On Track Off Road No. 191

TEST
The Speed ticks those boxes, and adds a
mightier low-rev punch that makes the bike
thrillingly lively and involving. Pull away,
click the six-speed box into second and
open the throttle, and the Triumph leaps forward
with exhilarating eagerness, then just
keeps on charging as you lean forward into
the growing breeze and keep changing up.
By 90mph it’s still accelerating with plenty
to come before a top speed of about
130mph. And the short-geared Triumph is in
its element at a slower yet still brisk backroads
pace, thundering out of turns with
enough force to excite but without the sometimes
brain-frazzling ferocity of a supernaked.
A more relaxed ride is enjoyable too. The
Speed cruises long-leggedly, and its milewide
torque band ensures it’s always happy
to snap forward into an overtake with a lazy
roll of throttle. The exhaust crackle on the
overrun adds to the entertainment, especially
with the test bike’s accessory silencers
fitted.
Chassis performance is excellent, despite
the Speed’s relatively basic suspension
specification of KYB front forks and the
same Japanese firm’s shocks, whose preload
is the only option for adjustment. There may
be little scope for fine-tuning, but Triumph’s
development engineers are among the best
in the business and the bike steers with
confidence-inspiring ease and neutrality.
Practicality is never going to be a highlight
of a naked retro-bike, but the Speed is
very useable, helped by a riding position
that mostly feels like a good compromise
between Thruxton urban wrist pain and a
more upright position’s open-roads windblast.
The bar-end mirrors work well until
you’re threading through traffic; the twin
clocks are attractive if busy. The alternative
riding modes are easily activated, if hardly
essential on such a rider-friendly machine.
There’s an argument that the return of this
famous old name demanded a more aggressive
bike with top-class suspension,
radial brake calipers and cutting-edge
electronics.
But arguably the original Speed Twin’s
greatest achievement was that it sold in
huge numbers. Keeping its namesake’s
spec simple has enabled a competitive
price (starting at £10,700 in the UK) that
can only add to its popularity.
More Speed Twin performance will doubtless
come in the near future, with an uprated
S or R model. In the meantime Triumph’s
stylish, quick, sweet-handling and
most of all fun-to-ride parallel twin is pretty
damn brilliant just as it is.
At 196kg it’s light, and those trim 17-inch
wheels and relatively slim, 160-section rear
tyre help make it flickable whether you’re
banking into a back-road bend or negotiating
traffic in town. A pair of four-piston
Brembo front calipers ensures plenty of
stopping power, and Pirelli’s Diablo Rosso III
tyres make the most of the generous ground
clearance.