welcome to all of our 1000ps fans from valencia in spain where triumph is presenting their brandnew street twin. i already made a test run with it and for the first time ever, i got slightly injured while doing it. i slightly ran into another driver or rather his motorcycle with roundabout 25mph+ while i played with the clutch. the lever was mounted a bit too far up and i always seemed to be getting at the button for the upper beam headlights which irritated me. one would usually stop in that case to ask the mechanic if he could adjust the lever position .. i didn't and kept playing with it. as i looked up, everyone else was driving at half of my speed . so i touched the other driver's exhaust and its mounting bracket fell off. my left footpeg was bent and my toes were in between.. i feel accordingly. but i will bite through it and tell you how i felt driving the street twin. it's a funny story, at least for me.
when i packed my stuff for this test drive, i found this - a 2008 model catalog from triumph. seven years went by since then. i took a look into it. there's also a pricing list for austria inside. fourteen models in total. rocket 3, three classic models, three touring models, sprint, sprint st and of course the usual suspects: thruxton, three different versions of the bonneville and the scrambler. while i was flipping through the catalog, i thought to myself: not much has changed at triumph during the last 7 years. and i was happy about it because that is a sign for me that a brand stays true to itself, that it keeps on refining the tried and tested models and that it has a certain heritage it can be proud of. i particularily like when you stick to your models and your history, hone them and keep trying to transform all of that into modern age. that's exactly what they tried with the street twin.
regarding the bonneville's history: the street twin is part of the bonneville product range with a total of five models. two bonnevilles, t120 and the t120 black, a thruxton and a sportier thruxton r - everyone of them with a new 1200ccm engine. we will drive those models next year. and now the street twin which is powered by a 900 ccm parallel-twin that has - now comes a shocker - "only" 55 horsepower. triumph didn't hold their presentation until half of the test runs were done. they made us guess how many hp the engine has. our guesses were far too high. the bottom line is, naturally, the torque. it already has 80 nm torque at 3000 rpm. between 2500 and 4000rpm it has a rich power which really amazed me. it's a real pleasure bike.
triumph aimed for that golden middle to have this nice pressure. it's not a punch, it really is pleasant pressure coming from this engine. in my opinion, they truly succeded with that. the bike is a lot of fun and suitable for daily use while being well ridable at the same time. the bike is very well-rounded. a few other facts from the bonneville's modern age history: in the year 2000, the bonneville was presented with a 790 ccm engine. in 2006, it followed a version with a bigger 865 ccm engine. in 2008, they put the fuel injection into it. in 2009, they added cast iron rims which didn't appeal to everybody. finally, in 2014, they added special versions like the newchurch. and now, they revised the complete bonneville product line and added the street twin. the street twin has a 900 ccm engine - i just told you the performance specs.
the chassis has been revised completely. it has better ergonomics. the footpegs are surprisingly far at the back - you have to tilt your feet a bit. you have to mind not putting your boots too far out. they will otherwise touch the ground in tighter turns. however, the cornering clearance is decent, not a problem at all. unfortunately, i myself with my bent footpegs reached the ground more times than i'd like to admit. that souldn't be happening with normal, unbent footpegs ;) regarding the subjects ergonometry and comfort, i always like to get a second opinion. this time by jens from our sister magazine "motorrad". hi jens! jens: hi there!
k.ot: when we do bike reviews, we always seem to get the question: "is that a bike for taller people?" it comes from persons who are taller than 6ft2 or 8ft like yourself. and this right here is a relatively small bike with a low seat height. how has the bike been treating you yesterday? jens: i have to say that i was a bit scared when i first heard of a seat height of 2.5ft in press releases.. phew.. this will be tight! i personally don't have a problem getting with my feet on the ground, so that's rather negligible for me. nonetheless, triumph made a good job. the biggest question is always: where do i put all my limbs without bumping into certain bike parts while driving? in this case, they put tank bulges on both sides which leave enough space for your kness. although we have an accesscory bench mounted right here, you are able to move back and forth without a problem. so you're quite variable in terms of seating position. that means that you have a lot of room to adjust your position until it's perfect.
