The iconic Street Triple is a pretty well known and written about bike, so I probably will not be writing up anything new or unknown here, but... I shall give you my tuppence worth after riding over 500 miles on this one.
From the first moment I sat on the new model it instantly felt at home and reassuringly familiar to what I knew from my old 2008 model. The riding position and stance of the bike doesn't seem to have changed much although the aesthetics have ever so slightly. Some say for the better and others for the worst, I personally have always liked the look of the bike out of the box, brash and naked.. But my preference is to enhance it a touch with some plastics, so I opted for pretty much all I could get my hands on. I also opted for an arrow exhaust which really should be mandatory on all models.
So this time round I opted for the R version, mainly for the aesthetics and the vanity of it all really. On top of the updated aesthetics and the shiny R badge you also get adjustable suspension and an upgraded front braking system which is worth its weight in gold compared to the braking system on the standard. For me the price difference was not so big from the R to the standard so it was no question for me to get it. Although IMHO 99% of riders will not be missing out on anything if they went for the standard version of the bike.
First impressions:
Now I could barely fault older models of the triple but there where a few areas I didn't like which all seem to have been ironed out now. For example the throttle response is much neater and there is no sign of any snatchyness in the lower gear / speeds. The factory tail tidy actually compliments the bike now and is not an instant modification required area, same of which goes for the OEM mirrors. The computer largely remains the same but a few modifications have been made for the better like the addition of a fuel gauge.
The only issues I find remains with the bike are small and maybe it is more down to the rider here but, I sometimes spend longer than I should getting the bike into Neutral and the computer will some times show me a neutral green light but the bike is still in gear. This is a rarity in occurrence but this did also happen on my old triple.. I haven never experienced this with any other bike I have owned though.
the only other observation is the rear brake seems pretty weak. Although compared to the stonking stopping power on the front most things would!! The bike in my opinion remains flawless in all other areas and can easily find its place as a town bike, a commuter, a weekend fun toy or even well suited to a day of full riding. We all know it isn't a red line type of bike and suffers wind buffeting like all nakeds do at speed. But the wind buffeting is fine with me for the speeds I like to do and doesn't affect me acting the loon every now and again
I really find the bike inspiring my confidence with each run. The Street Triple is truly a well balanced and sure footed motorbike with impeccable response making it a bike for everyone whether you are new to the road or a veteran. It is happy at lower speeds and similarly happy pinning the throttle.
Street triples really are like a VW Golf GTI.. Everyone should have one at least once in there lives.. some folks should have more than one in there life... like me!
Sure there is lots more of the good bits I have neglected to mention, but this quick write up turned out to be not so quick.
