Triumph Speed Four

The Japanese factories have been beating each other round the head with this one for years and there never seems to be a crystal clear victor.

This is one of those games you never win - the best you can hope for is not to lose. So when Triumph announced its 600 would be a four-cylinder pitched directly into this bunfight, against the general expectation they'd stick with the distinctive triple-pot format (and thus remove the killer performance expectations), you had to admire the marque's courage.

The first TT600, on which the Speed Four is based, copped a bit of a hiding for its lack of low-end oomph, and never really got the credit it deserved for its very sweet handling. Ultimately it was swamped by the Japanese battle, even though the low-end power issue was gradually addressed with new tuning packages. In isolation the machine was fine - its competition was too good.

We've yet to ride the new Daytona 600, but we did manage to snatch a very brief spin on the Speed Four naked sports machine.

Wot is it?

Essentially what you cop is the TT600 unwrapped - well at least on the chassis front. All the premium gear is there, with an alloy frame, 310mm front brakes with four-pot calipers, 43mm front fork and a monoshock out back - both of which have the full range of adjustment.

Dry weight is a claimed 170kg (five more than the new Daytona), seat height is 810mm and fuel capacity 18 litres.

The 599cc powerplant is the usual four-valve DOHC liquid-cooled four-stroke inline four, and it's fuel injected. There's a wet multiplate clutch, a six-speed gearbox and chain final drive. Tyres are 120/70 ZR17 and 180/55 ZR17.

That package claims 98ps at 11,750rpm (110 for the TT600 and 112 for the Daytona) and 68Nm of torque at 10,500rpm - which places it in the upper range of performance numbers for mid-range performance bikes.

Wot's it like?

Keep in mind this is based on a brief squirt, though these impressions are confirmed by Rob Smith of Australian Motorcycle Trader magazine, who had the machine over a longer term.

First up the riding position is one of the better sports/general use compromises I've come across. There's a slight lean-forward stance without going to the extreme of breaking your wrists in traffic. Legroom is sufficient, if not generous.

Finish seems pretty good and reflects the general lift in effort over the last couple of years.

Performance seems strong, helped in no small part by what feels like fairly low gearing. Smith, a notorious horsepower hound, was raising no complaints on this score.

What really struck home was the very well thought-out suspension rates and remarkably friendly road manners. It steers nicely, tips in predictably and generally feels as though it would cop pretty much whatever you threw at it.

If first impressions are right - and they usually are - this is one of the sweeter offerings in this general group, lining up alongside the SV650 as one of my top picks as a middleweight ride.

The only tragedy is that, at the time of writing (October 2003), the pricing of $14,490 isn't very competitive. For example you can get the more exotic Daytona 600 for the same price, or a 2002 Sprint ST for $500 more. If the money doesn't put you off, it's well worth a look.

At the moment it's available in black, green or orange, and there's a range of dress-up accessories available.

By Guy Allen