Overall Rating
Triumph has lavished an unbelievable amount of care and attention on the new Street Triple RS. The new motor is a masterpiece and it works perfectly in harmony with the revised chassis and new electronics. The old 675cc Street Triple was always going to be a tough act to follow, but we’re happy to report this new 765 version is a very special motorcycle indeed.
Ride Quality & Brakes
Despite producing 13% more torque, 16% more power and having some of the 675’s raw edges smoothed-off, but not too many, the engine isn’t actually the new Street Triple RS’s best bit. No, what makes this new Triumph so spellbindingly brilliant is how light and easy it is to manage. It’s incredibly balanced and has offers unrivalled composure and completeness.
The Street Triple RS has no flaws or built-down-to-a price compromises. Every single component, from the motor to the electronics, tyres and chassis works in perfect harmony, making the new machine as enjoyable pottering around at town speeds, as it is digging deep and scrabbling for grip at full lean madness.
Its new ‘slip-assist’ clutch has an impossibly light lever action and the revised gearbox has such a tight, accurate shift, you\d swear it’d been lifted from a blueprinted race engine. There’s a shorter first and second gear, for even more zing and a quickshifter for lightning upshifts, but sadly no autoblipper, which would’ve been a nice touch.
If the easy clutch and gearbox don’t make you smile, the light-action, ultra-precise, jerk-free ride-by-wire throttle will. Them there’s the way the 2kg-lighter Triumph floats from corner to corner with the smallest input from the rider and the litheness of the steering, which makes every bike you’ve ever ridden before seem like it had flat tyres. With its low pegs, wide bars and luxuriously padded stitched seat the Triumph is all-day comfy, too.
Chassis mods are limited to a new stiffer gullwing swingarm with a revised swingarm pivot position, for extra stability and flex, but the Triumph also gets a new Ohlins rear shock and top spec Showa Big Piston forks. They account for the Street Triple’s plush ride, unflappable stability at speed and sharpness in the corners, as do Pirelli’s top-rung Diablo Super Corsa SP fast road/trackday tyres.
ABS-assisted monobloc Brembo M50s are packed with feel and power. They remain unflustered no matter how hard you push them, road or track.
Engine
Bored and stroked out from the old machine’s 675cc, the breathed-on 121bhp ride-by-wire motor features over 80 new parts, including a new crank, pistons, con rods, balancer shaft and Nikasil-played aluminium barrels replacing the 675’s old iron liners. Oh and according to Triumph the rearranged capacity numerals are purely coincidental…
Powering the Street Triple since its launch in 2007 (and in that time Triumph has sold over 50,000), the old revvy, grunt-laden 675cc lump is rightly regarded as one of the most evocative engines of all time. Slim and compact to please Triumph’s chassis engineers, it was packed with performance, character and a gnarly three-cylinder soundtrack, to please the punters.
The new 765cc motor is an absolute gem of a thing and has comfortably taken this iconic engine to another, unrivalled level. It hits harder, spins-up faster and belts out its shrieking, bass-laden, acid-infused soundtrack higher up the decibel range, through its (1.7kg) lighter new airbox and exhaust.
Whether you choose to thrash the living daylights out of it, or leave the gears alone and take advantage of its extra torque, the new Street Triple RS delivers serious speed. But crucially it’s not brutal – it doesn’t fight you, tie the chassis in knots, or shred its tyres. Someone stick clip-ons and a fairing on this thing…
Build Quality & Reliability
MCN readers have nothing but glowing things to say about living with the previous-generation 675cc Street Triple, so expect more of the same here. This new machine is a big step up in build quality and attention to detail, too.
Insurance, running costs & value
When you look at the level of spec you get for the money, the performance on tap and all round brilliance, the Street Triple RS is superb value for money. The lesser spec S and R machines offer an even bigger bang for your buck.
Insurance group: 14 of 17 – compare motorcycle insurance quotes now.
Equipment
For the first time the Street Triple gets a full electronics package, including five riding modes (Road, Rain, Sport, Track and a programmable Rider mode) containing different throttle maps and varying levels of traction and ABS intervention. They add an extra layer of sophistication and safety to the cheeky naked, but unless you stop and switch all the aids off, this is the first Street Triple you can’t wheelie, which detracts from the fun a smidge.
Taking centre stage in the cockpit is an innovative new 5” full colour multi-function TFT dash, which would look more at home on a top-spec Panigale than a simple naked bike like this. It shows the kind of attention to detail lavished on the new machine and proof the RS is much more than just a 675 Street Triple with a big engine.
It’s all controlled by new switchgear featuring a joystick control next to your left thumb. You can choose between six different dash layouts, scroll through modes, operate a lap timer, pick riding modes and change the indicator functions from self-cancelling auto to manual. The dash is light sensitive and automatically changes background from white to black depending on conditions.
Although the new Street Triple RS is the same physical size as the previous model, new styling gives it a tougher, chunkier ‘big bike’ look and new LED headlamps are not only 28-times brighter than conventional bulbs, they give the Triumph a more sinister-looking face, too.
[Source:- MCN]
