Ridefast Online Nov 2020

The fuel level and what your average
consumption is doing. Nothing old school
about this lot.
Moving to the electrical equipment you’ll
find LED lights all round with a Daytime
Running Light built into the headlight,
which is mounted into a beautifully crafted
Rickman styled faring.
Rider position is quite racey with the
old-school clubmans positioned quite low
– not as aggressive as some superbikes,
but over time you do feel your weight on
your wrists. Triumph put some thought
into the rider triangle and the relationship
from pegs to ground to bum to bars
is quite comfortable. Your knees nestle
comfortably into shallow recesses in the
tank – even that gets old-school treatment
with an offset fuel cap and a wrapover
tank clip.
Very cool!
The Triumph Speed Twin: the Moder
Classic Custom Roadster.
Here’s a bike that looks old school
chilled. The kind of bike that you can use
for cruising the burbs or hitting your favorite
breakfast run route every weekend.
It is distinctly different to the Thruxton
but by no means any less fun to ride.
A few years ago, you’d hand out plenty
of ammo to build a bike like this – now
you can buy it just like this – and take it
further.
Under the skin:
It shares a lot of tech with the thruxton,
like the clocks, electronics package and,
of course that sweet 1200cc mill. But
there are lots of differences that set this
bike apart.
Rather than spokes, the Speed Twin has
alloy rims fitted. Also 17 inch, shod in the
same rubber.
This bike does not boast such high end
suspension either – opting rather for
some KYB fare, KYB forks with cartridge
damping and Twin KYB rear suspension
units with adjustable spring pre-load
- rather than full sports units. Nothing
wrong with KYB.
Brakes are the same – we are going to
have to find out why they use Brembo in
front and Nissin out back.
Styling is different too – no less pretty –
just different. They have packed the bike
with brushed alluminium finishes – like
the front & rear mini mudguards, throttle
body covers, side panel finishers, and
heel guards. Man it looks too cool.
Twin upswept matt black finished silencers
deliver a meaty roar and add to the
bikes overall classic appeal.
Rider position is chilled – anyway you
look at it. The bars are sensibly upswept
and natural, pegs are well placed and
the well padded seat is not overly tall. In
fact on both bikes, its really easy to keep
your feet flat on the ground. Triumph has
a knack for cool little finishes like the bar
end mirrors and that Monza flip up fuel
cap.
Really great little touches.
We were quite surprised when during
some impromptu drag races, the
Street Twin actually drilled the Thruxton.
There was a fair bit of mumbling
about skinny younger riders and all
that – but with the correct gearing
– the bikes are really quite evenly
matched in the outright speed and
power department.
Where the Thruxton does shine in in
the tight stuff – the suspension really
takes control with a firmer more hooligan
inspiring kind of racey feel. The
R’s handling is really excellent thanks
to great brakes, suspension and chassis
balance. The electronics marry the
whole package together. Run it down
to your closest track and in the right
hands it will happily hold its own.
That’s not to say that the Street Twin
is lacking in any way – it’s just a different
kind of ride. The increase in bore,
10 extra BHP (The previous rendition
was a 54 BHP 900) and specifically,
bottom end grunt makes this bike far
more exciting than the old one. And all
the while you sit upright with a great
big grin on your kisser.
www.triumph-motorcycles.co.za
Bike Specs...
The Ride:
Take off your manic superbike warp
speed hat and just enjoy the ride. That’s
what these bikes are both about. Don’t
think boring by any means of the word –
when you lash them with a bit of anger –
both bikes induce torque inspired grins as
that big 1200 grabs you by the ass and
thrusts you along through the gears.
Our route included everything from fast
flowing freeways to some really tight,
twisty mountain passes and quite a bit of
suburban sprawl. We even took a wrong
turn on our way back to the Triumph
dealership in Kramerville – and ended up
taking a little trip through the outskirts of
Alex. It was awesome to see the people
there gawping at the “Mlungus” on their
old school Scootas. More than one luxury
sedan hooted enthusiastically with lots of
thumbs ups hanging out of the windows.
SA can be such a cool place.
Both bikes are fast and powerful as you
would expect from a big bore 1200. Both
are really smooth and easy to ride – even
slowly. And both have their own, distinct,
massive personalities.
Thruxton R 1200 Speed Twin 1200
Engine Four Stroke Parallel Twin, SOHC
Capacity 1200cc
Max Power 97hp / 71.5 kw @ 6750 rpm
Max Torque 112.5Nm / 83 lb-ft @ 4950 rpm
Transmission 6 Speed
Final Drive X Ring Chain
Frame Tubular Steel Cradle, Aluminum Swing Arm
Rear Suspension Ohlins Twin Shocks, Piggy Back reservior
Seat Hight 810mm
Wet Weight 203kg
Fuel Capacity 12.5 Litres
Engine Four Stroke Parallel Twin, SOHC
Capacity 1200cc
Max Power 97hp / 71.5 kw @ 6750 rpm
Max Torque 112.5Nm / 83 lb-ft @ 4950 rpm
Transmission 6 Speed
Final Drive X Ring Chain
Frame Steel Tubular Frame with Aluminum cradle
Rear Suspension Twin Shocks with Adjustable preload
Seat Hight 807mm
Wet Weight 215kg
Fuel Capacity 14.5 Litres
We won’t lie – at low speeds wending your
way through traffic in the Joburg sunshine,
you do get a fair amount of heat from the
engine. But that disappears as you hit the
more open roads and twist some ears...
And when you do twist, these bikes haul
ass - quickly up to the 190KPH mark and
then the Thruxton starts walking away.