This brute beaut grows on you. The twin headlamp design is a design classic too. It can perform like an R1 or Ninja ZX-10R, but still maintains its street credentials. It was one one of the first bikes under the category of "street fighters", which basically are super sport machines stripped of their expensive fairings and clip-on handlebars in favor of a lighter weight and gut wrenching acceleration on the streets. Triumph, the maker of the Rocket III, maintains that this has been one of their most successful models. The streetfighter category now has new entrants like the Ducati Streetfighter, which has created reputation for itself with a great engine and design and chassis to match. It inspired a smaller sibling in the Triumph Street Triple, which also shares its triple-cylinder engine with Daytona 675. Triumph also manufactures the legendary Bonneville.
The Triumph Speed Triple is a series of motorcycles produced by Triumph Motorcycles. In 1994 the reborn Triumph became one of the earliest adopters of the new streetfighter style. This was essentially a modern sport bike or race replica motorcycle but without the aerodynamic plastic fairing. As one of the pioneers of the factory produced Streetfighter and through continued production of quality machines, Triumph has maintained an advantage in this market. It competes with the Ducati Streetfighter, the Aprillia Tuono and the MV Agusta Brutale.
Origins
Early bikes
The new bike was first released to the public in 1994, and in a nod to the historic Speed Twin was dubbed the "Speed Triple". The original 1938 Speed Twin was powered by a 498 cc vertical twin cylinder engine, and was considered a high performance machine in its day. The new Speed Triple was based on the new Triumph Triple series of modular engines, which also powered the standard Trident, Daytona sport bike, and the Thunderbird retro bike. This engine came in two displacements as a triple; 750 cc for some European markets, and 885 cc for all other markets. The Speed Triple originally was equipped only with the 885 cc engine, but just before significant changes to the bike were made in 1997 a very few 750 machines were produced using leftover Euro specification engines.
Early Speed Triples were all carbureted, and were designated T300 series bikes (Technically, T309). 1994/1995 models came with the standard 885 cc water-cooled engine and a rugged five-speed transmission. Subsequent Speed Triples all had the same engine with six speed transmissions, except for the brief run of 750 cc bikes. As with all the modular Triumphs, the T309 series Speed Triple had a very large single steel tube backbone frame, and used the engine as a stressed member. Front and rear suspension were fully adjustable, and were made by Showa. At the rear was a single monoshock with a progressive linkage, and at the front were standard hydraulic forks fitted with dual disk brakes.
Racing
In 1994 Triumph Motorcycles sponsored a racing series with the intention of spotlighting its new image. Dubbed "The Speed Triple Challenge", it was similar to IROC in that all the competitors rode identical Speed Triple motorcycles. This made up for the fact that in factory trim the Speed Triple wasn't a competitive machine in normal racing circles.
On the other hand, a few privateers had some success on highly modified bikes based on the Triumph Triple engine, often using Spondon chassis. Some modified Speed Triples also were observed racing in B.E.A.R.S. (British European American Racing Series, now part of AHMRA).
Legacy
The final T309 Speed Triple was built in 1996. The newly introduced T595 Daytona was supplied with fuel injection, and the 955 cc engine. The 1997 T509 received the frame, brakes and design of the new Daytona 595, but came with an 885 cc injected engine for '97 and '98. The remainder of the range including the Tbird, Legend, the Adventurer, the Thunderbird Sport, the Tiger, and the 900 trophy retained the carbureted 885 cc engine.
Generations
T509
Following the end of the T309 run of Speed Triples, Triumph released the first of its new generation of fuel injected sportbikes, the T509 Speed Triple. The new bike was a total redesign of the basic concept, and did away with many of the shortcomings of the earlier series. While the all new engine still displaced 885 cc, it now produced a claimed 108 hp (81 kW) and was fitted with an engine management system by SAGEM, a French company that built fuel injection systems for automobiles. Surrounding the new engine was an all new aluminium perimeter chassis, and a single sided swingarm. These two new features combined with upgraded suspension components made the new Speed Triple a vast improvement over its older sibling in terms of handling.
The restyling by designers John Mockett and Rod Scivyer saw the introduction of the twin "Bug Eye" headlamps which are a Triumph trademark to this day. When introduced in 1997 the T509 had a polished frame. It also had low mount clip-ons. To improve rider comfort and low speed handling, a regular handlebar was fitted from 1998.
T595
When the 1997 T509 Speed Triple received the 885 cc Fuel Injection engine, the Daytona received an upgraded 955 cc engine producing 130 hp (97 kW) at the crankshaft. For 1999 the new Speed Triple was officially upgraded to T595 status and also received the bigger engine. Due to tuning differences it did not make as much power as its fully faired contemporary, but it did have a substantially broader torque curve than its T509 predecessor.
Cosmetically the T509 and the 1999 T595 Speed Triples were nearly identical, and they shared many of the same components including the dual headlamps and single sided swing arm. Small fairings referred to as "Bikini Fairings" were popular on these bikes, as well as other aftermarket accessories that wouldn't normally be of use to a fully faired sport bike.
955i
For the years 2000 and 2001 the Speed Triple changed little other than cosmetically. Restyled by designer Gareth Davies, both the Speed Triple and the Daytona came to be referred to as 955i bikes (the Daytona adopting the 955i designation in 1999), which ended some confusion from the earlier T500 series designations. Officially they were still called T595 series, but 955i was clearly displayed on the bodywork.
In 2002, the 432 lb (196 kg) was reduced by a change to the engine casings of the 955i engine that decreased weight by roughly 17 pounds and the power was slightly increased.
In late 2004, a small number of Special Edition Speed Triples (Speed Triple SE) were produced. The primary difference with this new model was an all black paint scheme, including frame, wheels, bodywork, and most engine parts. It was a prelude to the new model due to arrive in 2005.
1050 and beyond
In 2005, Triumph released its fourth generation Speed Triple. While this was not a redesign of the scale of the T509, there were many changes to the bike. The engine was still the venerable and reliable fuel-injected engine used since 1997, but it had been increased in capacity to 1,050 cc. This was accomplished by lengthening the stroke. Also fitted was an all new fuel injection and engine management system made by the Japanese company Keihin. Other engine modifications resulted in a claimed 129 hp (96 kW) and a broader, flatter torque curve.
Other improvements included inverted forks, radial disc brake calipers and a redesigned electronic gauge cluster which included a trip computer. Handling was once again improved.
2011 model
In October 2010, Motor Cycle News published details and a test-ride of a new Speed Triple for 2011. The engine is a tweaked 1050 motor, now yielding 133 bhp (99 kW) and 82 pound-feet (111 N·m) of torque.
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