As I thundered along a quiet
road in the hilly countryside between Barcelona and Tarragona, those first few
words of one of Winston Churchill’s most famous quotes ran through my mind and
appeared to apply perfectly to Triumph’s new Street Twin, the first bike
available in Hinckley’s redesigned-from-the-ground-up Bonneville range.
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| The Editor keeping good company - the bike's a corker, too |
I mean let’s face it, 54 bhp
from a 900cc motor sounds pretty puny on paper, doesn’t it? Such a paltry power
output suggests sluggish acceleration, a laughable top speed and a life of
extreme boredom for the bike’s hapless owner, particularly when the previous
Hinckley twin offered at least a half-dozen more horses, right? Wrong. The
power figure is backed up by a whopping maximum torque figure of 80 Nm at a
ridiculously low 3,230 rpm; Triumph further claim that there is 22% more power
all through the midrange. And while I can’t verify the exactitude of that
figure, my advanced seat-of-the-pants telemetry system confirms the presence of
a stonking midrange that’s meaty and juicy, like a good steak. The torque and
muscular midrange combine to provide a surprisingly zippy and satisfying riding
experience, whether you’re bounding from one set of traffic lights to the next
in town or bombarding through narrow country roads. But more of that, anon;
first let’s take a quick walk around the bike.
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| "When the big hand points to..." |
The first thing that strikes
the eye in the Speed Twin is how small and compact it is. Its equivalent in
Triumph’s previous Bonneville range, the SE, looks positively gargantuan in
comparison. The new machine is lower, with a seat height of 750mm, which makes
it ideal for novice and short-statured riders: being able to put both feet flat
on the ground when sitting on the bike is reassuring, even more so as the bike
instantly feels much lighter than previous Bonnies, with a claimed dry weight
of 198kg. However, tall riders might be at a disadvantage; I’m no giant, not by
a long chalk, but for the first few miles I had the impression that I was
riding one of these pit-bike contraptions. [Read on]
Although it looks very similar
to that of previous Bonnevilles, the steel cradle frame is (like everything
else on the bike) brand-new, and houses a water- and air-cooled vertical SOHC
twin with a 270º crankshaft. Outwardly the motor looks even more “retro” than
the previous powerplant, mainly thanks to its engine covers that closely mimic
those of the Bonnevilles of the late Sixties and early Seventies, right down to
the points cover on the alternator case. One good point is that the radiator
isn’t the eyesore one might have expected it to be; in fact you hardly really
notice it, which is helped by the fact that the coolant hoses are craftily
hidden from view. The motor is coiffed by a petrol tank that retains the look
of those on previous Bonnies, although it’s smaller, with a capacity of only 12
litres. Despite being down on capacity, however, you still have a range of well
over 200km, thanks to a more refined and efficient fuel injection and engine
management system, with a ride-by-wire throttle.
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| Now with added ABS |
Once you’re sitting on the
bike, you’re greeted by a large speedometer flanked by four idiot lights (left
indicator and high beam, right indicator and neutral light) and featuring a
large, easy to read LCD screen that’s backlit in a pleasant whitish colour. The
information displayed on this screen is controlled by a button on the left-hand
switchgear pod; it includes a fuel gauge, gear indicator, odometer, two partial
tripmeters, real-time fuel consumption, total fuel consumption, distance to
refuelling, traction control (which you can switch off or on by holding the
button down for a couple of seconds) and clock. The speedo dial also features
various other idiot lights, including ABS, traction control (when it’s
disengaged), oil pressure and engine management. I’m disappointed that the
screen doesn’t include a rev counter function, though. All the controls fall
easily to hand, although riders with small hands might find it difficult to
activate the hazard lights without inadvertently giving the throttle a twist; I
ended up resorting to activating the switch by reaching over with my left hand,
which may be a bit daunting for novice riders.
Another thing I noticed on the
wide and fairly flat dirt-track styled handlebars were the mirrors. While they
might look very nice, I spent both days of my road test faffing about with them
at every possible occasion, but never quite managed to get them set up as I
wanted. If this bike were mine, I’d think about replacing them either with the
bar-end mirrors of the new Speed Triple or those from the new Explorer.
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| Peek-a-boo! Hunter and Uma liked the suspension. So did we. |
Our bike was equipped with the
“Brat Tracker” inspiration pack, which features LED indicators, an aluminium
sump guard, different ‘bar grips, a mudguard eliminator kit with integrated
rear light, a flat “bench” seat and, last but not least, a pair of homologated
Vance & Hines silencers. The kit retails for 1,600 € (£1,245). I wasn’t
overly impressed by the rear mudguard eliminator kit: it looks a bit too
plasticky and doesn’t really suit the lines of the bike. The Vance & Hines
end-cans, on the other hand, are a must-have accessory - they look good and
sound even better.
And so, once I had walked
round the bike a couple of times and had a close look at all the bells and
whistles, I decided it was time to take the bike for a ride.
