2011 Triumph Speed Triple Review: Can the Hooligan Bike Survive?
2011 Triumph Speed Triple Review: Can the Hooligan Bike Survive?
The term "hooligan bike" describes a stripped-down, streetfighter aesthetic that favors a bad boy attitude over slick bodywork or glossy details. Hooligan bikes tend to be quick, agile, and raw, and few bikes have come to embody those qualities as distinctly as the Triumph Speed Triple.
Priced at $11,999, the Triumph Speed Triple has been reworked inside and out for 2011, with ABS available for the first time at an $800 premium.
But is the Triumph Speed Triple still a hooligan at heart? Read on to find out.
The Goods: Sharpening the Scythe
The new 2011 Triumph Speed Triple is clad in restyled bodywork, with color-matched radiator cowls and angular love-em-or-hate-em headlamps which, replace the old model's round units.
The Triple's aluminum frame has been reshaped and narrowed, and within its twin spars the engine has been moved forward and the battery box repositioned in front of the air box for better weight distribution. The saddle has also been shifted forward and dropped to 32.5 inches for improved ergonomics.
New 43mm forks are fully preload, rebound, and compression adjustable, while the radially mounted 320mm Brembo brakes have been thinned by .5mm to reduce unsprung weight. Both wheels shed over 2 pounds each, and the bike's wet weight is now 471 pounds—a total of 6 pounds lighter than before.
Though the liquid-cooled 1,050cc inline-3 cylinder engine has been carried over from the previous version, tweaks to the ECU and exhaust offer an 8 percent boost in torque (to 82 ft-lbs), while 133 horsepower are produced at the crank.
Swing a Leg Over: Low Key Functionality
The cockpit view of the Speed Triple says pretty much all you need to know about this bad boy: in keeping with the hooligan bike theme, from the plastic backsides of the headlights to the big analog tach and digital instrument panel, there aren't many creature comforts to be had from the saddle of this British naked bike.
Though the Speed Triple's seat feels roomier than the smaller, crotch crowding Street Triple's, the rear-mounted footpegs enforce an aggressively sporty riding position that demands a bit of knee bending for most body types, accompanied with some upper body tilt in order to reach the bars.
The instrument cluster offers an efficient layout and easy legibility, only without the digital gear indicator found on the Street Triple. The switchgear mounted to the thick alloy handlebars seem somewhat crude—but then again, Speed Triple buyers are less concerned about jewel-like details and more focused on performance, which, as you'll see in the next section, they get in spades. Customers can, however, order accessories like a tire pressure sensor kit, a gel saddle, and a soft luggage kit.
On the Road: Reassuringly Naughty
Nothing sounds quite like an aggressively tuned three-cylinder powerplant, and even at startup, the Speed Triple blasts a nice, sharp whine through its stainless steel 3-1-2 exhaust pipes.
The shifter clicks into place with light effort, and throttle twists produce a meaty, rumbly roar from the twin underseat cans. And if you suspect its bark is meaner than it's bite, releasing the clutch lever and feeding the gas yields instant forward motion that's powerfully urgent, lifting the front wheel with ease; I'm usually unable to conjure wheelies on command, but the Speed Triple's short 56.5 inch wheelbase and torquey powerband makes it easy to levitate that 17-inch cast aluminum front hoop.
I also found that abiding by local laws is all but impossible aboard the Speed Triple; this bike's responsive personality rewards each throttle goose and every steering input with such immediacy, it would take some sort of saint to resist the urge to instigate this bike into ever increasing levels of hoonery, encouraged with the roaring scream of that 1,050cc triple.
My bike was equipped with ABS, which added a layer of confidence to severe speed scrub downs; though the rear brakes didn't require much input before lockup, the fronts held strong impressively long—perhaps aided by the forward-shifted weight balance. Riding through twisty Southern California roads, the Speed Triple turned in and negotiated corners with ease; it may not be as nimble as its 675cc stablemates, but with only 417 pounds to toss around and relatively sporting suspension, the big-bore Triple manages an impressive amount of tossability and quick direction changes, accompanied by that fabulous sounding engine on throttle.
The Triumph Speed Triple hits all the marks of a hooligan bike: despite numerous ergonomic and chassis advancements, this bike sticks to its original intent of offering high power, quick handling, and short stopping in a package that's taut and muscular.
Detail oriented enthusiasts might criticize the Speed Triple's unfinished edges, but this bike's single-minded focus on performance is also what makes it so alluring—and true to its original intent.
The Speed Triple's $11,999 starting price manages to undercut the cost of most fully-faired sportbikes, which attract their own subset of riders with race-ready looks and incrementally higher performance capabilities. But if you're looking for tons of performance and don't need the whole kit and kaboodle, you'll find that the Triumph Speed Triple offers one of the sweetest, most entertaining rides this side of a rollercoaster.
Rabid sportbike enthusiasts who don't mind trading a fairing for some serious hooligan personality.
The term "hooligan bike" describes a stripped-down, streetfighter aesthetic that favors a bad boy attitude over slick bodywork or glossy details. Hooligan bikes tend to be quick, agile, and raw, and few bikes have come to embody those qualities as distinctly as the Triumph Speed Triple.
Priced at $11,999, the Triumph Speed Triple has been reworked inside and out for 2011, with ABS available for the first time at an $800 premium.
