Triumph Street Twin Review

March 9, 2016
To start with, at around 8.1 lacs on road, Mumbai the Street Twin costs about a lac more than the Bonneville. What it gets in that one lac is liquid cooling, ABS, traction control, fatter tyres, ride by wire technology and a lot more. The styling is different too and there are some smart touches here. The tank is slimmer around the thighs making it easier to lock your knees in snugly while riding. There is less chrome and more brushed aluminium overall, making it look more modern than retro. The fake carburettors have been done away with. The engine note is refined. No more tappet noise, no more backfiring. Most of the quirkiness of the old Bonneville has gone and things like standard ignition positioning, lockable fuel tank cap and better suspensions have made their way onto this one. The bike also feels a lot lighter than before even though on papers it weighs the same. All in all, smart little touches have gone a long way in making the Street Twin feel like a totally different motorcycle than the Bonneville.
The Street Twin makes less power and more torque than its predecessor. The engine is a lot more refined though. The bonnie had a pretty refined engine to start with but somehow, Triumph have managed to make it even smoother. The gearing is on the taller side so the bike doesn't exactly shoot off the line. Start pulling it and before you know it, you're comfortably doing triple digit speeds. No stress, no vibes, no jitters. You do need the speedo to tell you that you're going fast. The motorcycle is so confidence inspiring that at any speed, you feel like you're going about 30 kph slower than what the speedo indicates. The only motorcycle that inspires such confidence to be pushed hard in the first ride itself, is its badi behen, the Street Triple. Taller gearing also means that the need for the 6th gear is not felt as strongly as before. The motorcycle is light and the center of gravity low. It happily leans into a turn and sticks there. Thanks to the shorter wheelbase, the bike is also more flickable than before. The brakes are sharp and ABS equipped. Traction control can come in handy on ghats and in wet conditions.
The overall package of the Street Twin fits so well together, you really have to go nitpicking to pick out a flaw. The only significant one I could pick out is heat. Thanks to the narrowed down tank, the rider's knees sit very close to the engine and the engine heat felt is considerably more than before. Also, the ground clearance seems to be the same as before. So be prepared to scrape the underbelly on nasty speed-breakers. Apart from these, nothing. The bike is pretty flawless and easy to live with. I think Triumph have totally nailed it this time. No loose ends. It's gone all out for the kill. RIP Ducati Scrambler!

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