Tripping On A Triple

Triumph says they have made a better Street Triple than the Street Triple. You don’t believe it? Well, neither did we.

- Aninda Sardar

Love at first ride is the story of the Triumph Street Triple and me. Powerful but unintimidating, light and nimble, agile but composed, it was everything you needed a motorcycle to be. I always thought it was perfect, especially for riding in India. That slightly expensive price tag notwithstanding. As far as The Thrill Of Riding goes, the Street Triple with its 675cc inline triple was a difficult package to better. I never thought there’d be a better balance between practical usability and excitement in this class of motorcycles. Least of all from Triumph, because all too often the one who sets the benchmark is also the one who finds it the hardest to better. And yet there we were at the Hotel Montanya Lodge outside Barcelona staring at what Triumph’s chief engineer Stewart Wood had just told us was an even better Street Triple than the Street Triple. Friends, riders and bikers, meet the all-new Triumph Street Triple 765.

ALL-NEW ENGINE

That number, 765, is obviously a dead giveaway that the engine on the new bike is new. A derivative of the Daytona’s howling good 675cc inline triple, Triumph has increased both the bore and the stroke, and made a host of other changes inside to create more power throughout the rev range, with power peaking at 123PS at 11,700 revs. But what is amazing is that even at 3,000rpm, the torque that engine of the RS produces is more than the peak torque produced by the old bike! In case you’re wondering what the peak torque is, it is 77Nm, which is produced at 10,800 revs. Among the other updates, there’s ride-by-wire technology at work here for a more precise response to throttle inputs. Not to mention the stip-and-assist clutch that allows for aggressive downshifting without wheel hop when on track. And with a new exhaust unit, the Triple 765 sounds richer than ever.