But is the Triumph Speed Triple still a hooligan at heart? Read on to find out.
The Goods: Sharpening the Scythe
The new 2011 Triumph Speed Triple is clad in restyled bodywork, with color-matched radiator cowls and angular love-em-or-hate-em headlamps which, replace the old model's round units.
The Triple's aluminum frame has been reshaped and narrowed, and within its twin spars the engine has been moved forward and the battery box repositioned in front of the air box for better weight distribution. The saddle has also been shifted forward and dropped to 32.5 inches for improved ergonomics.
New 43mm forks are fully preload, rebound, and compression adjustable, while the radially mounted 320mm Brembo brakes have been thinned by .5mm to reduce unsprung weight. Both wheels shed over 2 pounds each, and the bike's wet weight is now 471 pounds—a total of 6 pounds lighter than before.
Though the liquid-cooled 1,050cc inline-3 cylinder engine has been carried over from the previous version, tweaks to the ECU and exhaust offer an 8 percent boost in torque (to 82 ft-lbs), while 133 horsepower are produced at the crank.
Swing a Leg Over: Low Key Functionality
The cockpit view of the Speed Triple says pretty much all you need to know about this bad boy: in keeping with the hooligan bike theme, from the plastic backsides of the headlights to the big analog tach and digital instrument panel, there aren't many creature comforts to be had from the saddle of this British naked bike.
Though the Speed Triple's seat feels roomier than the smaller, crotch crowding Street Triple's, the rear-mounted footpegs enforce an aggressively sporty riding position that demands a bit of knee bending for most body types, accompanied with some upper body tilt in order to reach the bars.
The instrument cluster offers an efficient layout and easy legibility, only without the digital gear indicator found on the Street Triple. The switchgear mounted to the thick alloy handlebars seem somewhat crude—but then again, Speed Triple buyers are less concerned about jewel-like details and more focused on performance, which, as you'll see in the next section, they get in spades. Customers can, however, order accessories like a tire pressure sensor kit, a gel saddle, and a soft luggage kit.
On the Road: Reassuringly Naughty
Nothing sounds quite like an aggressively tuned three-cylinder powerplant, and even at startup, the Speed Triple blasts a nice, sharp whine through its stainless steel 3-1-2 exhaust pipes.
The shifter clicks into place with light effort, and throttle twists produce a meaty, rumbly roar from the twin underseat cans. And if you suspect its bark is meaner than it's bite, releasing the clutch lever and feeding the gas yields instant forward motion that's powerfully urgent, lifting the front wheel with ease; I'm usually unable to conjure wheelies on command, but the Speed Triple's short 56.5 inch wheelbase and torquey powerband makes it easy to levitate that 17-inch cast aluminum front hoop.
I also found that abiding by local laws is all but impossible aboard the Speed Triple; this bike's responsive personality rewards each throttle goose and every steering input with such immediacy, it would take some sort of saint to resist the urge to instigate this bike into ever increasing levels of hoonery, encouraged with the roaring scream of that 1,050cc triple.
My bike was equipped with ABS, which added a layer of confidence to severe speed scrub downs; though the rear brakes didn't require much input before lockup, the fronts held strong impressively long—perhaps aided by the forward-shifted weight balance. Riding through twisty Southern California roads, the Speed Triple turned in and negotiated corners with ease; it may not be as nimble as its 675cc stablemates, but with only 417 pounds to toss around and relatively sporting suspension, the big-bore Triple manages an impressive amount of tossability and quick direction changes, accompanied by that fabulous sounding engine on throttle.
The Triumph Speed Triple hits all the marks of a hooligan bike: despite numerous ergonomic and chassis advancements, this bike sticks to its original intent of offering high power, quick handling, and short stopping in a package that's taut and muscular.
Detail oriented enthusiasts might criticize the Speed Triple's unfinished edges, but this bike's single-minded focus on performance is also what makes it so alluring—and true to its original intent.
The Speed Triple's $11,999 starting price manages to undercut the cost of most fully-faired sportbikes, which attract their own subset of riders with race-ready looks and incrementally higher performance capabilities. But if you're looking for tons of performance and don't need the whole kit and kaboodle, you'll find that the Triumph Speed Triple offers one of the sweetest, most entertaining rides this side of a rollercoaster.
- Price: $11,999, $12,799 with ABS
- Seat Height: 32.5 inches
- Engine: Liquid-cooled, 12 valve, 1,050cc inline 3-cylinder
- Fuel Economy: 34 mpg (city), 50 mpg (highway)
- Transmission: 6-speed
- Final Drive: Chain
- Fuel Capacity: 4.6 gallons
- Front Suspension: Showa 43mm inverted forks with 120 mm travel and preload, rebound and compression adjustability
- Rake/Trail: 22.8°, 90.9mm (3.5 inches)
- Rear Suspension: Showa monoshock with 130mm travel, rebound and compression adjustability
- Front Brakes: Four-piston, twin 320mm Brembo floating discs (ABS available)
- Rear Brake: Two-piston, single 255mm disc, Nissin (ABS available)
- Curb Weight: 471 pounds
- Colors: Crystal White, Phantom Blakc, Diablo Red
- Warranty: Two years, unlimited mileage.
Who Should Buy The Triumph Speed Triple?
Rabid sportbike enthusiasts who don't mind trading a fairing for some serious hooligan personality.
