STREET TWIN
TRIUMPH’S 900cc STREET TWIN IS A GOLDILOCKS BIKE – NOT TOO MUCH… JUST RIGHT.
T
here were three hundred gleaming motorcycles; nearly three hundred men
(plus a score of women) dressed in smart suits and ties, with coats, jackets,
and facial hair. It was early morning in Auckland, a bit damp and everyone
was three-coffees-in, riding at 30km/h in a long staggered line. They were happy.
It had stopped pelting. The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is an annual global
event that raises US$5-6m for men’s mental health and prostate cancer. Every
year we see two-wheeled works of art, labours of love, and restorations that take
your breath away – in aid of helping men, with suicide prevention and prostate
cancer research.
A perfect, red, 1966 BSA 650 Lightning rolled beside me. Up ahead, a sparkling
Vincent Black Shadow mesmerised the eye. And, purring like an African cat, a new
Triumph Speed Twin loped along directly in front, flickering with bright stainless
work and black lacquer. I searched for the right word for the picture that came to
mind. Cohesion. Attraction. Balance. Harmony. Yes.
A harmonious construction, with sound and light. The sum of the new Twin’s parts
is greater than it probably should be. I think the 2019 Street Twin is an understated
masterwork from the UK.
It’s not going to run a 5.6 second quarter mile on nitrous, nor will it top 320k’s
down the Phillip Island straight. It won’t sound like 1800cc of exploding noisy boy,
or shriek like some tortured Spanish diva. No. It will not frighten the neighbours,
but it will fill the bill in so many ways that you will likely ask yourself why you didn’t
do this years ago. The reason being is, of course, that they have it right, right now.
The changes have worked.
WORDS: PETER ELLIOTT
PHOTOS: GEOFF OSBORNE
50 KIWI RIDER