Triumph T509 Speed Triple

We were in Mad Max country, truly. Just out west of Melbourne are some of the roads they used in that icon of Australian film making, a fitting launch pad for Triumph's Toecutter, the T509. Ugly? That's a matter of opinion. The latest Speed Triple looks like the result of a parts bin positioned between a chassis and a high-powered fan, but as someone said during our first introduction, it grows on you. What else grows on you, and a damn sight more quickly, is the realisation that this is a balls-out bend basher with grunt. Forget the Marty Feldman headlights and quirky instrument styling, theres a lot of character lurking here. The chosen route for the Triumph Australia local launch of the T509 was a strop out through Melton, west of Melbourne, on through those narrow country roads with a cursory strip of bitumen along the middle, and plenty of run off for passing (if you've got four wheels!), down through the Otways to Apollo Bay, and motorcycle heaven on the Great Ocean Road. The machinery included a bog-standard T509, another example with sundry aftermarket bits, its T595 stablemate, a previous model Speed Triple and a tricked-up Trophy 1200. Colleen Dooley from Triumph Australia kindly arranged perfect weather for day one, but must have forgotten to make a sacrifice to the rain gods on day two, giving us the opportunity to sample Triumph's latest in pissing rain on the way back to Melbourne. Six people tried to climb onto the Trophy when the heavenÕs opened up...

BROWN MOUNTAIN MEMORIES

Mention of the T509 evoked memories of an AMCN Tour of Duty comparo a couple of years back where Speed Triple and I tackled Brown Mountain. I'll readily admit that over the course of that comparo I fell in love with the big Triumph, it was a very charismatic motorcycle. it was also a motorcycle that needed to be shown who was boss. Basically the big, black bulldog said "Pick your lines carefully, ol' boy, cos you're bloody well stuck with them! This was mainly due to the weight positioned high in the frame making it perfect for long gentle sweepers, but the realm of the very experienced to get it through tight sections with any sort of speed. A short renewing of acquaintances confirmed it, its top heaviness apparent even by just sitting on it and moving it side to side. From that point of view the T509 is a totally different machine. Trimmed down to the point of being anorexic, the new Triple is the lightest Triumph in the range at 196kg dry, the frame weighing just 12kg. In fact the whole thing is exactly the same as the T595 supersport model, except for a lack of fairing and smaller engine capacity. With the weight less as well as being lower in the frame, changing directions and lines is effortless, particularly with the high, wide bar option. In fact the steering was a little too quick for me in that guise, the kicked-in steering-head angle and extra leverage responding to every nuance of rider input. The standard low clip-on style suited my less than perfect style, and hunched over the front wheel, I felt I had a bit more control over proceedings. Along the best bit of GOR between Lorne and Apollo Bay, the T509 ate up every challenge and allowed plenty of correction if things weren't quite going to plan. The stubborn British bulldog had gone to obedience school.

COPPING A POUNDING

As mentioned before we found our way on to some interesting backroads on the way to Apollo Bay, the sort of backroads you know no local government person lives on because they're in such poor condition. If anyone finds a pair of kidneys on the road between Melton and Meredith, can they please mail them to PO Box 119, Oakleigh... We stopped at Meredith for lunch. I've heard the steaks here are great, said someone, and they were, half a kilo of prime rump steak as tender as you'd like; the tenderising process being the trip into town on that road in the back of an old farm truck no doubt. The soft rear spring supporting the single-sided swingarm had the T509 finding the limits of its rear suspension very quickly on these roads and had the seat on its way up as my arse was on its way down. The monoshock rear has adjustable preload, rebound damping and compression damping and perhaps a little fiddling would have helped, but the majority of the trip suited the standard settings. With a selection of different sized motorcycle hacks on the launch, and bikes being swapped at regular intervals, there wasn't a lot of time for suspension fiddling. The fully-adjustable 45mm Showa forks with dual rate springs added to the wonderful front-end, although in extreme conditions they could be a little soft.At the bottom of those forks are a pair of four-pot stoppers clasped around 320mm discs with sintered pads, serviced by standard Triumph braided brake lines. These give plenty of initial bite and feel, or in laymans terms, if you're going too damn fast, they greatly improve your chances of getting out of trouble worry free. Basically, if you stiffen up the suspension you'll have a commendable race track weapon.

TERRIFIC TRIPLE

Another requirement for a great racetrack weapon is a good engine, and what more would you expect from Triumph? The Speed Triple delivers the goods from a low two grand up through a strong mid-range only pausing slightly at a flat spot around 4500rpm. This is due to the same ridiculous ADR requirement that gives the T595 its similar hiccup. Triumph has produced a couple of aftermarket sports pipes, one of which was featured on the jazzed-up version, along with the tiny fairing, rear cowl and high bars. The pipe ironed out the flat spot a little and made the engine feel uninhibited, although it began to run out of oomph as the revs climbed towards the red. The stock exhaust gives the 885cc fuel-injected triple (the T595 is 955cc) a strong, bulletproof feel akin to the previous model, but it becomes a little asthmatic up high. In comparison to the former model, the T509 produces a claimed extra 10ps (108ps) and 0.2kg-m of torque (8.7kg-m), but in roll-on tests from 100kmh in top gear the former model initially walks away, holding hands with the T595. The T509's flatspot has something to do with that, however, in fifth gear roll-ons, the Triples were evenly matched. The T509 also shares the MC2000 engine management system with the T595, which basically controls the fuel injection, spark ignition and idle air bypass. This results in crisp throttle response, improved fuel economy (about 15km/lt) and eliminates the need for a choke. The six-speed box has come in for some improvement, and while still producing a rare false neutral, is the best Triumph has come up with. However, with the torquey donk the gearbox becomes pretty much an option along winding roads.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

Naked bikes are fun in the sun and the new Speed Triple provided the most fun I've had on one for a long time. But we were obviously having far too much fun, because it started to piss down with rain. It didn't start just as we were pulling into Melbourne, no, it started about 120km away. Basically, we had a solid hour and a half of riding through soaking rain. All eyes turned to the Trophy with its barn door-style fairing, only to find Mike Sinclair aboard doing his best to look innocent. Well, there was no way around it, it was a matter of putting faith in the wet weather gear and getting home as quick as possible. I managed to find a couple of dry patches, one behind my left ear and another under an armpit by the time I had stripped off sodden gear and clothing. No wet weather gear ever invented was going to keep that lot out, particularly without a fairing. Triumph has taken all the things I didn't like about its Speed Triple and created a bike that is loads of fun, and at $15,990 in standard trim, the T509 is great value for money.