When I thumbed the engine into
life I was greeted by a muted burble from the aforementioned exhausts. I
instantly recognised the syncopated beat of a vertical twin with a 270º firing
order. It reminded me of something but at first I couldn’t identify it. Negotiating
the Friday evening traffic in the centre of Barcelona allowed me to appreciate
the wonderfully light clutch and precise gearbox action, as well as the Street
Twin’s nimble handling. I spent most of the time in second gear, with
occasional forays into third when the traffic opened up a little, but the motor
didn’t complain - in town riding, second gear takes you well past the 60kph
mark, but also lets you crawl around at bicycle pace (at one point I came to a
halt at an intersection and was able to ride of from a standstill in 2nd,
without any undue knocking from the engine, or jerkiness in the transmission),
which makes the bike as easy to live with as a scooter in an urban environment.
Once out of Barcelona’s urban
sprawl, my route back to the Thruxtonian base led me to the motorway, which was
somewhat less pleasant. Although the Street Twin isn’t a sluggish bike, the
very upright riding position means that you start getting pushed backwards on
the bike as you reach the ton, particularly on the flat Wrenchmonkees-inspired
seat, which is upholstered in a very slippery faux-leather. At least it kept me
to the speed limit…
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| The seat is stylish if a bit slippery and uncomfortable after a while |
After the photoshoot on the
Saturday, my last day with the Street Twin saw me taking to the twisty, narrow
roads in the hills between Barcelona and Tarragona, to see if the bike could
cut the mustard on a - ahem! - spirited Sunday ride. And indeed, the bike
revealed its Mr Hyde facet. Finally, I was able to put a name to what the
burbling exhaust note made me think of - a Ducati. I suppose that’s normal,
given the 270º crank, which replicates the syncopated beat of the Italian
“L-twin” motor. Unlike the previous Bonneville motor, which was built around a
360º crankshaft (making it a parallel twin) and which when fitted with the 270º
crank became rather gutless and lazy, this new 900cc powerplant was designed
around a 270º crankshaft right from the off, and as a result has character and
liveliness.
Once again, the featherlight
clutch action and precise gearbox came into their own, making short-shifting up
the ‘box pretty much hassle-free. The clutch even handled savage downshifts
without locking up the rear wheel. Although I went all the way up the ‘box, the
torquey and elastic nature of the engine means that on twisty roads you can maintain
fair progress by just using second, third and fourth all day. One thing is did
notice was the relative lack of engine braking compared to the previous
Hinckley twin. In traffic, particularly, this led to a few breathless moments!
The Speed Twin’s frame also
showed that it could cut it as a backroad scratcher; the bike flicks precisely
through series of curves with ease and allows you to ride much more
aggressively than the previous Bonneville frame, which showed a tendency to get
its knickers in a twist if ridden like a hooley. The agility of the Speed
twin’s frame is aided by the lightweight and attractive cast multispoke wheels
(18 inch front; 17 inch rear), shod by specifically-designed Pirelli Phantom
Sportcomp tyres (100/90 front; 150/70 rear). Despite their old-fashioned look,
these tyres offer very good grip, even when caned hard with the traction
control switched off. I was also pleasantly surprised by the suspension;
although primarily designed for the sedate pace of town riding, they perform admirably
when the bike is ridden hard and fast, although ripples and undulations on the
road surface can eventually cause the rear shocks to pump and make the bike
wallow a bit, however the bike never lost its composure. The front end also
performed well, without any excessive diving under heavy and late braking. The
brakes, although being similar to those on previous Bonnies (310mm
disc/two-piston floating calliper front; 255mm disc/two-piston floating calliper
rear) are more than satisfactory, having less weight to stop, and provide a
fair amount of feel. They are equipped with permanent ABS, but at no point did
I manage to set it off.
CONCLUSION
Despite its name, Triumph’s
new Street Twin is more than just a stylish urban commuter tool, or a
summertime bar-hopper. Thanks to its lively motor and sweet-handling frame, it
is also a great and amusing bike to ride fast on twisty B-roads, with the rumble
of the must-have Vance & Hines exhausts bouncing off the hedgerows. The
Street Twin’s nearest competitor, Harley-Davidson’s 883 Iron just cannot hold a
candle to it; the British bike easily outperforms and out-handles the Harley.
Of course, it does have its drawbacks. Some people might find the front end too
plasticky for their liking (the headlight bowl and the speedo housing are
plastic). Personally I developed a firm dislike of the rear-view mirrors, as
the only things I managed to see in them were my shoulders. I’d also like to
see Triumph offering the Brat-tracker bench seat with slightly grippier
upholstery, to avoid sliding along the seat under heavy braking. I would
appreciate a rev-counter function on the speedo display and a better-positioned
hazard lights button that would make it easy to press while moving (when
filtering, for example) That said, Triumph have made a great little bike and,
at 8,800 € (£7,350 in the UK), I think they’re going to sell like the
proverbial hot cakes.
We liked:
- The light clutch
- The low weight
- The torquey engine
- Relaxed riding position
- Manoeuverability
- Exhaust note
We didn't like:
- The mirrors
- No rev counter
- The hazard light button is badly placed
- The plasticky mudguard eliminator
- Still no storage space under the seat
All photos: © Rui Catalao for The Thruxtonian
Our thanks to Maikel at Italo Motor for lending us the new Street Twin.
Our thanks to Maikel at Italo Motor for lending us the new Street Twin.
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