TRIUMPH SPEED III
Did I mention that the engine is great ..? It pulls like a tractor and sounds awesome . The twin OEM exhausts always gave out a laughing burble on the overrun and that turned into an inoffensive , but slightly maniacal cackle when I replaced the cans with a pair of Triumph branded Arrow slip-ons . These are really nicely finished pipes and aren ’ t easy to lay your hands on , but they look and sound great and are worth the effort to track down ... although they aren ’ t cheap , I think these ones cost me around $ 1200 ( AUD ). A lot of people go for the single lowboy exhaust option and this had the secondary benefit of less weight that ’ s carried lower , but I wanted to retain the Speedy ’ s signature high-pipe look .
PRE-TECHNO-BABBLE There ’ s nothing complicated about older Speedies . No ABS , no rider aids , no quick shifter , no ride-by-wire , and no safety-related acronyms . About the only nod to the modern world is a digital speedo and those tacho lights .
The fuel tank on the Triple is much narrower than the one on my previous bikes and that took a little bit of getting used to as I didn ’ t feel as ‘ locked on ’ to the bike as I was used to . And the bar position was a little bit too upright for my liking with too much rise and sweep . That wasn ’ t something I addressed immediately , but I eventually replaced the standard ‘ bars with ProTaper ’ s Carmichael bend . While I liked how flat they were , I found them too wide , which bent my wrists uncomfortably on long rides . After spending some time on a 2015 Street Triple R and finding the riding position to be spot on , I got a set of those bars and they ’ ve been there ever since . Slightly lower , a bit less sweep and the same width as the standard bars , I find them much more comfortable than standard or the Carmichaels .
RIDING I ’ ve not toured on it , but have had some long-ish days in the saddle and it ’ s not a
KIWI RIDER 41