Tasty 1200 retro roadster has 96bhp motor with all the 60s style
OKAY, THIS is a little outside our normal brief. But the new Triumph Speed Twin that’s just been released has a certain je ne sais quoi about it (it was launched in Paris…), so we’re having a bit of a look.
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On the surface, it looks like just another tattooed Shoreditch beard-transportation-device. But under that devious metropolitan exterior lies a fairly decent naked-roadster spec.
Up till now, too many of these retro beasties have been flat as a (Shoreditch) witch’s tit, with scant effort put into the performance side of things. But Triumph reckons it’s put an end to that with the Speed Twin, which has a decent 96bhp from the 1200 Bonneville-based engine. Dry weight is 10kg down on the firm’s similar Thruxton, but it’s still a bit beefy, at 196kg.
The chassis spec is a notch up from the usual retro fare, with cartridge front forks and adjustable rear shocks, and sweet-looking Brembo four-piston calipers up front. Seven-spoke cast aluminium rims wear Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tyres – solid sporty road rubber – and there’s the usual ABS and switchable traction control setup. Three rider modes round off the rider aids, and there’s a USB socket under the seat, full trip computer in the dash, and plenty of posh alloy bodywork parts.
No word on price as yet, but the bike will be launched next month. We’ll find out more then, no doubt…
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