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2008 Triumph Model Line Press Launch

Posted by Kenn Stamp

Friday, 18 April 2008

Page 3 of 3

After the photo stop I got the chance to ride the 08 Triumph Speed Triple as we rode to Fontana Village for lunch.

Having spent a month aboard it's little brother the Street, I was really looking forward to riding the Speed to see how much of a difference the bigger motor and adjustable suspension made. For 2008 Triumph changed enough about the Speed Triple to almost warrant calling it a completely new bike. Among the items significantly updated for 08 are:

A) Brembo front brake calipers and a radial master cylinder.
B) Restyled alloy wheels
C) Black anodized aluminum Showa upside-down forks
D) New rear sub-frame with redesigned body work

As the saying goes “the devil is in the details” and one of the details

changed would probably go unnoticed unless you were a Speed Triple freak. I am referring to the new tapered, anodized aluminum Magura handlebars. To the initiated they make a huge statement while to the uninitiated they are but another well executed part on a well executed bike.

As much as I wanted to hooligan around on this bike the weather kept my wheelie tendencies safely in check. One thing did become clear while riding like a sane human being though; no matter how you dress it up or where you take it, it's still a street fighter at heart. Big bumps in the road? Probably should swerve around them as this suspension is tuned for some back road dueling. I rode this bike during our cornering photo shoot and quickly learned to take the turns in 5th gear (at 50-60mph). Any lower gear would have the back tire getting squirmy if you got a little over-zealous with the throttle exiting the corner.

Again not nearly enough seat time to give an accurate assessment of the bike under real life conditions. The short time I had on it was enough to whet my appetite for more though.

Once lunch was over we had one more photo stop, a run to Deal's Gap, and then back to the lodge. For the ride from the lunch stop to the photo stop I jumped on a Daytona 675 Special Edition (the black and gold color scheme). The 675 is a very pretty bike in any of it's colors but particularly in its black and gold skin.

The Daytona 675 is another bike that Triumph decided wasn't broke and didn't need fixing; bringing it into 08 with only subtle changes. A headlight improvement, new decals, a gold top nut, and two new colors: Neon Blue and Jet Black.

First impression after throwing a leg over the bike was how thin it is. Looking at the Daytona head on or while seated on it really drives home the fact that there is a cylinder missing. At first you feel as if you are riding on a ¾ scale model of a sport bike; run up through the revs though and it becomes clear that the heart of this bike is full sized. Having spent a month on the slightly detuned 675 in the Street Triple I immediately could tell the difference in the two motors. At the rpms where the Street's power would start to taper off the Daytona's was still pulling strong, begging to rung out even more.

Since the ground was wet and I didn't trust my right wrist to adhere to a philosophy of moderation while riding the Daytona 675, I decided to choose a different bike to ride to Deal's Gap. Since our last photo stop was only 15 miles away from where we ate lunch, this was all the seat time I had on the Daytona. This is a bike that even had I rode it longer and the roads were dry, I still wouldn't have enjoyed all it has to offer without a trip to the track. Modern sportbikes are entirely too capable for any person who is even moderately attached to both their drivers license and body parts to be able to fully exploit their capabilities on public roads.

I wanted to ride the Tiger again at the Gap but so did everyone else apparently, so it was back on the Speed Triple for me; not a hardship at all I assure you.

Those of us in group two had heard that the first group of journalists ran into some trouble with the local constabulary. Apparently the cops were out in force and not afraid to write tickets to journalists going 42 in the 30mph zone that runs the length of Deal's Gap. While I was talking to a very nice gentleman on a Goldwing at the store who had just run the road, he revealed that there was a cop on the TN side a little past the Gap that had pulled a car over. Knowing this and adding in the wet road, I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and chose to ride like a wimp. 30 mph speed limit? No problem (alright I did go slightly faster in some sections). Not the most exciting Gap run I've ever made but definitely the one with the least amount of adrenaline involved.

Standing at the overlook on the TN side of the Gap I saw my chance to once again

Triumph Riding Gear:
While riding at the press launch, Triumph
wanted me to try out some of their gear.
They decided to outfit me from neck to
toe in some of their finest.

Not only does Triumph build motorcycles
but they also have a full line of riding gear and
casual clothes.

I'm going to be doing completely separate
articles on the items but I wanted to give you
a quick overview of the gear.

Sympatex Expedition II Boot:
Waterproof, warm, yet breathable. My feet
stayed dry all day and were warm even in 40
degree temps.

Sympatex Pantha Jacket:
Waterproof, windproof, zip-out full liner, and
warm. Not one drop of water got through all day.
Also kept me warm in those colder morning
temps. Full circumference and 8 inch zippers.

Sympatex Riding Pant:
Same as above but for your legs. Also has a
full circumference zipper.

Hard Carbon Gloves:
The only part of my outfit that wasn't waterproof.
Very comfortable glove with more carbon fiber
than some tricked-out bikes. Gauntlet style and
made with Keprotec abrasion panels. Also double
leather impact panels and raised wrist protection.

I really like their gear and have used all of it
even after the test. I will be doing individual
articles for each piece in the coming weeks so
keep your eye out for them.

snag the Tiger for the ride back to the lodge. This leg of the ride was to be the longest leg of the trip that was uninterrupted by any photo stops. A perfect situation for riding the one bike that really captured my interest. Sure the Speed Triple was more fun than a barrel of monkeys, while being comfortable to ride, and the Sprint is a great option to a bigger sport touring rig if your ride time is spent mostly in the twisties. And of course the Daytona 675 is a smashing success and a bike I would dearly love to get my hands on for the next track day, but the Tiger 1050 just seems to speak to me on a level that very few bikes do.

The ride back to the lodge was uneventful and quite fun up and until the point when we found ourselves behind a car from Florida and then shortly thereafter a car from Illinois. Drivers in the mountainous areas of GA, NC, and TN almost always pull off the road when you come upon them while riding the twisties. Unfortunately those two drivers were from areas that don't subscribe to this extremely courteous method of interacting on the road. This of course caused tempers to flair in some of us and a banzai passing move at the first passing zone that we encountered. Oh well. Other than that and the rain the day couldn't have been better.

Triumph is very serious about producing a world class product in both quality and performance and in my opinion they are on the right track. Instead of trying to out-Japanese the Japanese manufacturers by going head-to-head with them, they have decided to build a slightly different product. Want a middleweight bike that will perform as good, if not better, than the rest of the herd and will stand out on bike night, then maybe your a Daytona 675 rider at heart. Looking for that bike that you can tear up the twisties with your buddies on Sunday morning; in the next state? You need to check out the Sprint ST as a better handling option to the big sport touring bikes while being more comfortable than a current liter class sport bike outfitted with luggage. Looking for a hooligan bike at the top of it's game? Look no further than the Speed Triple. This is the bike, now much improved and even better, that started the entire hooligan bike craze.

And if you are like me and want a bike that can almost everything well, is a blast to ride, and will stand out in a crowd, then march, walk, run, drive, ride, or even crawl your way down to your local Triumph dealer and take a long hard look at the Tiger 1050. If you get the chance to ride one you might even find out that you too are looking for a Jack of all Trades kind of bike.

There were so many beautiful pictures taken that I decided to post them into our Gallery section. You can access
them by clicking here.

Comments? Questions? Head over to our Triumph forum.

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