My ride this week is the spectacular Triumph Speed Triple. Triumph has managed to keep the Speed triple looking fairly similar since its introduction in the mid 90s. The so called “Bug Eye” twin headlights with retro feel chrome surrounds and the single sided swing arm have remained throughout the life of bike. The most significant change was of course adding nearly 100cc in 2005 taking the engine from a 955 to a 1050. Our test bike is the second generation of the 1050, which looks exactly like the older model and really only careful examination will reveal the differences.

The most important improvement on the newer bike is that the brakes have been upgraded to Brembo callipers on the front and they really do work well. Not that there was too much wrong with the brakes on the older model but they were prone to fade when riding hard.

Our bike is in matte black which of course is all the rage these days. I am so old though that matte black reminds me of bikes painted by hand in a shed so I’m not really a fan. The bike is fitted with a stylish pair of Arrow slip-ons, which sound fantastic. There is something very special about the sound of a free breathing triple. Although they sound fantastic – compared to the Aprilia RSV4 that I have just returned, they are, well… a little bit quiet.

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