To sum up this is an iconic bike, which makes you feel great every time you look at. It is exciting to ride and handles well once set up for personal weight and style. It is well priced compared to say big sports bikes, but offers similar real world performance.

Simon Matthews

I’ve only had this bike a few months, and yet I’ve managed to cover nearly 9000 miles! I can’t stop riding the thing. A trip to the Central Massive was great and it enabled me to assess the practicalities of the bike. It’s no tourer however as I only ever take one large tail pack I didn’t have any issues. I found it comfortable at ‘French’ motorway speeds, however I’m only 5’ 7’’.

Overall the quality of the bike in most areas is high. I would say the finish appears to be on par with BMW, but perhaps not as good as Honda. The bolts appear to be stainless, and have held up well so far. The rear brake isn’t great, and needs a good strip and clean to keep functioning. It gets covered in chain oil, as its position under the swing arm is stupid. Other single sider Triumphs manage to position the caliper above the swing arm, so please sort this Triumph! Removing wheels and other minor tasks are simple. Front brakes are those super Brembo types that have six pads per caliper! They are easy to remove, but expect higher cost as a result. Mine aren’t even half worn though.

Having converted the last couple of bikes to Ohlins suspension, at first the triple was a bit of a shock! It needed a little bit of setting up to improve the handling. The front preload was way too harsh, and I suspect this is to prevent damage from cack handed wheelies. I set static and rider sag to improve this and the front preload was way out. Once set correctly this bike handles like a sporty bike, but without the discomfort. In fact it wheelies less now there is great travel within the range at the front forks. It is biased towards the road rather than track, and as such is all the better for it. It tracks accurately into bends, with fast steering thanks to the short wheelbase. The wide bars make it a joy on slower B roads, and make slow riding easy. However, the steering circle is poxy, so don’t get caught out two up going the wrong way down a farm track in France! 

For me though, the soul of any bike is its engine. It’s evocative to have an engine that makes you feel alive, and this bike doesn’t disappoint. It’s produces good power throughout the rev range, but with such linear torque it is accessible. In fact you are hard pressed not to pull the odd wheelie when accelerating away from a hazard. There is far more punch when you open the throttle that say the ST 1050 that uses the same engine. I suspect that gearing and different engine mapping is used, as they feel like different bikes. It makes a great noise, and feels solid. The gearbox is slick, and an improvement over my last two bikes. However it did take a while to bed in. The clutch is smooth.

After a lifetime of crotch rockets, it was time to move on. A more sedate, nay laid-back approach to riding was needed. Better ergonomics, smoother low down power and a nod towards grandfather’s fixation to British Irons.

All of which is of course complete nonsense, as the Triple is a mad, bad bike with more attitude than the local campsite bare knuckle champion! It looks mean and moody in white with a black engine. Stainless bolts shine, and dual under seat cans sit like two sawn off shooters. Black wheels look classy with a single swing arm. In fact this is my fifth bike with a single swing arm, so I must like the look. (Honda Elf must have made a fortune as all of them are based on their original design!)

What took me in this direction was the sporty, but comfortable riding position. It’s kinda like ‘sit up and beg’ but canted forward slightly. This suited me perfectly, having spent over twenty years holding on to clip on’s. My local dealer is very accommodating with demo rides, which is just as well as I went out three times before I decided to take the plunge! I also took out the Ducati Streetfighter S that was amazing. But have you seen how much they cost! As is normally in the Matthews house hold I didn’t tell the wife until a couple of days later. Unsurprisingly she offered to lend me money!