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- On tour with three models
- Driving tight lines was only possible on the racetrack
- Feels like an era between Cafe Racer-Speedy and T 509
- 2004: first victory in a naked bike group test
- Triumph Speed Triple 1994
- Triumph Speed Triple 1997
- Triumph Speed Triple 2005
- Triumph Speed Triple 2011
- Sales figures
- Triumph Tridays
22nd photos
Breutel
1/22
Stuart Wood, 50, Head of Model Planning and Electronics, has been with Triumph for 27 years and is involved in the development of the Speed Triple.
2/22
Zentralrad: Right from the start, the Speed Triple Challenge focused on the Speedy, …
triumph
3/22
… the cult meeting Tridays does the same for all other Triumph models.
Jahn
4/22
With the 2005 model, Triumph increased the displacement of the Speed Triple for the last time.
5/22
1997 T 509: Triumph started the success story of the Speed Triple with the 1997 Speedy (in the photo the conceptually similar 2001 model).
6/22
Kultbike: The new headlights sparked a lot of discussion …
7/22
The frame is now coated in matt black, …
8/22
… the single-sided swing arm remains a trademark of the Speedy.
Hertler
9/22
Peter Mayer, MOTORRAD editor: “Great engine, striking appearance. Even after 20 years, the same applies to this street fighter: The Speed Triple never gets old. This is exactly how you cultivate a legend “.
10/22
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12/22
Jurgen Schnaller, Triumph dealer from Tyrol, first owner of the T 300 B and T 509 in this report: “If I had one more wish? Then please a Speed Triple motor in a Street Triple chassis “.
13/22
Three machines, two decades, one name: Speed Triple. The timeline is tense.
14/22
1994 T 300 B: With the premiere of the Speed Triple, Triumph closes the gap in the three-cylinder series between the brave Trident and the sports car Daytona. The Speedy only became a successful model later.
15/22
The Triumph Speed Triple 1994.
16/22
… the carburettors were state of the art, and the fork tubes pushed in far lowered the front,
17/22
Not a street fighter: The first Speed Triple carries cafe racer genes. The instruments were noble, …
Weinmann
18/22
Stefan Weber, graphic designer at MOTORRAD and Speed Triple owner for 20 years: “Black is beautiful! The Speedy impressed me immediately. At that time there was nothing like it “.
19/22
2011 T 515: The last update of the Speed Triple so far – see curve on page 53 – set a historic sales record. The appearance and character of the Speedy have been retained despite the new technology.
20/22
An era begins: With the original aluminum frame and the double note-
thrower …
21/22
… the Triumph designers create the style elements that still characterize the Speed Triple. Processing? First class – even then.
22/22
Speed triple sales.
20 years of Triumph Speed Triple
On tour with three models
No model shaped the current image of Triumph more than this three-cylinder naked bike with the polarizing bulging eyes. In 2014 the Triumph Speed Triple turned 20. MOTORRAD went on a birthday jaunt with three Speedys from different model series.
The battery is new, the engine oil freshly changed. Jurgen Schnaller moves the choke lever with pointed fingers and briefly presses the starter. Immediately the engine rattles to itself. It has been exactly 19 years since the Triumph dealer from Kolsass near Innsbruck opened S.peed Triple moved for the last time at the German Speed Triple Challenge in 1995. The trophies from back then have long been dull, but the memory of this motorcycle is so crystal clear, as if the drops of the winning bubbly were still damp.
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20 years of Triumph Speed Triple
On tour with three models
Does the colleague know how old the tires are?
Memories. Jurgen long ago pushed the choke lever back and without saying a word rolled the second Triumph Speed Triple out of his van. T 509, built in 2001. Conceptually based on the second Speed Triple generation launched in 1997. Nuclear Red. No color, a provocation. A contemporary and self-confident symbol. But before the shock painting can distract, MOTORRAD graphic artist Stefan Weber pushes the current Speedy into the picture. Three machines, two decades, one name: Speed Triple. The timeline is tense. We also. How does it feel, the joint tour through the eras? It is a matter of honor that Stefan can take over the final revival of the original speed triple. The MOTORRADler has been a fan from the start, often drives to the editorial office in his modified 1994 speed triple – and is the first in the group of three to turn from the parking lot onto the country road.
