Time for a Change?
My trusty Yamaha Thundercat has been in my ownership for over seven years now. Recently my thoughts have turned to what I can replace it with. I even ran a XJR1300 for eighteen months, but kept the T cat too. Eventually I sold the XJR and kept the 600. Recent rides on a Yamaha R1 and Kawasaki ZX9R have both left me highly impressed with their sheer grunt and breathtaking speed. However the bike that has really caught my eye of late is the new Triumph 675 Street Triple. Here is a bike that combines the aggressive “Factory Fighter” stance of its’ Speed Triple big brother with the delicious triple engine and frame of the highly regarded 675 sports bike. The price of £5400 (in 2007!) sounded very competitive too, especially for a bike that has been basking in the warmth of some glowing reviews in the biking press. So I made a few phone calls and located a demonstrator at nearby dealership.
Street Triple, looking good. Shame the Flyscreen, Bellypan and seat Cowl are all extras
Positive First Impressions
My initial impression of the white demonstrator was favourable, but the black colour option much better suits the style of the machine. The nose fly-screen, belly-pan and seat cowl, all of which were fitted to the demo bike, are expensive extras. This served to push the price up very close to the £6k mark. Now much less of a bargain. Seat height is quite low, especially for a modern bike. A most welcome attribute for a stumpy like me! On thumbing the start button I was greeted by a rasping three cylinder growl, guttural in quality ~ superb.
Hitting the Open Road
Once away from the confines of the Redditch industrial estates and on the A425 towards Warwick the Street Triple really began to show me what it was capable of, and what it wasn’t. First up, performance: Basically the three cylinders 107bhp delivered in spades with the standard exhaust sounding surprisingly fruity as I swept aside any traffic I encountered with consummate ease. The upright riding position inherent to this type of bike meant speeds always stayed on the sane side and almost legal in places. However the brakes were not brilliant and I got the feeling that as you got more familiar with 675 and began to push harder, the brakes would be found wanting.
Simple but effective clocks
Those rasping high level pipes
The A425 has some sweeping open curves and the Street Triple handled really well on the smooth sections. On the couple of islands I encountered the bike could be lent way over with confidence. However put some bumps and ripples into the equation and the Triumph’s suspension seemed excessively stiff. The bike bounced about and could be diverted off line. I found this is a bit unsettling at the speeds the Triumph is capable of.
So, would I buy one?
After 26 enjoyable miles I took the bike back. Will I buy one? No. I liked the Street Triple but I didn’t love it. So it’s back to hunting for a nice R1 on ebay for me.
Update:
Fast forward 14 years and I still have the same Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat, and I never did buy an R1! However I did buy a few other bits and bobs. All of these have been seen off by the trusty 600!
The big brother, ridden in 2011: