New Speed Triple For 2018?

Out today
£13250 RS
£11350 S

 

Sadly, it's an optional extra. The RS has heated grips as standard though....

 

TC and I have been e-mailed by our local dealer, who was it the dealer / press launch in Spain. Prices aren't officially published until the 26th

 

I had a long gander at the RS at ExCeL last week and where there are positive improvements, there are also some 'sneaky' changes to go with them.

I didn't like the Matt Jet Black as I thought I would - of course this is down to personal preference, and after a quick phone call while at the show, I've switched my RS order to Crystal White. I think the overall finish will look nicer, it will be great to polish up, and I like the way the belly pan stands out and frames the shape of the bike.

So we believe the price of the RS is £13,250, but there are a few things that will cost me some more.

They've downgraded the slimline indicators - they're still LED, but chubby plastic ones - just under £150 to upgrade.

The tank side trims are now plastic instead of carbon - £250 from Triumph, or around £100 from your preferred alternative source.

The Arrow cans have non-removable baffles and there's no screw to undo or weld to break - we know that it has to be like that if they're to sell them as factory standard. The 1 into 2 link pipe is the standard version too (not the higher quality Arrow pipe with neater welds and a smoother finish that comes with the current aftermarket version). There's an ugly clamp behind that carbon heat shield and from a cleaning perspective (important to me at least!), the smooth lines have gone. It looks like this:



I plan to fit my existing 'ROW' Arrows with no baffles - which I expect will sound AMAZING.

The handlebar clamp is no longer the beautifully finished milled version used on the current R. It's nice enough, but the quality isn't the same. There's also a plastic cover where the key barrel would have been (begging for some carbon) and the very nice TFT display has a plastic shroud that sticks out above the fly screen - also begging for some carbon.

What else? The wheel design is nice, but they're gloss black and don't look as well finished as the outgoing versions (not as sharp edged, if you get my meaning). They will be fine.

The levers are much better - the brake lever is a Brembo MCS 19.21 which is adjustable for reach and modulation (lever ratio 19mm 20mm or 21mm - hence the name). The clutch lever is a matching Brembo too. Are these any good? I don't know.

Of course we're gaining TFT and keyless start and locking - and I'm guessing that the engine revisions will wow the pants of me. The Configurator goes live on the Triumph website on Monday, so that will be interesting - you can already filter on the S and RS if you browse accessories, but I'm not sure how reliable that is.

Just trying to provide some balanced information (and I'm still very excited)

 

More or less confirmed a deal on the RS at the dealers (Bulldogs) tonight.
Don't really like white, but it's better than the matt black option...

 

I'm with you - white wouldn't be my first choice, but compared to the black, it looks a better finished option. I prefer the black on white decals and lettering to the silver on black too

 

BLACK every time
White??? Same colour as a snowflake

 

Snowflake or soot? Decisions, decisions

 

it's a shame they have done away with the red sub frame as for the Matt black if you polish it it becomes a cross between Matt and Gloss,quite cool IMO

 

I really like my matt graphite R - it's a resilient finish and easy to look after, compared with matt black. The sparkle in the white isn't that visible in most outdoor lighting conditions, but it does make for a deep wet gloss that looks great.

As far as the red subframe goes, it's fabulous with grey or black, but I honestly prefer the monochrome look with the white paintwork.

Can you imagine how hard it is for Triumph to please everybody

 

With both the S and the RS being only available in black or white, they aren't exactly pushing the boat out when it comes to colours.....

 

To the best of my knowledge, black and white aren't even classed as colours

Even the red subframe is gone. They must have run out of pigment in the factory.

 

You can bet there'll be "new" versions out next year with different colours.

 

I too would not normally order a white bike. But like the flat black even less. I suspect I'll factoring the cost of custom paint in over the winter.
Don't worry about the standard Arrow cans, they sound fantastic

 

The white is definitely growing on me - and as for the exhaust, well I'm still of a mind to switch to the original Arrow cans as it sounds feisty but raspy in the clip above. Zero baffles should produce something altogether deeper and more sonorous I reckon.

The configurator is live on the website, but they've priced the front LED indicators at £0 (so two sets of those for me ) and there's an option to have an extra seat cowl to go with the standard one. Triumph had one job

I wonder what happens if you need a standard passenger seat - even if it's just for strapping a bag on the back? Perhaps it's worth keeping my old seat and selling the R with the cowl

 

There’s always a way

 

Don’t know if any other mags have a test lined up yet but Bike mag is listing one in the issue out 28th March.

 

There's a few review videos out now.

 

Love my 2016 R and prolly the biggest Triumph fan alive and was looking forward to exchanging it next year for the 'new' Speedy....BUT.....am I the only one here who mourns the passing of the R with red subframe and GOLD Ohlins?....why no R model a'la Street Triple line up?...and really WTF are those stripes doing?...they look tacky on the Street but just plain daft on the grown up Speedy ...wonder if I speak nicely to Triumph they will omit the bl88dy contemporary graphics and supply a nice plain white one?

 

The stripes are ones of the reasons I'm going for the white, better than the bland white S, admittedly only just.....
Triumph do some nice colours (my favourite is the dark burgundy red on the Bobber and the first T120's, but really bland paint schemes.
Still surprised that the Speed is only available in Black or White for both the S and RS, no imagination at all involved in the paint schemes !

 

It's all about marketing, they can sell bikes this year on the strength of the new mods and people will buy even if they're not totally sold on the colours.
Next year when interest has waned they'll revive a bit more interest with some new colours and may be a different graphic or some other insignificant change, just so they can publicise a "new" model.

(@Rob so this is a UK based forum - why do we have an annoying USA based spell checker?)
The Campaign for Propa English