TRIUMPH SPEED III 1050
I
bought my Triumph Speed Triple RS in late
2018. When I came to test the RS, I had
already test ridden a few bikes including
the standard Speed Triple S, as well as the
Aprilia Tuono and RSV4. I had decided of the
two Aprilias that the Tuono was more of a
logical choice, given the riding position even
though I preferred the looks of the RSV4. They
were amazing bikes and I’ve been fortunate to
ride them both on track as well. But, after a day
on them hooning around the countryside, they
both really gave me a workout and I was ready
to put them back in the garage. With the RS,
I was ready to go back out and do it all again.
Why did I choose the RS over the S? Even though
the S model was an impressive bike and well
suited to NZ roads, I decided to go for the RS
with its extra features/goodies over the
standard bike.
One of the main things that stood out to me
was the Ohlins suspension. Now, don’t get me
wrong, the S model suspension was really good,
and I’m not that good a rider to extract the very
best from the Ohlins but as I was planning to do
a few track days as well as a lot of road riding.
One thing I’ve learnt is that good suspension is
good at all speeds, not just when going fast – it is
working all the time.
At the time I owned a 2008 Triumph Tiger 1050,
which also had Ohlins suspension, so having
been riding on quality suspension was
definitely a deciding factor for me. Now, I loved
my Tiger, it had a lot of extras and took me
around most of NZ. It was fast – yes, Tigers really
can be – handled very well, had good brakes
and was very comfy, thanks to the genuine
Triumph Gel seat, and it sounded wicked with
the Triumph Arrow race pipe. One tooth extra on
the rear sprocket made it an animal out of
corners and tricky to keep the front wheel down
at times. It was a brilliant all rounder. I
honestly wondered how there could ever be a
better bike for me than the Tiger.
So, I took the demo RS out for a weekend
ride... and I was sold. That was it. I’d never
ridden a bike before that made me go ‘wow’
KIWI RIDER 97