Featured 2018 Speed Triple Rs – Ownership Thread

Here we go then...

Original Arrow cans and link pipe removed, together with the three hanger fixings. You can see the lower mounting bolt (the only support required for the new can).



There's a captive nut on the bracket of the old link pipe that needs recovering. After messing about for 5 mins, I worked out that you just have to bend the metal and bend it back.



AR link pipe and can simply slide on and attach to the lower mounting point. Once both the clamp and the bolt are tight, it moves away from the tyre (that worried me to start with) and doesn't budge a millimetre. The nut on the side is to accept the heat shield. It's an M6 nut, but the fixing on the heat shield is an M5 (I think...at least it's smaller).



I had to cut down a spare M8 bolt and drill out the spacer...but it's on.







I can finally see my carbon hugger. Clean lines (note the absent pillion pegs).



Baffle where it belongs.



AR sticker on the heat shield...haven't decided whether to keep it.



Next job. Start her up.

 

I think you might have

It's loud, but not as ridiculous as I'd thought. Quite low and rumbly with a fierce bark. She definitely hasn't lost her Speed Triple character. Baffle is out at the minute. Time will tell!

 

It looks like this...and yes there's a small bolt to secure it (although the bolt isn't in the photo). Rather neat I thought...but the sound without the baffle is phenomenal.

 

It's the 170mm - Titanium with black ceramic tip.

 

Bottom end torque - that I don't know until I get to ride it. Work will continue to get in the way of fun until at least the weekend.

There's loads of clearance between my heel (size 10 boots) and the can. With the ball of my foot on the peg, my heel is (unsurprisingly) by the heel guard, giving about 8 to 10cm of clearance. The pegs are positioned such that if you flat-foot, you're forced to slide your foot well forward, in which case there's even more clearance at the heel.

 

Here's that side view. It's not moved since yesterday (I'm desperate to get out and try it!). I did the ECU adaption thing and the idle is steady and she's sounding great

 

The big update is...I've actually ridden it now.

Baffle is out and it's loud...no argument, but it's not an annoying ear-splitting buzzy loud. I didn't use earplugs and survived and it didn't overwhelm me (like the AR on my son's MT-10 does). Closing the throttle makes a glorious boomy roar. I did some filtering and traffic made way

I think I need to get used to it, because there are two big differences. It feels as quick, but not as lively low down. Pulls like a train, but without an initial urgency, which might a placebo thing, combined with the fact that I can't hear the engine/induction anymore (which I believe is a shame). It also seems to decelerate quicker, which felt good.

The bigger difference is the handling. It's crazy different. Without the extra 7.5kg it obviously feels lighter and reacts way faster to direction changes. I definitely had to give it more input though - perhaps as it doesn't have the extra momentum behind it. Owners who have switched to Lowboys might be able to comment.

I visited Triumph to see what they thought...and there are NO concerns at all over fitting it. They advised letting it bed in (from both an ECU learning and a rider perspective). I asked about risks of running lean or rich, and they said it's not an issue - the ECU will learn and adjust. They did recommend getting a suspension tune, which makes sense. I feel that it's been approved

It changes the bike - better or worse depends on your view point and what you're looking for. All I can say is that it's very different and requires some time to adjust.

 

I'd glanced at AR's weight figures, so quite right to check it out...

The link pipe is 1.5kg, each can is 2.95kg, the brackets and bolts are 0.25kg, so that's a total of 7.65kg. The AR can and link pipe is 1.5kg, so we have a 6.15kg weight saving...except each pillion peg is 0.75kg, so the total reduction works out at 7.65kg.

Does that reduction at the rear affect the front suspension significantly (I weigh 75kg)? It certainly feels like it has. Either way, given that I now have questions over the handling, I've booked in for a suspension tune and maybe a dyno check at Race Engineering in Dunmow - seems like the right time to do it

 

It needs a PowerCommander of some sort. I wasn't planning on going that route, but it's surely a good idea to get it checked out...and I can make a plan from there.