Triumph Street Triple R

Not so much

Overall rating 4.5/5/0
Engine/chassis: 4.5/5.0
Price, packaging and practicality: 4.5/5.0
Behind the bars: 4.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0

OVERVIEW
Just as Australia had to have the recession - well, according to Paul Keating, anyway - the Street Triple R is the motorcycle we had to have. And it's happened.

When the original Street Triple was released late last year, Triumph gave us its unequivocal take on how a middleweight nakedbike should behave itself -- or how it should not.

Put simply, it was a quantum leap from the cardigan-wearing commuters that have hitherto dominated the middleweight landscape. It was a seismic shifting powerhouse with a massive spread of power, loads of torque, delightful steering, brawny Speed Triple-like styling, and an X factor which helped it rocket straight to the top of the middleweight sales race.

Since December last year, an average of 30 Street Triples have been sold every month, and the three-cylinder machine leads this year's nakedbike category from the Suzuki GSX1400 and Triumph Bonneville.

As good as the Street Triple has been, there are a few gaps in its sporting CV - fully adjustable suspension and radial brakes the biggest no-shows. This didn't go unnoticed by the motorcycle commentariat, and it left some of them a little perplexed. Cold, even.

Now their angst has been assuaged, because Triumph has 'found' a remedy in the form of the Street Triple R, which will go on sale in Australia around February next year at $13,490 (plus on-road), which is a $1000 premium on the Street Triple.

Colours will be matt graphite and, sometime around April next year, a matt blazing orange will also grace dealer floors.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
Other than new colours and some altered hardware, the Street Triple R is, err, unashamedly Street Triple.

The engine still remains a detuned version of that found in the donor Daytona 675 - and the gap will be bigger next year with the updated Daytona pumping out another 3hp.

Triumph claims 108ps at 11,700rpm from the liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 12-valve in-line three-cylinder, and 69Nm at 9100rpm. That's compared to the current model Daytona's 125hp and 72Nm.

Even in detuned state, the 167kg Street Triple R still hauls arse, and I'd question whether another 17hp would make a huge difference in point-to-point combat. That's based on two factors: the R is fairly low geared, so the engine is always singing, and it effortlessly carries so much corner speed anyway.

The five-spoke cast aluminium alloy wheels remain on the R, married to sticky Dunlop Qualifier rubber.

The Daytona 675-derived fully adjustable suspension has altered the geometry slightly on the R, with rake and trial now 23.9 degrees and 92.4mm compared to 24 and 95.3 on the Street Triple.

The R is also jacked up a little more at the rear (4mm), and seat height has also increased by 5mm to 805.

The brakes are also straight from the Daytona 675 - Nissin four-piston radial calipers on floating 308mm discs.

The clutch is mechanical, and extremely light to actuate.

There were five Rs on the launch, which took in two pieces of Victoria's blue-chip tarmac - the Black and Reefton Spurs.

A splinter group of journos - me included - then made our way back to Triumph's new premium store in the heart of Melbourne via Mt Donna Buang. That route included about 5km of dirt, which the R wriggled its way through with a minimum of fuss.

Three of the Rs on the launch were stock standard (save for the $76 carbon fibre tank pads); one was fitted with the Arrow slip-on silencers ($1522.50); and the final version had the Arrow three-into-one exhaust system (1884.75), as well as some extra carbon fibre ancillaries in the form of a chain guard ($198.98), rear hugger ($101.64) and gel seat ($330.49).

Arrow, an Italian aftermarket performance emporium, has been collaborating with Triumph for a few years now, and even produces some great looking exhausts for the company's modern classic range.

In particular, the three-into-one Arrow system on the R is intoxicating, adding to the bike's already sportsbike-like howl at the top of the rev range.

All up, there are 43 separate items in the R's accessories catalogue, including 10 new additions. For a full list of the accessories, please click here.

Sportstourer, nakedbike or sportsbike? The R is capable of straddling a few segments, but its nakedbike foes include the Suzuki GS500, the aforementioned GSX1400, Honda CB900F, Hyosung GT650, Kawasaki Z750, Yamaha FZ6N, Suzuki GSR600, Honda CB600F Hornet, and Aprilia Shiver.

ON THE ROAD
The R's engine is a peach. It has awesome low and mid-range punch, and a top end that really kicks in around 8500-9000rpm. Yes, a mid-sized naked can really make you feel hairy-chested!

But it's not all about fun out on the open road, and the mill is also perfect for novices, commuters and 'normal' riders.

With a 5mm taller seat height and the wide, tapered handlebars from Magura, the R really does tip in a lot easier than the Street Triple, which I immediately noticed when I rode them back-to-back.

The radial brakes on the R are mighty powerful, and I found myself relying on them more and more as I repeatedly locked up the rear brake going through the Reefton Spur - with another scribe right on my clacker going through the same tumult.

Eventually, we both abandoned the rear experiment altogether, which wasn't such a big issue when you can tip the R so deep into a corner with a fist full of front brake anyway.

The suspension is firm, which in all honesty is the same for the Street Triple. However, it's now got the full gamut of adjustment, which is what a sports version should be all about. Suspension travel is 120mm on the front and 130mm on the rear.

The seat, which copped some criticism in the Street Triple, isn't certainly the best in the business, but it certainly didn't grow teeth anytime during the 350km ride.

With a 17.4-litre tank, which equates to about a usable 16 litres, the R will get around 250km before fuel stops.

There it is. Triumph's logical follow-up to the Street Triple still keeps it ahead of the game, in package that is fun, agile and fast - anything you want it to be really.

Unless you're absolutely obsessed by outright horsepower, the Street Triple R has the gravitas to lure anyone into its orbit.

Pics: Lou Martin & Triumph