Mid-packer
Geordie
This is my first impression, as I’ve only put 80 miles on the bike so far. I’ll do a more in-depth review for anyone who’s interested, after more miles.
First; looks. Looks fantastic IMO. I guess you don’t buy a bike like this unless you like the way it looks.
Riding position is relaxed compared to a true sportsbike. Legs not cramped for a ‘sporty’ style bike; a slight lean forward but hardly any weight on your wrists as the clip-ons are reasonably high. Sitting position seems all-day comfy but the seat is quite hard. Even though it’s a single seat you can slide your butt back a fair amount to get a more forward-leaning riding position.
The suspension is set up surprisingly firm for a bike of this type. I’m not sure why. Maybe to differentiate from the others in Triumph’s new range as this is ‘the sporty one’. I’ll try softening it and see if it’s necessary or not to have it this firm. Brakes are good, brembo’s up front are powerful and the BP forks don’t dive but are nicely controlled, and the back brake is actually effective at slowing the bike, which is a bit of a novelty.
As I’m not putting the motor under a lot of stress right now it’s hard to say how powerful the motor pulls. It doesn’t feel like it’s a particularly fast screamer away from the lights, but once moving it has good grunty power for overtakes. The power comes on in a sort of smooth, buttery way. It’s there for sure, but there’s nothing violent or dramatic about it. Still, I’ve not been opening the throttle wide at this point, and it’s only been in Road mode. Yes, it has 3 power modes. Road, Sport, and also the one I’ll leave it in when my little brother comes to visit. Haven’t explored those yet.
Handling is interesting. Despite not being the lightest bike around it feels quite light on its feet. The steering geometry, short wheelbase, and maybe the 160 rear means it tips in easily but also in a very stable and controlled way. In corners or on straights it feels very stable. Doesn’t currently soak up bumps in the road surface very well, but maybe a softer suspension setting will cure that.
The gearbox and clutch action are light and easy. The gearbox has a smooth and precise ‘click’ into gear; nothing vague about it but it’s almost too light. Put even light pressure with the top of your toe while you wait for the right time to shift, and it’ll snick up a gear before you even thought out loud about it.
There’s something about the ride that lets you know this is a retro bike. It has a retro vibe to it but I can’t quite describe what’s doing that. It seems to handle well, but it’s no razor-sharp 600 sportsbike. Quick handling, good brakes, etc but it doesn’t feel like you’d want to late brake into turn 11 at Sears. Something lets you know that it’s a good performing retro bike, not a totally modern bike with a styling exercise. For me, that’s a good thing for a bike like this. Feels authentic somehow, (even though it’s obviously very different to a 60s/70’s bike), so it delivers on that emotional level, if that makes sense. I’m struggling to explain that part or why it feels that way to ride it.
Niggles that I’ve noticed? Well, 3 things, but none of them deal-breakers.
1) The metal tank strap, which I like, (yep, I like the fake carbs too). If you’re sitting forward in the seat, which I was for the hill on Lucas Valley; then if you move from side to side at all on the seat for the turns, the metal tank strap snags on your pants. Not a big deal and probably cured by moving back an inch, from the back of the long tank, but …..
2) The bar-end mirrors. They look OK and work ok, but I haven’t had these before and the extra couple of inches width is hindering my filtering. Maybe just something to get used to, but they seem at the exact same height as most car mirrors and are affecting my filtering karma.
3) It’s seriously thin at the back of the tank, and that, combined with the (cool) tank shape makes gripping with your knees over rough road surfaces difficult. I might have to get those thick rubber tank pads that Triumph sells for this, even though I don’t particularly like the look of them.
So, that’s a first impression and a later write up may have very different observations as I’ve done so few miles at this point.
First; looks. Looks fantastic IMO. I guess you don’t buy a bike like this unless you like the way it looks.
Riding position is relaxed compared to a true sportsbike. Legs not cramped for a ‘sporty’ style bike; a slight lean forward but hardly any weight on your wrists as the clip-ons are reasonably high. Sitting position seems all-day comfy but the seat is quite hard. Even though it’s a single seat you can slide your butt back a fair amount to get a more forward-leaning riding position.
The suspension is set up surprisingly firm for a bike of this type. I’m not sure why. Maybe to differentiate from the others in Triumph’s new range as this is ‘the sporty one’. I’ll try softening it and see if it’s necessary or not to have it this firm. Brakes are good, brembo’s up front are powerful and the BP forks don’t dive but are nicely controlled, and the back brake is actually effective at slowing the bike, which is a bit of a novelty.
As I’m not putting the motor under a lot of stress right now it’s hard to say how powerful the motor pulls. It doesn’t feel like it’s a particularly fast screamer away from the lights, but once moving it has good grunty power for overtakes. The power comes on in a sort of smooth, buttery way. It’s there for sure, but there’s nothing violent or dramatic about it. Still, I’ve not been opening the throttle wide at this point, and it’s only been in Road mode. Yes, it has 3 power modes. Road, Sport, and also the one I’ll leave it in when my little brother comes to visit. Haven’t explored those yet.
Handling is interesting. Despite not being the lightest bike around it feels quite light on its feet. The steering geometry, short wheelbase, and maybe the 160 rear means it tips in easily but also in a very stable and controlled way. In corners or on straights it feels very stable. Doesn’t currently soak up bumps in the road surface very well, but maybe a softer suspension setting will cure that.
The gearbox and clutch action are light and easy. The gearbox has a smooth and precise ‘click’ into gear; nothing vague about it but it’s almost too light. Put even light pressure with the top of your toe while you wait for the right time to shift, and it’ll snick up a gear before you even thought out loud about it.
There’s something about the ride that lets you know this is a retro bike. It has a retro vibe to it but I can’t quite describe what’s doing that. It seems to handle well, but it’s no razor-sharp 600 sportsbike. Quick handling, good brakes, etc but it doesn’t feel like you’d want to late brake into turn 11 at Sears. Something lets you know that it’s a good performing retro bike, not a totally modern bike with a styling exercise. For me, that’s a good thing for a bike like this. Feels authentic somehow, (even though it’s obviously very different to a 60s/70’s bike), so it delivers on that emotional level, if that makes sense. I’m struggling to explain that part or why it feels that way to ride it.
Niggles that I’ve noticed? Well, 3 things, but none of them deal-breakers.
1) The metal tank strap, which I like, (yep, I like the fake carbs too). If you’re sitting forward in the seat, which I was for the hill on Lucas Valley; then if you move from side to side at all on the seat for the turns, the metal tank strap snags on your pants. Not a big deal and probably cured by moving back an inch, from the back of the long tank, but …..
2) The bar-end mirrors. They look OK and work ok, but I haven’t had these before and the extra couple of inches width is hindering my filtering. Maybe just something to get used to, but they seem at the exact same height as most car mirrors and are affecting my filtering karma.
3) It’s seriously thin at the back of the tank, and that, combined with the (cool) tank shape makes gripping with your knees over rough road surfaces difficult. I might have to get those thick rubber tank pads that Triumph sells for this, even though I don’t particularly like the look of them.
So, that’s a first impression and a later write up may have very different observations as I’ve done so few miles at this point.
