190/55-17

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Rake: 22.9 degrees
Trail: 91.3mm
Claimed dry weight: 192kg
Seat height: 825mm
Wheelbase: 1435mm
Fuel capacity: 15.5lt

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 140hp at 9500rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 112Nm at 7850rpm

OTHER STUFF
Price: $17,900 ($20,350)
Colours: Diablo Red and Phantom Black (Chrystal White and Matt Graphite)
Bike supplied by: Triumph Australia, www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres