Special editions; we love ‘em don’t we? Well Triumph seems to think we do. Because whether their bikes are selling like hot cakes, or gathering dust in their dealerships, they can’t help themselves sprinkling a modicum of fairy dust on (almost) all of their models, in an effort to prise the hard-earned cash out of our fists, wallets or bank accounts. So here’s the latest in a glut of 2022, special edition Triumph Motorbikes.
Street Twin EC1
The Triumph Street twin needs no introduction. It’s the single best-selling Triumph modern classic there is. And the Triumph Street Twin EC1 Limited Edition has, according to Triumph, been inspired by East London’s vibrant motorcycle culture. No, it doesn’t come with a free hammer and/or battery powered angle grinder; it’s not that part of London’s motorcycle culture. I think they are talking about places like Shoreditch, Islington and that kind of thing. Places where it’s dead fashionable to have a full sleave of tattoos, drink overpriced craft beers and fiddle with the ends of your waxed moustache.
It’s got all the tech that the standard street twin has, plus new paint job that any hipster ought to be proud of. It’s matt silver, with matching side panels and mudguards, and some very trick ‘limited edition’ graphics too.
Thruxton RS Ton Up
The legendary Triumph Thruxton. It’s the ultimate café racer. The first production bike to lap the Isle of Man TT course at 100mph. To celebrate the achievement, and to pay tribute to the ‘Ton-Up’ boys of the 50s and 60s, Triumph have released a very special limited edition Thruxton RS. As well as the sexy blue and white graphics though, the Ton Up makes more power (105hp @ 7,500rpm) and handles better; that’s thanks to sportier tyres and Brembo M50 brake calipers.
If you can’t do 100mph on one of them, you’re not trying hard enough.
Rocket 3 R and GT 221 Edition
This ones probably not something to get too excited about, unless you are a bit of a poser and you want everyone to know the engine specifications of your motorcycle. Both the Rocket 3 R and GT 221 Editions are essentially just standard bikes, with some performance figures printed on the tank. It’s the ‘221 Edition’ because that’s how much torque the engine makes. I’ll agree that is a very impressive number. So is the fact that it’s got a 2,458cc engine, but they didn’t feel the need to print that on the tank, did they? Oh wait, yes they did.
I’ve ridden both versions of the new Rocket 3, and they are both absolutely incredible. For me though, they’re not made any better by having the power figures written on the tank… but that’s just me. There might be someone out there who likes ‘Top Trumps’ enough to buy one of these.
All three (or four, if you count the ‘221 Rockets’ as 2) of these extra special limited edition Triumph models will be available in December (2021), but hurry; they’ll be available for one year and one year only.
