lighting up the rear, which makes it easy to stay in control. If I get lazy- which I do- and let the revs drop too far, I sometimes have to grab a bit of clutch to get it back into the meat of the power. Stock gearing is tall at 13 / 48, so I might try a 49T on the rear to sharpen things up. Otherwise, it’ s a really predictable handler. One thing I did notice is vibration. The chassis / engine vibration feels a little higher than other bikes I’ ve ridden. I re-torqued the engine mounts and swingarm pivot, which helped a little, but it’ s still there. Not a deal breaker by any means, just something I noticed. Also worth mentioning is the gas cap hole is tiny, so grab a funnel as it’ s tricky to pour gas straight into the tank from a container.
HOW IT’ S GOING SO FAR Does it feel like a first-year production bike? No, not at all. I’ ve ridden‘ established’ models that felt less refined than the TF450-RC. In stock trim, it’ s an excellent vet’ s bike; easy to ride, not overly fatiguing, and with enough usable power to keep things exciting. Serious racers may want more snap, but there’ s plenty more to unlock in the settings. The Triumph hits a sweet spot. My personal benchmark is a four-stroke 350, and while the TF450-RC obviously has more grunt, the lowinertia motor gives it some of the same agility I like from a 350. Would I race it in NZ conditions, tomorrow? Absolutely. The only thing holding me back right now is my fitness, not the bike.
58 KIWI RIDER