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New Triumph
Speed Triple teased!
TRIUMPH HAS A revamped Speed Triple
ready to hit dealers. And while the styling
is barely changed it’s got worthwhile
changes under the skin.
The firm has already started teasing
the new bike, claiming it to be the ‘most
powerful’ and ‘most agile’ as well as the
‘smartest’. So while visually familiar,
there’ll be significant changes.
Last October we got spy pictures of
a mildly altered Speed Triple on test.
It featured the same slightly changed
exhaust that’s
visible on the new
model, plus the
same five-spoke
wheel design.
Notably, it also
sported a new
cylinder head,
suggesting there
are big changes
afoot in the engine
department.
There needs to
be if Triumph is
to compete with the latest generation of
insanely fast nakedbikes, like Aprilia’s
Tuono 1100, BMW’s
S 1000 R and KTM’s 1290 Super Duke R.
While the existing Speed Triple’s 103kW,
1050cc triple isn’t slow, it’s some distance
from the most powerful machines in the
class that, along with the Ducati Monster,
the Speed Triple largely defined more
than two decades ago.
The ‘smarter’ element is easiest to
explain. Triumph’s initial teaser videoshows that the Speed Triple is being
brought into line with an increasing
number of the firm’s bikes by using a
tablet-style TFT instrument cluster. The
reconfigurable display gives freedom to
show virtually any metric that Triumph
chooses to give access to, from ambient
air temperature to remaining tank
range. It’s also lighter, more compact
and probably cheaper to manufacture
than a set of conventional instruments.
Other tech goodies on the new model
are sure to include
a quickshifter
and Triumph’s
one-button cruise
control system.
In terms of
agility, the machine
spied last year
appeared to be
using the normal
‘S’ spec Speed
Triple suspension.
No doubt there
will also be an ‘R’
version, and possibly even a top-end
‘RS’ model, mimicking the line-up of the
smaller Street Triple range. However,
revised suspension settings and the new- presumably lighter – five-spoke wheels
should add up to a handling improvement
even if other suspension components
are carried over from the previous
generation.
The new bike should be on sale
around March, so expect the drip-feed of
information to continue for a while yet. BP
BACKIN 2016 Chinese firm Motrac revealed its
first bigbike in theform ofthe MG500, agood-
looking adventure-style machine. Around the
same time it showed a concept version ofa
sporty naked built around an identical 500cc
parallel-twin engine andnow that concept –
theMT-X500–hasbecome reality.
Like the MG500, both the MT-X500(above)
andits siblingarebasedaroundLoncin’s 471cc
paralleltwinengine.AclosecopyofHonda’s
CB500 motor, it makes an identical 35 kWpeak
power. However, while you’ll onlyfind the
CB500 engine in fairlylow-spec Hondas, the
Motrac bikes add kitlikeradial brakes andan
upside-down fork into the mix.
Theengine isboltedtoapart-aluminium,
part-steelframewithatrellisfront section and
cast swingarmpivotarea.Theswingarm itself
isalsoaluminium,withabraceddesignthat’s
overkill for the performance level of the bike,
but certainlygivesittherightlook.
The naked MT-X500(below)has slightly
challengingstyling;you’lleitherlove orhate
thosestrakeslinkingthetanktotheside
panels.Butatleastit’snotablatantcopyof
an existing European or Japanesedesign.
The fully-faired sports version is more
conventional,sharing thesametailbodywork
asitssibling,butnewfromthetankforwards.
At the moment, as is often the case
with Chinese bikes,there’sanelementof
uncertaintyover theproduction schedules
andplansfor the new machines. Motrac does
have an international presence, sellingsome
ofits smaller 125cc single-cylinder machines
outside Japan, and these bigger bikes are
moresuitedtotheiit d t th i tnternatiotinallmark t W t hket.Watch
this space. BPThe long-awaited
Speed Triple able to
take on its peers is just
around the cornerMotrac’s 500cc
sportsbike!
SCOOP!SCOOP!