Since the success of the Daytona 675 fifteen years ago, we’ve been begging Triumph for a large capacity sportsbike. And with the massive, performance-focused overhaul the Speed Triple 1200 received for 2021, it seemed as though a sporty, faired version might be on the cards. If the teaser video Triumph released today is anything to go by, it might be happening very soon indeed. And it might be called the Triumph Speed Triple RR.
As you can see, they’re not giving a whole lot away just yet. But it does look remarkably like a Speed Triple with a fairing on. You’ll notice the rear seat unit looks very Speed Triple-esque, amongst other bits and pieces. Fair enough… Triumph are calling it a Speed Triple RR.
If you’re hoping for an out-and-out superbike, I think you’ll be disappointed. They’d have to do something fairly dramatic to the engine to match the power of the established superbikes, not to mention the chassis. I’m not saying they’re not capable of that, but I wouldn’t expect Triumph to call it the Speed Triple RR, if they did. I’d expect to see the word ‘Daytona’ pop up at least once in the 48 second teaser video.
So, what then?
No, I’m expecting a sort of a faired sporty roadster, rather than a superbike. Something that you can get your knee down on, but also go touring on with the wife on the back. Think Honda VFR 1200, Ducati Supersport 950, Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX, that kind of thing.
But it’s a Triumph, so it’s bound to have a sprinkling of something a bit special. TFT dash, Öhlins suspension, all that stuff. I expect it’ll have a touch of retro about it too. You can see from the teaser video that it’s got a big round headlight, the kind you’d expect to see on a Street Scrambler or model of that ilk. Retro styling has become a bit of a trademark for Triumph, so there’s bound to be a bit of that going on.
Whatever it is, Triumph are saying it’s ‘the perfect blend of pure elegance, exhilaration and pure attitude’. I don’t know what ratio of elegance:exhilaration:attitude they’ve settled on; hopefully we won’t have to wait long to find out.