It is probably the power of his habit that the Swabian does not hesitate. Left, right, left, the minded person angles violently from the start. Does the colleague know how old the tires are? He knows the sporty seating position. The halves of the handlebars mounted under the fork bridge span the pilot over the long 25 liter tank, the knee angle is narrow thanks to the high footrests. The view of the instruments goes well with this. Beautiful round clocks from the Italian supplier CEV with white dials. No doubt, the term streetfighter was defined differently back then. It stood for sports machines, from which the fairing – usually destroyed – was torn from the body without replacement. Revolutionary bikes. The first Triumph Speed Triple, which was so often hailed as the mother of all street fighters, was never really one of them. She was a cafe racer, nothing else.
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Driving tight lines was only possible on the racetrack
Verbal pedantry, now irrelevant for Stefan. He’s still playing the bell, sticking hard on the gas. He will only realize later, after the driver has changed, that the first Triumph Speed Triple drives completely differently than modern machines. Because the senior citizen is a long way from the front-wheel-oriented alignment of today’s sporting concepts. With a towering front and a deep rear, it was a child of its time. Even the stanchions that were pushed deep into the triple clamps did little to change that. That is why she still prefers to drive wide arcs, curved lines, and likes flowing lines. Brake deep into the bends, then fold down abruptly? Reluctantly. Also because of the massive live weight of 251 kilograms. Driving tight lines was only possible on the racetrack. Among their own kind. Because with the Speed Triple Challenge, the marketing strategists created a public playground for her in the first year, clearly positioning her debut as an athlete. Stefan Weber’s private Speedy comes from this racing series.
But all the racing and marketing hype would have been of little use without this engine. The three-cylinder concept, now almost synonymous with Triumph drives, only writes a short chapter in the company’s history since 1902. The first triplet was only created with the Trident in 1969. After the rebirth of Triumph in 1991, four-cylinder models should initially provide for quantities, while the three-cylinder models round off the range at the bottom. A misjudgment. Luckily. Because the intonation of the triumph trio is already inspiring. At that time like today. Hissing, rattling and with that typical high-frequency chirping undertone, the almost 20-year-old 885 trident also transforms every thrust into a sound experience.
Without the diet prescribed by today’s Euro norms, the Mikuni constant pressure carburettors always refill enough fuel and let the old propellant be drawn from the full from idle speed. The engine of the Triumph Speed Triple hangs neatly on the gas, convincing – probably thanks to the carburettor – with smooth transitions and minimal load changes. With this pressure, Stefan rarely has to step through the Triumph bike’s gearbox, which was basically hard to shift in the first few years, and can almost be beamed into the present from the powerful acceleration. Because in modern peripherals, this engine could still shine two decades later. Stefan knows that, will secretly laugh up his sleeve – and looks in the rearview mirror for Jurgen on the T 509.
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Honda CB 1000 R, MV Agusta Brutale 1090 RR ABS and Triumph Speed Triple R in the test
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Feels like an era between Cafe Racer-Speedy and T 509
With this model, the product planners virtually reinvented the Triumph Speed Triple in 1997. An original frame made of cast aluminum, injection, striking headlights, a massive single-sided swing arm – and a high handlebar. The turning point could not have been more dramatic. The Cafe Racer mutated into a new type of street fighter. That was not undisputed. The pre-production version still carried the low handlebars of the new Daytona. It was only when the dealers were pushing for a fun bike that the British rejected their concept. From today’s perspective, this is probably the starting signal for the success story of the Speed Triple.
