Triumph Speed Triple

'I wonder how far the water comes up...' the thought formed in my head at the exact moment I turned to look out to sea. The wave was big, probably about two metres and coming in with that menacing, relentless and unstoppable power that all forces of nature possess. I just had time to think "brace yourself" when it slammed in. There was that Booom! that waves make when they hit rocks with force, and the wall of water slammed broadside into me and the Speed Triple as I stood there, engine running, clutch in and visor down.

The wave rushed over my head filling my helmet, and for a brief moment as I fought to hold my breath as well as the bike on the right side of 45 degrees, I saw the water and foam rushing past my helmet visor and knew I was underwater.

A second later and the wave had passed leaving me gasping and gagging, but the bad news wasn't over as it was now on its way back. Once again the force of the water now past knee deep, tried to knock me over, but this time off the rocks and into the ocean. The bike was teetering towards being swept away and felt strangely light as the water lifted it and I hung on with every ounce of manic strength that only true terror can deliver you.

A moment later, and the wave boiled back into the ocean leaving me shaking and giggling in relief and disbelief. Amazingly, despite being completely submerged the bike was still running, everything was working perfectly and being still in gear it seemed like a good idea to turn around and get off the rocky shelf that jutted out into the sea before another set came along.

In hindsight, riding up on to what appeared to be a natural pedestal in order to get a dramatic backdrop for some photos, wasn't one of my smarter plans. In fact, on the grand scale of stupid things to do on a motorcycle, this was one that clearly deserved double stupid points, no, make that "triple" with a clear shot at taking the outright title.

So what's new?
Having established that the Speed Triple is a better submarine than the ill-fated Kursk, let's get back to appraising Triumph's fourth generation Speed Triple in its intended role as a high performance motorcycle.

Fourth generation? Yup that's right, first in 1994 there was the mean and moody T300 series Café Noir that re-launched the café racer ilk in a world seduced by race-replicas. A bike with black looks, a black-heart and which is still regarded as the spiritual successor to the legendary Laverda Jota.

Then there was the ground-breaking, street-fighting T509 of 1997. A bike that promised so much with its stripped and hunched bug-eyed looks, but tragically was fitted with a smaller 885cc engine rather than that of the 955cc Daytona.

It took Triumph two years to slap its forehead with a resounding "doh!" and release the full Monty, in-yer-face, bare-knuckle, 955cc Speed Trip in 1999Now here was the "real deal" factory streetfighter.

The big engine was tuned for action on the terraces, and the Daytona chassis and suspension supplied prime tackle for fighting dirty in the back road preserve of gaily-coloured blouson femmes aboard the latest and could-be greatest.

Now Triumph has released the 2002 Speed Triple. Triumph has learnt its lesson well and given the faithful the all-new, quieter 955cc engine from the equally new Daytona, along with the chassis and suspension, tank, seat unit, exhaust, but not the swingarm. The old Speed Trips single-sided swinger is retained for "the look." The twin-spot lamp headlights have been tucked closer in to the headstock and the god-awful instrument pod has been diced, to be replaced by a neat and functional unit with digital speedo and analogue rev counter that cleans up the front-end immeasurably. In looks alone the 2002 model is stunning, especially in Nuclear Red, which is Barby pink to you and me. And if you think pink is just for the sexually-suspect and there's no way you could ride one, just think how your mates will feel when you cattle dog them on a pink bike!

Tell me more...
This new engine is potentially Triumph's best! The three-cylinder, fuel-injected engine makes a claimed 120PS at 10,700rpm, and a highly impressive 10.2kg-m of torque at just 5100rpm.

Sharing no common parts with anything that has gone before, engine casings are now high pressure die cast and the alternator sits on the end of the crankshaft. The oil pump is now chain-driven instead of gear-driven. As we're talking gears, the six-speed box contains a selection of dogs that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Suzuki.

Top class
In the chassis department, there's a shorter wheelbase at 1429mm. Steering is super light and sharp courtesy of a featherweight TT600 front wheel, a 23.5 degree rake, trail of 84mm and a raised rear ride height.