i was surprised how well this works altough i'm 6ft5 and not exactly 8ft tall... it really is great! overall, the triangle of footpegs, bench and handlebars was ideal. at least for what we did yesterday, what was casual country road cruising. if you're driving on the highway, which should not be the primary use of this bike, it might begin to ache a little bit in the knees after an hour or so. but for cruising, the bike suits just fine. k.ot: my knee pits started to hurt a bit which perhaps was a result of my little accident. jens: who knows! k.ot: were you satisfied with the driving dynamics and the engine? jens: i was very impressed by it. of course, we heard that it only has 55hp which is a downgrade from the older versions. we all expected an upgrade, especially since it has watercooling now.
but the engine tuning with more torque, a cooler mid-torque segment really left a positive impression. you don't have to open the throttle all the way up to ride at ease. but you still have the possibility to do so if you want to go fast. overall, i'm just very satisfied with all this power. k.ot: i was totally pleased by the engine with its strong middle segment and i never even went into the limiter. i never got tempted to do so. last question: which of those models do you like the most? jens: hmm.. uhm.. of course, if you look at the highly positioned exhaust, which, unfortunately, is the only unhomologated one of the bunch, because they couldn't fit the cat.. .. then it seems to be the most fashionable version of the bike. it just stands out. when you image some knobby tires on it, it just comes across very cool. unforunately, it won't be as cool as it could be, if you want to be on the road with a legal exhaust. k.ot: we definitely share the same opinion on that! i also really dig knobbed tires which give the bike that perfect scrambler look.
thanks a lot, jens! jens: you're welcome! k.ot: i hope we can meet at further presentations in 2016 and i wish you a merry christmas. jens: thanks, likewise. all the best! the seat really adds to the ergonometry. it's positioned at a height of 2,5ft. you almost have like a cruiser feeling with it. right until 5,5ft, you have a very safe stand. from 6ft upwards, it begins to feel like sitting on a couch. it's very enjoyable. the seat was bolstered up by 25% and the range of spring was raised up by 20%. what other conveniences do we have? i mentioned the clutch lever i played with earlier in this video.
a very pleasant surprise: you can adjust both levers. the clutch lever in four different positions and the brake lever in even five positions. adjustments should be done before driving the bike or if you need to do it while driving, just stop and adjust it then ;) i will probably keep that in mind from now on.. what else do we have.. the mirrors! interestingly enough, they have the same length as the handlebars. they don't overlap. quite practical for driving in the city when you want to filter. in case you're allowed to do that.. yet, you have a good view on everything. its design is relatively simple. it has round mirrors. the handle itself is coated in black and this seems to be satined in aluminium. it's a nice detail. they're are many other beautiful details. the bench has the triumph logo stamped in. the same on the handlebar bridge. the headlight sports the triumph "t" in it.
as you can see, there are a lot of beautiful details that triumph came up with. the overall impression in terms of build quality is very high. of course, they put in some plastic parts as well. for example the fenders or other covers which you can replace with special metal parts. fortunately, those parts don't attract much attention. nothing seems or stands out as cheap. it's just plastic and not metal. it doesn't disturb the overall appearance because the important details like the headlights montur are solid. triumph knew exactly where to put the parts. i really like it. my overall impression is that its appearance is kept quite simple. that's the reason why there will be a huge array of accessories. that's what i presented in another video with the three inspiration kits scrambler, brat tracker and urban with a vast variety of exhaust systems from vance & hines. there's only one downer: the most beautiful und coolest exhaust available, is the only one which is not permitted..
that's just how it is without a cat. there are some other modern and comfortable feautures like a board computer which shows me useful data like driven miles, daily miles or miles per gallon. i don't know if that will switch to litres and km in the european countries. but i think so. the speedometer also shows mph and km only smaller. i'm also able to modify the traction control. abs and traction control. you can modifiy it within a second which is great. i don't have to hold the i-button for like five seconds or so. i just push a button, select it and it will switch immediately. in like one or two seconds, it's done. we had great weather conditions today. i only saw the traction control light blinking while driving in the gravel. i wouldn't have seen it otherwise. it really has rich torque but i wouldn't need traction control except for wet streets or gravel. we also have a usb port and ride-by-wire. the throttle response is outstanding.
