Context : I live in India , my roads aren't the best , I find myself hitting random potholes and crazy unmarked bumps on the road all the time to a point where on two of my previous bikes I had to get the suspension changed . It is a little bit of a nightmare . Question : With reliability and longevity in mind , does more expensive mean better ? I am planning on getting the Triumph Street Triple RS which has the Ohlins . Instead I'm asking if I should consider getting the R instead just because of the beating the suspension will have to endure on a daily because of the poor condition of the roads . Ideally the plan is to hold onto the Street Triple for a long time . Honestly , 1. I'm not really worried about about a worse riding experience for me with the RS(I can live with it gladly) . I look forward to riding the bike to its truest potential in those certain roads where that is possible . Here , I don't want to buy the R and have to compromise on that . 2. What saddens me more is the unnecessary beating the bike will have to endure because of bad infrastructure . (Planning on having the RS as my daily ) . Everytime it hits a random pothole it destroys me. So , should i go for the R or the RS purely based on how much better the suspension is in terms of how much more of a beating it can endure for the longest . I know , not the most ideal of scenarios , but it is what is . I still want to ride , and I still want the Street Triple . Cheers guys . Looking to hear back from you .
Based only on my experience with the 2012 Speed Triple R with Ohlins suspension, for India or anywhere else where the roads are bad I'd go with the "lesser" Showa suspension. That's only because the Ohlins suspension on my bike is almost too stiff even for the roads here in the USA. When getting it rebuilt I'll specify softer springs and lower range of dampening. Again based only on my experience, manufacturers tend to spec a softer and more compliant suspension as they go down from the top end models, which is probably better for rough roads. That said the Ohlins suspension will certainly be rebuildable, so in the long run it may be less expensive. I don't know if the Showas are rebuildable.
Thank you . It does make sense . But its a hard trade off because I want to be able to extract the most out of the street triple and i wonder if the Ohlins makes a significant difference . We do have some amazing roads , but potholes are more common .
Hey! Im from goa India! I have the EXACT same thought process as you, i was checking all your posts and it helped me get some info too! did you happen to get the bike? or are you still in the decision phase? my main worry is the fuel situation... compression ratio of 13 usually needs high octane 91+ fuel and our regular is 87 octane.. anyidea on that? I am thinking ill book the bike sometime next week after trying the daytona 660 and tiger 900. but i know ill definitely go with the tripple rs
