Featured 2018 Speed Triple Rs – Ownership Thread

I wanted to keep an ownership thread going, but the downside is that it's become somewhat lengthy.

Collection day...

The waiting is finally over and I'm very pleased to introduce you to my new Speed Triple RS

She only arrived at Jack Lilley (Romford) on Wednesday and they had her ready for today, which I have to say was exceptional service on their part. They've fitted a quick shifter (shift assist), alarm and a tank pad, and I opted for the carbon tank sides and slimline indicators to fit myself.

I have a further stash of goodies retrieved from my old R to fit over the next couple of days, including carbon tail, hugger, chain guard and heat shield, billet brake reservoirs, crash sliders, engine sliders and axle protectors, rad and oil guards and a tail tidy. This work is now in progress (including an ACF-50 frenzy)...as evidenced in my last pic below

I didn't attempt any heroics on the way home and kept to the 3,500 rpm limit that's advised for the first 100 miles. It was damp and the tyres are obviously new. The engine is MUCH smoother though and whizzes up the rev range in a flash. Exhaust sound is lively but not loud and doesn't drown out the engine and induction sound.

It takes a short while to suss out how to navigate around the info options on the display, but it's super clear and looks amazing. You can lock it on the white background setting, but the dark setting is 'auto' and it appears to switch back to white when it wants (I found that strange). I mistook the indicator switch for the menu joystick a couple of times - and also found out that it has self cancelling indicators (and a short press for three flashes setting too).

I'll post up any notable technical tips as I discover them, but there are a couple of items worth a mention:

The Evotech tail tidy fits fine with the arrow cans (the dealer cast some doubt on this, saying they had had a problem with the R&G version because the subframe had some differences).

The old Arrow cans DO NOT fit (I was going to try my no baffles version) - this is because the link pipe is 2 or 3" too short where the single pipe mates to the cat. There's an extra* exhaust mount down there too - you can see it in my stripped down pic (just below the brake pedal).

Edit: It's not actually 'extra' - the 2016 bike's cat exit pipe would have mounted to this support, where for 2018, the link pipe mounts to it.

To sum up, I'm absolutely delighted with the crystal white finish - it really is a stunning bike

 

I thought I’d save that for when I can use a few more revs and get out onto an open road...plus with all the other distractions...I forgot it was fitted :-/

 

Just try not liking it

It feels a major step up - a combination of many subtle (and a few not so subtle) changes that make it feel way more premium - even compared to my old 2016 R. I can't say about the riding yet as I made a beeline home before the rain set in...and now she's in bits.

The only issue that I've encountered so far, is that the link pipe is longer and the header/cat pipe is shorter - I guess if you were replacing from the headers back, then that's not a problem, although the mounting points may well be different (as I explained in my OP).

The majority of the carbon bits appear to be the same, with the exception of anything like the instrument surround. All my bits have offered up OK, but I'm yet to fit them back - so I'll post up if there are any problems over the next two days.

 

I'm working on the beautifying bit at the moment...actually riding will happen in the very near future and I'll try and get a sound clip sorted.

 

Give it a couple of months and I'm sure there will be some interesting developments. I'm not planning to go that route...yet

 

So far, the only downside of white, is that it causes havoc with my iPhone camera exposure...need to compensate for that in future

It even feels a considerable upgrade over the 2016. It will be interesting to hear your opinion (and others) once these bikes really start to hit the streets. I've really not even riden mine yet!

Just a thought, there doesn't seem to be much said about the S - no pictures or comments that I've seen. There were three RS versions ready for handover at Jack Lilley - perhaps it's being seen as worth the extra outlay.

 

This is the only negative that I've found so far.

The 2016 had very little storage space, but I could slide some tools, a puncture repair kit and some visor spray, forward so they ended up under the rider seat. That left space for a disk lock in the main compartment.

With the new USB socket, that area is now blocked off by a metal 'bulkhead' leaving very little space. The old toolkit is gone, with the essential items (including useless C-Spanner for chain tension) pressed into clips (as you can see).

I'll get over it, but it's not very practical