Jurgen visibly enjoys the upright sitting position that was defined at the time, wagging relaxed and nimble through the alternating curves. Probably also because the frenzied candy weighs 219 kilograms and weighs an impressive 32 kilograms less on its ribs than its predecessor. Only the still somewhat rear-heavy weight distribution, the difficult-to-pull clutch and the tightly tuned shock absorber are vaguely reminiscent of the first Triumph Speed Triple. But the engine grabs more spontaneously. No wonder, Jurgen’s 2001 model already has the increased displacement in the year from 885 to 955 cm³ and has cured the teething troubles of the injection after the model change (rough response, high consumption, lack of power). Ultimately, there seems to be an entire era between the Cafe Racer-Speedy and the T 509. Visually even more. The two round chrome headlights in particular polarized. In the first driving report, MOTORRAD also did not know how to classify the lighting as “suspiciously looking like chopper accessories” from an aesthetic point of view. The fans do. Since it was launched, the portholes, which are fixed to a frame arm, have been the ultimate stylistic device of the Speed Triple series. The appearance in the Hollywood thrillers “Mission: Impossible 2” and “Matrix” should also have steered the taste of the masses in the desired direction.
2004: first victory in a naked bike group test
In any case, the Triumph Speed Triple was able to put itself in the limelight with confidence. Ultimately, the technicians fine-tuned their ducat donkey almost non-stop. The model boy received a general overhaul every three years. Sometimes more displacement, sometimes more power, sometimes both together. In 2004 she was acclaimed. At least with MOTORRAD. Seven years after the concept was restarted, the Englishwoman clinched her first victory in a naked bike group test – in front of the Honda Hornet 900. By the way: Of the former four-cylinder Triumph hopefuls, only two 600 models were still in the program at that time. At the end of the 2005 season, the company’s internal history ended completely. Two years later, in 2007, the Bonsai Speedy, the 675 Street Triple, celebrates its premiere. It will also advance to a successful model.
No more history lesson, because shortly before the end of the tour, the current Triumph Speed Triple wants to showcase itself. However, she did that in 2011. What a riot at their model presentation. Square lamps instead of round headlights, black instead of chrome, flying eyeballs, flying eyeballs instead of bulging eyes. Again discussions, again confused leafing through the style lexicon. And again the fans decide. Thumbs up, the 2011 edition has become the best-selling Speed Triple in its history. Despite or because of the lighting? No matter, in the end it is the technology that decides. Because with 135 hp it is the most powerful and with a 1435 millimeter wheelbase and 67 degree steering angle the handiest Triumph Speed Triple that has ever existed. With more front-oriented weight distribution and driver position, also the most aggressively designed. No wonder that the front wheel sticks into the inside curve and the duo sticks obtrusively to the rear wheel at the end of the curve. Who would have doubted that she is always the boss here with impressive steering precision and her extremely strong triplet? But despite the radical optics and enormous potency, ultimately even the youngest impresses with the finest manners, extraordinary technology and bewitching sound. Like the first Triumph Speed Triple 20 years ago. Happy birthday, Speedy!
Triumph Speed Triple 1994
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Pictures: 20 years of Triumph Speed Triple
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Stefan Weber, graphic designer at MOTORRAD and Speed Triple owner for 20 years.
T 300 B: With the premiere of the Speed Triple, Triumph closes the gap in the three-cylinder series between the good Trident and the sports car Daytona. The Triumph Speed Triple did not become a successful model until later.
- Engine taken from the Daytona 900 with only marginal changes
- The almost unchanged steel frame also comes from the Daytona
- 98 HP peak power
- 251 kilograms with a full tank
- takes over the six-speed gearbox of the Daytona 900 in model year 1995 (photo)
Stefan Weber, graphic designer at MOTORRAD and Speed Triple owner for 20 years: “Black is beautiful! The Speedy impressed me immediately. At that time there was nothing like it “.
Triumph Speed Triple 1997
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Pictures: 20 years of Triumph Speed Triple
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Jurgen Schnaller, Triumph dealer from Tyrol, first owner of the T 300 B and T 509 of this report.
T 509: Triumph started the success story of the Speed Triple with the 1997 Speedy (in the photo the conceptually similar 2001 model)
- Engine with 106 HP peak power
- Injection system
- new frame made of cast aluminum in double tube look (comes from the Daytona)
- 32 kilos lighter than its predecessor
- Premiere of the double headlights
Jurgen Schnaller, Triumph dealer from Tyrol, first owner of the T 300 B and T 509 of this report: “What if I had one more wish? Then please a Speed Triple motor in a Street Triple chassis “.
