Well this past weekend on Sept 16-17, MotoEuropa STL had a Triumph demo event. I went down on Saturday and got to test out a 2011 Black (white pictured) Speed Triple and a 2011 Black Street Triple R and all I can say is WOW!!
!!
I got there after a 2.5 hour drive to the dealer which was raining for about the first 2 hours. I was getting scared that I would either have to ride these machines in the rain or that they postponed it until the showers cleared, but within 10 miles of the dealer, the sun was shining and the roads were dry. As soon as I arrived, I changed into all my gear and instantly walked up and asked to what I needed to do to ride (I've never been to a demo event). I signed off on the waiver that declared that it's not their fault if I die and if I do anything illegal with the bike that I suffer the consequences and signed up to ride a Speed Triple first.
After the safety briefing and explanation of The Route everyone hopped on their choice of bike and away we went. The S3 has just a surge of power throughout the RPMs and was quite a comfortable ride on the interstate and back in town. There were no annoying vibrations at certain speeds or any kind of lag if I needed to pass someone in a hurry, this bike just felt like it was ready for whatever lied ahead. Due to the rules I wasn't able to open it up too much, but whenever I did a little take off on the highway or after we took a turn to catch up to the group the throttle response was quick and crisp… it just felt amazing the whole way back to the dealer.
The Street Triple R was the 2nd bike I chose to test as a suggestion from the owner of the dealership, and boy am I happy I did! This bike, although having a smaller engine than the S3, felt just as powerful and was able to use it's power beautifully. As I entered the interstate and having a bit more freedom from the last ride with the higher pace we were taking, I cranked the throttle a bit just to get into traffic and felt the front wheel lift from the sheer torque of the 675 engine. The bike did great on the interstate, and phenomenal in town. It just felt like a small version of the S3, which it pretty much is.
Both bike were very nimble, I was able to throw them around very easily to avoid obstacles and others around me, but I at all times felt planted to the ground and never had a feeling that I was going to fall over from maneuvering about. The lack of any type of fairing surprisingly wasn't bothersome. On the Speed Triple I only was about to get up to about 60, but at that speed I didn't really feel much wind buffeting hindering my riding comfort and such, same with the Street Triple, which I got to about 75 on. The ergonomics are about the same, maybe even more comfortable for me than the 6R, I felt slightly less hunched in a sport position, even if by a few degrees. At about 5'10" and maybe a 30"-32" inseam, on the S3 I was about half footed, while on the Speed Triple I was flatfoot with my knees slightly bent. All in all I think both of them are excellent bikes and I would recommend them for anybody to try to experience them.
I think I have found my next set of wheels
Oh and the Speed Triple (White bike, I had a black one.) I rode didn't have the little windscreen
EDIT: Sorry if this is very spacey and stuff, wrote this every few hours while doing homework. yay for non-continuous thoughts! And bold words are links!
!! I got there after a 2.5 hour drive to the dealer which was raining for about the first 2 hours. I was getting scared that I would either have to ride these machines in the rain or that they postponed it until the showers cleared, but within 10 miles of the dealer, the sun was shining and the roads were dry. As soon as I arrived, I changed into all my gear and instantly walked up and asked to what I needed to do to ride (I've never been to a demo event). I signed off on the waiver that declared that it's not their fault if I die and if I do anything illegal with the bike that I suffer the consequences and signed up to ride a Speed Triple first.
After the safety briefing and explanation of The Route everyone hopped on their choice of bike and away we went. The S3 has just a surge of power throughout the RPMs and was quite a comfortable ride on the interstate and back in town. There were no annoying vibrations at certain speeds or any kind of lag if I needed to pass someone in a hurry, this bike just felt like it was ready for whatever lied ahead. Due to the rules I wasn't able to open it up too much, but whenever I did a little take off on the highway or after we took a turn to catch up to the group the throttle response was quick and crisp… it just felt amazing the whole way back to the dealer.
The Street Triple R was the 2nd bike I chose to test as a suggestion from the owner of the dealership, and boy am I happy I did! This bike, although having a smaller engine than the S3, felt just as powerful and was able to use it's power beautifully. As I entered the interstate and having a bit more freedom from the last ride with the higher pace we were taking, I cranked the throttle a bit just to get into traffic and felt the front wheel lift from the sheer torque of the 675 engine. The bike did great on the interstate, and phenomenal in town. It just felt like a small version of the S3, which it pretty much is.
Both bike were very nimble, I was able to throw them around very easily to avoid obstacles and others around me, but I at all times felt planted to the ground and never had a feeling that I was going to fall over from maneuvering about. The lack of any type of fairing surprisingly wasn't bothersome. On the Speed Triple I only was about to get up to about 60, but at that speed I didn't really feel much wind buffeting hindering my riding comfort and such, same with the Street Triple, which I got to about 75 on. The ergonomics are about the same, maybe even more comfortable for me than the 6R, I felt slightly less hunched in a sport position, even if by a few degrees. At about 5'10" and maybe a 30"-32" inseam, on the S3 I was about half footed, while on the Speed Triple I was flatfoot with my knees slightly bent. All in all I think both of them are excellent bikes and I would recommend them for anybody to try to experience them.
I think I have found my next set of wheels
Oh and the Speed Triple (White bike, I had a black one.) I rode didn't have the little windscreen
EDIT: Sorry if this is very spacey and stuff, wrote this every few hours while doing homework. yay for non-continuous thoughts! And bold words are links!
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