Page 16 - Motorcycle Trader (February 2020)

R I U M P
T H
Street LAUNCH Triple RS
REPORT

ave you ever done something so
well that you wonder what you
can possibly improve? No, neither
have I. But this kind of situation
Hcould’ve been very real for the
Triumph engineers who sat down to develop
the 2020 Street Triple RS.
The problem is, the 2019 RS is very hard
to fault. Since it was launched as an all-
new model in 2018, it’s proven to be a light,
balanced and competent street bike like
its predecessors, but with a larger 765cc
Moto2-developed engine and a new-found
level of specification, fit and finish. For
those reasons and more, the RS has quickly
become the middleweight of choice for
anyone who wanted a naked bike that can
more than hold its own on the track, Cam,
Charris and yours truly included.
So where do you go from there? More
importantly, how do you not stuff it up?
Triumph’s answer has been to leave what
we love most about the 2019 Street Triple
RS while making a series of shrewd but
significant changes, most of which fix
imperfections I wasn’t even aware of until
I rode the old and new bikes back to back. You’ll now be able
Namely, it has held the RS truer to its ‘Street’ to get more from the
roots, with more torque, more mid-range
power and a refined gearbox. However, not engine more often
to disappoint the track enthusiasts, the
RS gets a two-way quickshifter as well as
some significant tech upgrades. The result
is a bike that’s better on the street and
track, with very few compromises made in
between. Did we mention the $18,050 (plus
on-road costs) price tag hasn’t increased?
If that’s beyond your budget then you can
wait for the mid-spec Street Triple R (last
priced from $15,850), which is expected to
return to fill the gap between the LAMS-
approved Street Triple 660 S (from $13,175)
and feature-packed RS flagship as sampled
here (the entry-level 765 S of 2019 has been
discontinued).

ENGINE & EXHAUST
So what exactly do you get for the
same money? For a start, you get a Euro
5-compliant engine that responds to
feedback that the outgoing RS was slightly
too track-focussed. In other words, if you’re
the average RS rider - someone who does
the occasional track day but still spends
most of his time on the road - you’ll now be
able to get more from the engine more often.

16 MOTORCYCLE TRADER