First impressions

Finally picked up my new Speed Twin earlier this week. After 100 miles or so I can say it is comfortable, predictable, fast, loads of torque and engaging. Still running in so more performance to come.... far fewer vibes than the 961 and a lot less noise in the clutch area, but similar performance from both- I do have to recognise the 300 cc advantage and the water cooled system but it leaves you wondering if the 961 could match it by a little refinement - however, we have all grown to love the peculiarity of our Nortons and wouldn’t want too many changes!
I am wondering what the mirrors from the speed twin would look like on the Norton....

Eljahara said:

I am wondering what the mirrors from the speed twin would look like on the Norton....

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Blurred.

I suspect that when it’s run in, and you start exploring the upper rev ranges, you may revise that ‘similar performance’ assessment ...

Fast Eddie said:

I suspect that when it’s run in, and you start exploring the upper rev ranges, you may revise that ‘similar performance’ assessment ...

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You are probably right, on the odd occasion I have ‘forgotten’ to keep to 4000 rpm it has kicked me in the arse...

That is a beauty John !!! .... glad to hear you like the ride .... quite expensive here in Canada .... I am curious about the service schedule and was wondering if you had read manual yet .... mostly would like to know valve check/adjust intervals and if it a DIY type thing ... thanks , enjoy your new bike .... ride weather just coming around here has been a very long cold spring ..

Hi Craig,
Service schedule is 10,000 - or annual service based on time, includes throttle bodies balance.
Valve clearances and camshaft timing at 20000 and 40000, not sure if DIY job as handbook is basic - better than the 1050 triple which was 12000 miles and £650 (1100 Canadian dollars) for the major service (valve checks)

Eljahara said:

Hi Craig,
Service schedule is 10,000 - or annual service based on time, includes throttle bodies balance.
Valve clearances and camshaft timing at 20000 and 40000, not sure if DIY job as handbook is basic - better than the 1050 triple which was 12000 miles and £650 (1100 Canadian dollars) for the major service (valve checks)

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Thanks John , does seem like the new standard , even Ducati has stretched their intervals .... John several of our local Duc club send their bikes to closest dealer Moncton NB for major service $100 transport fee both ways and right around $1100 CAD for an almost exact major service as Speed Twin ... I save $ by DIY as I enjoy the work ... belts are not costly and one of younger members has everything I need on his lap top and phone ... Triumph is very competitive right now and I do like the Speed Twin a lot !

You will be very happy with your new Truimph, I brought a new 2013 Thruxton and have clocked up over 40k on it and never had any problems the valves are still in tolorance and the more miles I clocked up on it the better it went, last year I upgraded to a Thruxton 1200S the new Nortons here are over $30k to buy new, I got the 1200S new for $17k we pay high taxes on new bikes and cars here in Aussie land, I liked the look of the new Nortons but dealerships are small and parts even harder to get, but for the price the Triumph won hands down, they look great and dealerships everywhere, they are reliable, I did the 12 month oil and filter change 3 months ago as I didn't have the service milage up.
I try and do all my own maintenence and doing the valves on the new WC models is easier than doing the AC valves, the only thing I have done to my Thruxton was to put a Meerkat decat and open up my stock mufflers and your bike will love you for it, so much heat come off the stock catalic converter and it sits under your motor, with a decat you will get a increase in HP, run cooler and get a bit more thump to your motor sound wise but still be quite, the Meerkat and openning my mufflers cost me $500 all up a lot cheaper than the cost of V&H mufflers.
Lots of members here have Triumph's and the Triumph Rat forum is also a good forum for any help.
Enjoy your new Triumph.

Ashley

The reviewers all compare this bike to a Thruxton R , usually referring to it as " an upright Thruxton R"
That's not too far off, but it's really closer to the Thruxton S, with what appears to be the same conventional KYB front fork and rear shocks.
The Speed Twin is listed at 15 lbs lighter than the R and 22 lbs lighter than the S.
Most of that is in the wheels, the engineers paid quite a penalty for those lovely wide spoked alloy tube type Thrux wheels.
Im getting rid of the tubes to deal with part of that.
Brakes on the Speed twin are neither Thrux S or R, they are in the middle , a lower spec Brembo.
They are probably way beyond adequate.

At 60 pounds lighter than the T120 with the Thrux engine, Triumph will sell a ton of these.
I'm not sure who will buy the T120s now though?
If this bike was available when I bought the R, I would have given it a good hard look, but likely still have gone for the R
for the styling and that lovely little fairing that actually works.
For a two up sporty bike, the Speed Twin would be the bike of choice.