if you ride at low revs or under 2000 rpm, there is a slight stumble. you shouldn't drive that way anyways... the clutch is handled effortlessly. it's being mechanically supported. i could drive like that a whole week with no rest. i usually not able to do that. the joint and the sinew in my hand often start to ache after a day on the race track. i'm quite sensitive, you know.. this one here goes effortlessly which is very important for me. anything else is just unnecessary by today's standards. the sound is rich, just like the torque. i was at the presentation in london and there i wasn't that excited. but all the bikes there were running at the same time and it was a big hall with lots of people. today, when several street twins were running at the same time, they made a very enjoyable sound. just like the exhaust's optics, the sound is very nice. you don't have to replace it and you will still have a decent exhaust all around which is very rare and special thing.
that should not be taken for granted, especially in euro 4 times. we also have a led taillight which is a red circle. the whole body will light up when you brake. it's a little gimmick but your bike will be recognised as a street twin immediately. it's a five speed transmission and is very accurate. i didn't have any problems today although i tend to be a little sloppy with my shifting. every gear was on spot. the engine is watercooled. all those changes on the engine, which by the way don't leave a negative optical impression, were very well made. it still looks outstanding, very classy and clean. all that led to the fact that the engine's fuel consumption was reduced by 36%. my brain wasn't completely able to understand that.. we converted the fuel consumption from miles per gallon to km per litre and couldn't believe our eyes. we were under 4 litres per 100 km (~1 gallon).
as you can imagine, we don't ride that slow during these events and we often drive while capturing some camera footage. so we often start the engine and accelerate very quickly. we drive quick turns, sometimes on the highway etc. i have to say, if it still is unter 4 litres when i'm testing it at home, it would be sensational. unbelievable.. such a classy, beautiful iron with such a power, so homogenous and with such a low fuel consumption.. that really is a sensation. now to some other technical data we received today: the wheelbase is at 56.6 inches. the dry weight is at 436 lbs, fuelly fueled and with all the liquids, it weighs 480 lbs. the weight is enjoyable but you can feel it a bit while standing. the front part of the bike is a bit stiff so it's not a hyperagile bike. but it's still very manageable. just like the engine is very homogenous, the handling is as well. it has a smaller fuel tank, only 12 litres. but i guess that won't be a problem with that fuel consumption.
the brakes also made a very positive impression. according to triumph, they have a braking distance of 120 ft, stopping from 62 mph. that is a top performance for a triumph. the balance between front and back axle must be really good. unfortunately, i don't have the braking mass as of yet and i don't know what this is - a 300 brake disc perhaps. while not being overly equipped brake-wise, that's a sensational performance. that's what i also felt while driving today. i don't have anything to complain about. the tires are form pirelli, it's the pirelli phantom to be exact which has a newly designed tread and allegedly performs better. the back tire has the measurements 150, 70, 17. i also have to look for the front tire. it's an 18 inch. it has the measurements 190 and 18.
the rims are 10-spoke and iron cast. there are also quite classy spoke wheels available that i wanted to capture on camera for you but i didn't find one. those would be my first choice. like i said earlier on, there is a wide range of accessories for this bike which can be installed right at your dealer. starting points are the three inspiration kits that i presented to you in the other video. they always come with five of those accessories but many more can be installed afterwards. i like this idea because the costs can be kept low with the inspiration kits. i already have the prices for the kits for germany and austria: the urban kit costs 1.500 euros, the brat tracker 1.730 euros and the scrambler 2.390 euros. that's not really cheap, of course. but it's alright if you compare the prices to other companies offering comparable stuff.
you get premium parts. for example the vance and hince exhaust systems, led indicators and this beautiful bench seat. i think it's worth the money, at least for me. you have to modify and personalize this kind of motorcycle altough it already looks good in its basic form. it's available in five different colors, three of them are black. there is also red and silver which i especially like with its special logo. its a topnotch new member of the triumph family. my first thought was: the 1200 ccm models will thrive and, well, the 900 ccm will be a rather meagre entry. but it's exactly the opposite: it's a lush iron, just as i like it and it gives you freedom for individual customising. well, we're at the end of the video and taking a look at the year 2008 and this catalog again. a lot of people complain about too little changes with some brands. it often seems that way at first glance. but when looking at models like the bonneville, you can see major changes or even milestones over the years.
i think you can really call this motorcycle a milestone again and i'm looking forward to the 1200 ccm models thruxton and bonneville. coming from this, their performance must be unbelievable and i'm happy when i can test them in the beginnig of next year. i will enjoy the rest of the evening in valencia now. thanks for watching and please give me a thumbs up if you liked it! you might as well subscribe to our channel, watch some of our other videos and leave a comment. thank you very much and see you soon!
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