Oz guides Triumph Trident development

The new Triumph Trident middleweight roadster might have been designed and developed in the UK and will be produced in Thailand, but its engine capacity was chosen specifically to meet Australia's and New Zealand's Learner Approved Motorcycle Schemes (LAMS).

Speaking at the online international launch of the Triumph Trident on Wednesday, October 21, Triumph UK's Chief Product Officer, Steve Sargent, said the engine – which sports many differences from the 660cc three-cylinder unit in the LAMS-approved Triumph Street Triple S – was specified with Oceania's LAMS markets firmly in mind.

"The advantage of the 660 is it allows us to use the same platform for the LAMS bike in Australia and New Zealand," he said.

In fact, here in Australia we will only receive the Triumph Trident in a LAMS-compliant format – in the UK the bike will be produced in a full-power version, along with a restriction kit that adapts the model for A2 (learner) licence compliance.

The UK's full-biscuit Triumph Trident will produce maximum outputs of 80hp (60kW) at 10,250rpm and 64Nm at 6250rpm, while our LAMS-friendly version will produce 53hp (39.8kW) at 8750rpm and 59Nm at 5000rpm.

That means the Australian-spec Triumph Trident will produce roughly the same as Triumph's current Australian-spec, LAMS-only Street Triple S, but with the Trident's maximum figures chiming in appreciably lower in the rev range – the Triumph Street Triple S produces 52hp (39.7kW) at 11,250rpm and 61Nm at 6000rpm.

The Triumph Trident has a claimed wet weight of 189kg, while the Street Triple S weighs in at 168kg dry – roughly the same, once fuel and other fluids are taken into account.

But while the new Triumph Trident shares the same basic capacity, three-cylinder format and 240-degree firing order as the Street Triple S, Triumph says it's significantly different.

"It's almost easier to list the things that haven't changed than the ones that have, because it really is a completely new engine development from the ground up," said Sargent.

"I think the important thing is to remember what the ambition was when we started to develop the engine for this bike. What we were trying to deliver was an engine that was best in class in terms of being able to match the twin-cylinder engine low down and in the mid-range but also give the best benefits of a triple at the top end of the rev range."

In meeting that challenge, Triumph says the Trident's engine not only has a smaller bore and a longer stroke compared to that of the Street Triple S, but also a new crankshaft, pistons, circlips, gudgeon pins, camshafts and clutch assembly.

The cylinder head and crankcase machining is also different, as are the cylinder liners, the gearbox input and output shafts and the balancer shaft assembly. And on the fuelling side, the Trident has a new throttle body and fuel rail assemblies, new headers and silencer, a new ECU and new fuel mapping.

"I think it's fair to say that is a significantly new engine compared to the Street Triple S," added Sargent.

Related reading:
New Triumph Trident 2021 prototype unveiled
Triumph Trident enters final road testing

The new Triumph Trident is also in no way connected to the brand's joint venture with Indian giant, Bajaj, despite Triumph announcing at the start of 2020 that the partnership would lead to the development of a range of mid-capacity bikes.

"This is a bike that's been instigated, developed and designed and tested completely by Triumph UK," says Sargent.

"It's a product that we've developed with the team here [in the UK] and our test riders in Spain; it's not a part of the Bajaj collaboration."

Triumph Australia has confirmed the Triumph Trident will be priced at $10,999 plus on road costs, making it the most affordable model in its range. The title was previously held by the Triumph Street Triple S, at $14,900 ride away.

Triumph UK says it will be the Trident's keen pricing, combined with its more accessible performance, that will attract new buyers to the fold – and without impacting sales of its Street Triple S.

"The category of bikes that we're going up against are different than the competitors for the Street Triple," said Sargent.

To that end, the Triumph Trident is gunning for models such as Honda's CB650R (from $12,084 ride away), Kawasaki's Z650L (from $11,845 ride away), and Yamaha's MT-07L (from $11,849 ride away).

"We see this [the Trident] as a model that will grow Triumph sales globally," said Sargent.

The 2021 Triumph Trident will reach Australian dealerships in February.