Triumph Speed Triple 2005
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Triumph Speed Triple 2005 model.
With the 2005 model, Triumph increased the displacement of the Speed Triple for the last time. With a 6.4 millimeter longer stroke, the displacement of the triple rose from 955 to 1050 cm³, the peak power from 120 to 130 hp. This model year also marked a further turning point in terms of style. The silencer, which was previously attached to the side, moved upwards, nestling tightly against the new stub rear as a double-pipe system. Both elements characterize the appearance of the Speedy to this day. The Streetfighter also got the upside-down fork (supplier: Showa) and the 190 rear tire (instead of the previous 180 tire) for the first time this model year.
Triumph Speed Triple 2011
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Pictures: 20 years of Triumph Speed Triple
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Peter Mayer, MOTORRAD editor.
T 515: The most recent update of the Triumph Speed Triple set a historic sales record. The appearance and character of the Speedy have been retained despite the new technology.
- Power increased to 135 hp
- New frame with more aggressive steering geometry
- For the first time balanced (50/50) instead of rear-heavy weight distribution
- changed headlights
Peter Mayer, MOTORRAD editor: “Great engine, striking look. Even after 20 years, the same applies to this street fighter: The Speed Triple never gets old. This is exactly how you cultivate a legend “.
Sales figures
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Triumph Speed Triple sales.
The start of sales (1) the Triumph Speed Triple was restrained in Germany. Not until the presentation of the T 509 in 1997 (2) brought the breakthrough. While the displacement increase to 955 cm³ in 1999 (3) clearly generated demand, conserved the 120 hp 2002 model (4) only the status quo at that time. The 2005 Speedy led the final rise (5) one. Their hype was only due to the latest model change (6) topped. However, the current figures prove that the next Triumph Speed Triple shouldn’t be long in coming.
Breutel
Stuart Wood, 50, Head of Model Planning and Electronics, has been with Triumph for 27 years and is involved in the development of the Speed Triple.
Can you be called the father of the Triumph Speed Triple?
No, the idea for the Speed Triple came about within the group. Somebody had the idea to combine the advantages of the naked Trident 900 with those of the sports model Daytona. That was the hour of birth of the Speed Triple.
How did the name Speed Triple come about??
A colleague from sales remembered the Triumph Speed Twin from the pre-war period and derived the name Speed Triple from it. With this name we also wanted to emphasize the three-cylinder concept. That was very important to us.
With the Speed Triple model from 1997, Triumph made a radical change in concept. The Speed Triple changed from a cafe racer to a street fighter. Why?
The concept wasn’t originally planned that way. The Speed Triple should again be a derivative of the new Daytona. With high footrests and clip-ons. It was only the reactions of the dealers that made us think about a tall handlebar.
Also about the distinctive headlights?
No, the two round headlights were already provided. Also their attachment directly to the frame. That wasn’t an optical gag. We wanted to load the steering with as little weight as possible.
With the Triumph Street Triple, the Speed Triple competition was created in-house. Why?
This development was logical. With the Daytona 675, we presented a mid-range super sports car in 2006 and transferred the Speed Triple recipe for success to this displacement category. But the conceptual differences are great. The Speed Triple stands for pure power and torque, the Street Triple for excellent handling and light weight.
Meanwhile, the market for the Speed Triple has become more difficult. Many manufacturers have power naked bikes in their product range. Speedy sales are falling. How will the Speed Triple develop in the future??
You have to understand that, of course, we cannot be specific here. But we won’t water down the character and look of the Speed Triple in the future either. Even after decades of further development, a Porsche still has its recognition value. That will also apply to the Speed Triple.
Triumph Tridays
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Picture gallery: The Triumph Tridays 2014 in Neukirchen (Newchurch).
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Pictures: 20 years of Triumph Speed Triple
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