Ive got 19 k on mine now, only 1 issue.
One of the 50 British Engineers who designed the new 1200s must have spec'd a too short wire from ignition to headlight.
This had nothing to do with the assembly work done in the new Thai plant.
The assembly job is letter perfect, if anything neater than my Hinckley built Daytona, which is a well built machine.

The wire harness problem only shows up if the fairing kit is installed as that kit fixes the headlight in the fairing. Turning the bars eventually yanked the wire out of the ignition.
All fixed at zero cost by Triumph with the bike well out of warranty.

My bike is one of the very early ones, ordered as soon as I saw a photo and a dyno chart showing that big flat torque line
One or two diehard 865 air-cooled lovers gave dire warnings about how bad the bike was going to be, entirely new model and all. Other than the minor glitch with the wire, none of that has come to pass and I don't even worry about it now, I just ride and enjoy.

Your Speed Twin is mostly just a new seat, tank and bars, not really a new model, so I would expect total reliability from it.

Hinckley Triumph really know how to build bikes.

Good summary Glen.

FWIW I think they'll still sell plenty of T120s, there's plenty of folk out there for which the T120 is more than fast enough already.

I've never ridden one, but folk who have that I've spoken to do like them, a lot.

True, I often forget that not everyone is so zoned in on weight and performance.
The T120 is a very pretty bike and probably looks closer to the original Bonnie than anything Triumph has built to date.
So if someone likes the idea modernized 60s Bonnie, vibration free with lots of extra grunt and reliability over the original, that will be their ideal machine.

Glen

Might be ‘closer’ but still not close enough...

When you consider that the new one is close to the same displacement as a double engined 650, plus has water cooling, I would say the stylists did a good job on the T120.
Starting with a 60s Super Model as a style goal didn't hurt!

In all seriousness Glen I agree with you. The new Triumph twin really are a marvel of ‘packaging’ design. And the styling, particularly of the engine, is a very good tribute to the original.

But due to all the modern necessities, the fact remains that they’ll never eclipse the purity of design of the originals. Same could be said of many things of course, new Jaguars vs the E Type, new Mustangs vs old, etc.

I know I tend to go on and on about the new Triumphs, I hope it isn't painful for others.
Starting to sound like a Vstrom owner!
One Suzuki TL owner was sick of hearing about the virtues of VStroms on the main Suzuki site . He started a site called " Will you please shut up about your Vstrom already?"

I didn’t even know VStrom obsession was a thing...

I mean, come on people... really...!?!

worntorn said:

I know I tend to go on and on about the new Triumphs, I hope it isn't painful for others.
Starting to sound like a Vstrom owner!
One Suzuki TL owner was sick of hearing about the virtues of VStroms on the main Suzuki site . He started a site called " Will you please shut up about your Vstrom already?"

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He was right.
I owned a TL1000S for several years and the VStorm is a pig by comparison.
I was pissed when Suzuki trashed the sporty TL line for the current offerings.
Of course I like scratching asphalt, not off road Adventures.

I was zero-ed in on a Speed Twin for this spring, then the tax man cometh and taketh away my money.
Maybe next year, 'cause I'll also need money for the TEC cam upgrade too.

Sweet machine the Speed Twin.

Fast Eddie said:

I suspect that when it’s run in, and you start exploring the upper rev ranges, you may revise that ‘similar performance’ assessment ...

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You are absolutely right!
Now that it is run in the performance is staggering - incredible acceleration, good roll on 40-80 (without needing to move out of 3rd gear)

worntorn said:

Brakes on the Speed twin are neither Thrux S or R, they are in the middle , a lower spec Brembo.
They are probably way beyond adequate.

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You are absolutely right Glen, the brakes are way beyond adequate

The only gripe I have is that the suspension is a bit too hard and occasionally pitches me up in the seat so a tune or replacement might be on the cards.
John

The roll-on is a joy


Some 60-80 top gear roll on numbers from Sport Rider and Cycle World.

06 Sprint 1050- 4.44 seconds

05 Honda RC51 4.21

05 Daytona 955i 4.05

2010 Aprilia RSV4 R 3.30

2007 Ducati 1098 S 3.11

Triumph Thruxton R 3.0 seconds

worntorn said:

So if someone likes the idea modernized 60s Bonnie, vibration free with lots of extra grunt and reliability over the original, that will be their ideal machine.

Glen

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When I think of a modern bike to replace my Atlas after I pass it off to my son, I keep coming back to your assessment, Glen.

Slick