Weight is down significantly over the previous model, by a substantial 7kg at 189kg. The rear of the bike is raised to increase ground clearance, which at the same time accentuates the aggressive stance of the new machine. The tubular aluminium frame has also been revised and a new rear subframe fitted.

Better than the old one?
The last Speed Triple was a terrific handling bike providing you didn't ask the short action (hard) suspension to deal with much in the way of bumps. Country roads with corrugations would have the thing kicking in your hands like a worn out pistol as the tyres fought to do the job the suspension had given up on.

It's with real pleasure I can say that I'll be very surprised if there's much money to be made attempting to improve the suspension on the Speed Triple. This bike is side-splittingly fun to ride!

In the early stages of the launch it was apparent that things were still a bit firm for my liking, and a few of the journos were also reporting that they found the front-end a little twitchy. However, using the experience gained from the AMT long-term test Daytona, softening compression, adding a little more rebound at both ends along with increasing the pre-load by one ring on the forks transformed things. So much so that I found myself barrelling into corners and lining up the worst looking ruts, holes and corrugations on offer just to see if I could it get the thing to jump and misbehave.

No chance! Despite being brutalised by my curiosity, the Speed Trip refused to become unglued, instead it just felt better and better, providing exceptional levels of accuracy, feedback and control. Flicking into corners and changing line when things got too hot were easily achieved from almost any corner position and degree of attack with just a push of the wide bars. This encouraged staying out wide and deep in that "cocked and ready to fire" position for a good long look through the curve before dropping over onto the excellent fat Bridgestone BT-010s, pulling the trigger and rasping out full of swagger and attitude.

Which brings us to engine performance. When you're up it, then there's no shortage of power available for punching out of corners, hoisting the front wheel high exiting second gear corners, or just kicking past traffic in any gear at all. With over 3000 revs on the dial the fuel-injection system and power delivery is just great. However, the same problem that existed with the Daytona afflicts the Speed Trip. At small throttle openings or from a trailing throttle there's a reluctance to pick up, which gets worse as the engine gets hotter, like in traffic. This means you have to hold the bike in a lower gear more often, instead of rolling down to low speed and pulling away using that clean and instantaneous delivery big engines should have.

If this has made you stash your cheque book back in its pocket, get the bugger out again and find your pen, because the addition of a free flowing can and the latest download goes a long way to solving the problem, as we have with our Daytona. Once modified the bike becomes a hugely improved product, which'll trickle away from traffic lights with just under 1500rpm showing. From there on its smiles all round, although you can't help wondering why it wasn't like that in the first place.

Is it comfy then, Guv?
Yes, it is actually. The wide bars and lack of fairing obviously preclude prolonged stints at supersonic speed, which, depending on the condition of your licence, may not be a bad thing, but the fundamental relationship between the rearset footrests and the flattish bars is good. The seat itself, which is the same as the one on the current Daytona, is actually more comfortable because you're sitting on the meat of your backside instead of your genitals. At cruising speed you're nicely supported by the wind and saddle, and for 90 percent of riding it makes far more sense than the invasive cavity search crouch of your average sports bike.

What about brakes and stuff?
These are the same four piston-calipers and 320mm discs that have graced the front of the previous models and are a benchmark for power, feel and control. Backed up by a single 220mm rear twin-piston combo, you won't need more. The brakes are simply wonderful and continue a tradition of which the crew at Hinckley should be more than proud. The fuel tank holds a very useful 21 litres, which should see close to 300km on the trip before refills. Controls are standard fare and easy to use, and the finish appears to be deep and lustrous instilling a feeling that this is a motorcycle that you'll keep for some time.

Wrapping up
In 40 years, no matter how many good motorcycles Triumph makes, the one that will be remembered most and the most highly sought after, will be the Speed Triple.

In producing the 2002 version, Triumph's street fighter has come of age. It's a hugely satisfying and entertaining motorcycle to own and ride with enough practicality to make it genuinely useful. Has it got what it takes to sustain my enthusiasm over a prolonged, varied and rigorous road test? I dunno, we'll have to wait and see.

Priced at $15,995 plus on-roads, it's not cheap, but there's nothing else like it in the toy shop, and once you're on it you probably won't care what you paid for it.