Page 19 - Motorcycle Trader (February 2020)
P. 19

2020 versions back to back, I do believe                                              quickshifter, but Triumph notes that it
          there has been a slight improvement                                                   hasn’t been designed for low-speed riding
          overall, and one that most riders will                                                without sufficient throttle input. So, if
          appreciate. Basically, Triumph has                                                    you’re leisurely ducking down to the shop
          shortened the ratios of first and second in                                           and you pop up a gear, the mechanism
          response to feedback that they were too tall,                                         will probably feel clunky. You’ll be better
          especially for typical road riding, where                                             off using the clutch in those situations,
          some riders might chug through tighter,                                               which is not such a bad thing. I used the
          lower-speed corners (or in traffic).                                                  clutch for most of our test, on the road
            The difference in take-off acceleration                                             and the track, and I felt no fear of missing
          with the shorter gearing is noticeable and                                            out. The slipper clutch works well to stop
          complements the engine changes well. But                                              rear-wheel hop. At least once after coming
          through some of the tighter corners, on                                               down the long straight of Queensland’s
          the road and track, I preferred the taller                                            Lakeside Raceway, as I popped down a
          gearing, which was slightly more forgiving                                            gear, trying to shed speed for a turn, I
          of poor throttle control without sacrificing                                          neglected to let the clutch fully out before
          too much exit speed. I also appreciated                                               tipping the bike in. On lesser bikes, this
          that there was less of a ‘jump’ down from                                             could have resulted in an ambulance ride.
          third gear, especially because the head                                               The clutch lever action is also very light,
          shakes a bit at high revs. That’s a personal                                          which will be especially appreciated
          preference, though.                                                                   by those who brave the daily stop-start
            Some better news for track goers is that                                            commute when they’re not at the track.
          the RS’s quickshifter has been upgraded to                                               Another significant change to the gearbox
          include both up and downshifts. That’s a                                              is that the anti-backlash gears have been
          big win because not even the 1050cc 2019                     BELOW Apart from the     removed, both on the back of the clutch
          Speed Triple RS came with a quickshifter as                  more satanic sound,      basket and on the balance shaft. That,
          standard (it’s a $553 option). Now we have it                 the main ‘spot the      according to Cliff, has been achieved with
                                                                         difference’ are
          on a 765 as standard.                                          the headlights’        higher precision machining, without a
            I didn’t have any complaints about the                    furrowed brows. Grrr!     noticeable increase in noise or friction.






























































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