#StreetTriple

Being the sole engine supplier to a race series has its benefits. The big one being able to incorporate changes into the harshest environment possible and get feedback from 30 of the best test riders in the world. And when you get a general consensus that whatever you’ve done was a step in the right direction, it’s easy enough to incorporate those changes (or versions of it) into the motorcycles you and I can buy at the dealership.

After years of success with the 765 cc Moto2 spec engine, Triumph would be foolish to ignore all that it has learned on the international racing stage, and the 2024 Triumph Street Triple 765 R and RS are proof that the engineers have been paying attention. While most of the focus was on increasing power, some select chassis changes made it into the mix. My ride on the roads of southern Spain and on the track at the Circuito de Jerez made it clear that Triumph wants to dominate the middleweight naked class.

Triumph has managed to squeak by without much fanfare regarding its TE-1 electric motorcycle prototype for the past two years, partially because it has distracted us with rollouts of so many new or updated models, all with internal combustion engines. Triumph also pulled it off by releasing a press release in 2019 stating its TE-1 project… then staying virtually silent about it all this time later. The onset of a global pandemic also helped steer people’s minds away from the project, but today Triumph has announced it has completed phase 2 of its TE-1 electric motorcycle project, and the details, while still a little vague, already look very promising. It should, considering the talent behind the project. 

Triumph is bringing back another name from the brand’s past, announcing a new Trident for 2021. The new Triumph Trident will slot in as an entry-level model below the Street Triple and Speed Triple, with a contemporary take on classic roadster styling. Triumph revealed a prototype offering a hint of the Trident’s design, promising the arrival of the finished product at dealers next spring.

As of 2015, the sport of boxing has a total of 17 different weight classes. For a while before that there were only eight, and during the sport’s early days there was only one – heavyweight. These two machines certainly aren’t heavyweights, and as I looked down the weight categories, cruiserweight sounded more apt for a future test of American iron, and light heavyweight is an oxymoron. After that, there’s super middleweight, a class slightly heavier than your regular middleweights. Perfect.

How about giving incremental updates a little love? So many riders seem to immediately dismiss mid-cycle revisions of motorcycles as being BNG (bold, new graphics) or, as with one comment this week, BNH (bold, new headlights). In the case of the 2020 Triumph Street Triple 765 RS, the comment completely misses the point. Sure it would be great if every model year was a complete makeover year after year, but there’s something to be said for incremental refinement. Model year 2020 is one of those fine-tuning times, and Triumph has delivered a Street Triple that is better in two very practical ways. Additionally, there have been some appearance changes that are bound to appeal to many riders. And all this comes at no increase in cost to the buyer. Sounds like pretty good news to me. 

A couple of weeks ago, Triumph announced it would debut a new limited edition Daytona 765 at next weekend’s Silverstone MotoGP round. A newly-published executive order from the California Air Resources Bard reveals an updated Street Triple is on its way for 2020 as well, possibly using the same three-cylinder engine as the Daytona with updates derived from Triumph’s Moto2 race engines.

Dear MOby,

Right, it’s that time of year again when all the new bikes are out, and we ask ourselves, which one must I have? Followed by a look at the price tag, and an immediate switching of the Train of Thought onto the Used Bike siding, particularly all the ones that have slipped below the $5,000 threshold ($5k is usually my cut-off point when it comes to buying automobiles – I have my eye on a 2004 Jaguar XJR right now – but in the spirit of the Trump Economic Miracle, let’s pretend like I’d spend that much on a motorcycle).

Our love affair with Triumph’s three-cylinder engines is no secret. The Speed Triple has long been a favorite of ours, as has the smaller-displacing 675cc Street Triple. Last year saw the first major revamp of the Street Triple since 2013, with the biggest change being the dyslexia-inducing increase in engine size to 765cc. It’s always a worry when a manufacturer changes a model we love, but our worries were swept away the moment we rode the new 765 S-T – it takes everything we adore about the outgoing model and amplifies it some more. It’s so good, in fact, that Brent damn near cried man tears when he finally had to part with it.

It was a sad day when I finally returned the 2017 Triumph Street Triple RS that I so fondly grew to love. I begged, pleaded and even threw a candy-aisle temper tantrum, kicking and screaming to no avail. No, not really, but handing the keys back over to Triumph was bittersweet, like dropping family off at the airport. All good things must come to an end, I suppose.

Year after year, we gush about liter-plus-sized streetfighters that offer ultra-sport performance with agreeable street ergonomics. Our expert riders love Super Dukes and Tuonos, and also appreciate S1000Rs and Ducati’s big Monsters. And yet, even we can agree that machines that pound out 140+ horsepower to a rear tire approach the area of overkill for streetbikes.

The last time Triumph conducted a major revamp of its Street Triple family was 2013. At that press launch Triumph didn’t feel it necessary to include any track time because even the uptown R model remained predominantly a street bike. Four years on and Triumph has reshuffled the Street Triple deck and expanded the portfolio to three models (S, R, RS), each with a specific focus including the new performance leader RS model we just finished testing in Spain. While still largely a street bike, the RS features enough go-fast performance Triumph felt compelled to showcase the bike’s wherewithal around one of the most famous Spanish racetracks, Catalunya.

For anyone who held out purchasing a Triumph Street Triple on a hunch the current model was being replaced by a newer, faster, better, more powerful version, you were right to do so. Today Triumph launched three new versions of the popular mid-displacement Triple, and by the looks of it, the new model appears poised to dominate a niche occupied by only the MV Agusta Brutale 800 and Yamaha FZ-09.