Triumph Street Triple

2014 TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE QUICK RIDE REVIEW: THE HINCKLEY HOOLIGAN

2014 Triumph Street Triple Front

A few motorcycles on the planet would rather bare it all than hide their soul under the plastic flourish – and the 2014 Triumph Street Triple happens to be one of them. We got a couple of hours to spend with the Hinckley Hooligan which was put through the paces, ridden through the usual weekend traffic, narrow back lanes and given the occasional high speed bursts. The Street Triple worldwide has been the best selling model for Triumph and we got to know why in as we conducted this review of the 2014 Triumph Street Triple. So here we go

STYLING, FEATURES & FINISH

2014 Triumph Street Triple (12)

There’s no disagreeing with the fact that the 2014 Triumph Street Triple is a more appealing motorcycle in the flesh than in pictures. The slanted alien-ish headlamps that might put you off in photographs have their own charm in real that gives the Street Triple its own unique face value.

2014 Triumph Street Triple Headlights

2014 Triumph Street Triple Rear View

A casual look and the Street Triple comes across a simplistic street bike, give it a stare and it changes your perception. The bodywork reeks of sharpness and a second look at the motorcycle grabs your attention with its sharp slashes on the tank, frame, swingarm and the compact tail section. The blinkers, mirrors and even the side stand haven’t been spared of the incisive treatment. The radiator flanked by the cowlings give the Street Triple a broad-chested look from both ends, but it looks its best from the rear three quarters. Overall the styling of the Street Triple beautifully blends the aggression of a street fighter with cuts and creases of a supersport that was meant to slice through the wind.

2014 Triumph Street Triple (21)

2014 Triumph Street Triple (19)

Hardware on the 2014 Triumph Street Triple includes an Aluminium beam twin spar frame with a 2 piece high pressure die cast rear frame. Suspending the motorcycle is a pair of Kayaba 41mm inverted front forks with 110mm travel and a 124.5mm travel Kayaba rear monoshock. Tyre specs read Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa tyres with 120/70- 17 at the front and 180/55-17 at the rear. The switchable ABS equipped braking system is somewhat confusing when it comes to branding. While the front units are Nissin 2 piston sliding calipers grabbing twin 310mm floating discs, at the rear is a Brembo single piston caliper mounted over a 220mm single disc.

2014 Triumph Street Triple monoshock

2014 Triumph Street Triple Brembo rear brakes

The Street Triple features a multi-functional LCD dash which features a digital speedometer, analogue tachometer, fuel gauge, trip computer, lap timer, gear position indicator, programmable gear change lights, clock, TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system) and switchable ABS.

Triumph Street Triple Dashboard

2014 Triumph Street Triple (11)

Fit and finish on the motorcycle is top notch and despite the overnight rains playing spoilsport to the bike’s gleam, it wasn’t a task to opine positively on the build quality of the motorcycle. The deep gloss paint, the dark coated engine and frame, clean welded joints and brushed metal components – the British Brute doesn’t give you an opportunity to moan about.

ENGINE, GEARBOX & PERFORMANCE

2014 Triumph Street Triple Engine

The 2014 Triumph Street Triple is powered by a 675cc inline three cylinder engine with power and torque figures of 106 PS @ 11850 rpm and 68 nm @ 9750 rpm respectively. Swing your leg across and the Street Triple feels at home right away. Turn the ignition key and you’ll witness the compact dashboard perform a self check before you get those three cylinders firing. The engine sound is distinctively Triumph resonating that trademark babble you can expect from a triple pod.

2014 Triumph Street Triple Speedometer

Unlike four cylinder motorcycles which sound identical across the rev-range, the Street Triple has its own variations. Lower down the rev range the motor emanates a whistling ramble, in the mid range the Street Triple changes note to a deep snarling growl; get it higher to its peak and what you encounter is pure aural delight. The rasping howl of the Street Triple is something that needs to be listened to live to be experienced. It’s got a character of its own, something neither a parallel twin nor an inline four could manage at its top scream. No wonder Triumph motorcycles owing to this unique acoustic character hold their own special place amongst enthusiasts.

Despite a taller first gear, power kicks in from as low as 3500 rpm stretching right till its 12500 rpm redline. And though the power delivery feels linear, there is this surge once the needle gets past the 6000 rpm mark and that is exactly where the engine turns savage. There are some vibes to be felt at the lower end but smoothen out as the revs climb. The engine begs to be revved and it’s hard to exercise control over your right wrist. The gearbox is extremely slick and shifts with minimal effort of your left foot. Engine heat is manageable unless the sun god is in a bad mood.

2014 Triumph Street Triple Review

The Triumph Triple could easily trundle along at 50 kph in top gear, but that isn’t the way you would like to ride it. Riding it in the first three gears gives you the maximum kicks, though there is always enough firepower down the barrel to let you charge ahead without having to downshift even the irritating slow-down-and-accelerate scenarios. The rush of revs in the lower gears and the howling-growling motor coupled with friendly ergonomics – it would be just a matter of time before the Street Triple awakens the hooligan in you.

The 2014 Triumph Street Triple might read a ride ready weight of 180 kgs on the spec-sheet, but get aboard and it seems to have shed 50 kg in an instant. It feels like your everyday streetbike with 5 times more power- and of course blessed with brilliant road manners, grippy set of tyres and superlative ABS equipped braking system. Any input from the rider is affirmed in great obedience and the response is lightning quick – sometimes you’d end up pondering if the bike was anticipating your actions.

Whack the throttle and it will lunge ahead with serious urgency, flick and change directions like a hare and the brakes would breeze the bike to a stop without any drama. As aforesaid, the handling is extremely predictable with rider errors put to rest with astounding ease. The riding position is upright and comfortable though the seat and the suspension were on the firmer side. It isn’t an issue really unless faced with damage left behind by the monsoons. Can’t be accurate here on the sprinting figures, but a rough recollection suggests a 0-100 kph mark under 4 seconds with the 0-150 kph mark somewhere around 9 seconds. Impressive numbers indeed for a middle-weight street motorcycle!

OVERALL

2014 Triumph Street Triple (16)

Looks can be deceptive and the 2014 Triumph Street Triple is indeed one deceptive motorcycle. As mentioned earlier, it might come across as a simple looking streetbike lacking the flamboyance of most of its competitors. But a closer inspection and later a ride would make you fall in love with the character. It’s blessed with possibly every trait an enthusiast looks for in a motorcycle. From everyday riding to short weekend trips and even long hauls- it’s a triumphant outcome for the Street Triple. Not to forget sharing the genes of the Daytona 675, it offers supersports performance without breaking your back- no doubting it’ll be a hoot around a racetrack.

2014 Triumph Street Triple Review India

For the world- the word Triple might merely relate to the engine configuration, but to us its versatility of three motorcycles packed into one. At an ex-showroom price of INR 7,65,000/-, it doesn’t really fall into the value for money category- but it does a lot more against the money you pay for. Love at first ride…hell yes!

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