Hinckley firm releases limited-edition café racer style Speed Twin 1200 RS
Triumph’s got no shortage of good-looking retro roadsters – and here’s another one! It’s a special café racer edition of the Speed Twin 1200 RS, limited to just 800 bikes worldwide, with a load of slick add-on cosmetics, gorgeous paint, single seat cover and clip-on bars.
The base engine and chassis spec is largely as you were, meaning the 104bhp high-compression Bonneville 1200 SOHC 8-valve parallel twin engine, with a 270° firing order, in a steel tube cradle frame. You get the same running gear as the standard 1200 RS too: suspension spec is Marzocchi USD front forks and Öhlins piggyback reservoir twin rear shocks, both fully adjustable for preload and damping, while the brakes are top-end Brembo Stylema M4.30 front calipers with 320mm discs.
Wet weight is a decent 217kg, it comes with yummy Metzeler Racetec RR K3 sports rubber, and the sculpted fuel tank holds a rather miserly 14.5 litres. You also get the same riding aids package as the base 1200 Speed Twin: Triumph’s Optimised Cornering ABS and Traction Control, rider power modes, up/down quickshifter, colour dash, Bluetooth link and USB C charging socket.
The main mechanical changes are very subtle: those lowered clip-on bars rather than standard wide handlebars mean a more committed riding position, with extra weight over the front and a racey stance. There’s a brown leather bullet-style solo seat, the pillion pegs have been removed (though they are supplied if you want to fit them), and Triumph’s added a classy tail unit with removable seat cover.
It comes in posh Competition Green and Aluminium Silver paintwork with Aluminium Silver wheels and a colour-coded Competition Green headlight bowl, while an Empire Gold coachline defines the transition between colours. A “Cafe Racer Edition” graphic in Empire Gold finishes the design nicely.
Machined bar-end mirrors reinforce the bike’s clean silhouette, while ribbed clutch and alternator cover badges, black head bolt covers and sculpted knee pads sharpen up the bodywork detailing. Practical touches include pillion footpeg finishers, with the footpegs removed as standard and supplied in the crate for owners who want to have a significant other on the back. It also come with a certificate of authenticity in case anyone dares to doubt your bike’s provenance…
The new Triumph Speed Twin 1200 Café Racer edition is available to order now, priced from £15,995, and will be available in March. More info: www.triumph.co.uk.
| ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION | ||
| Type | Liquid-cooled parallel twin, eight-valve, SOHC, 2700 firing order | |
| Capacity | 1,200 cc | |
| Bore | 97.6 mm | |
| Stroke | 80.0 mm | |
| Compression | 12.1:1 | |
| Maximum Power | 103.5bhp(77.2 kW)@7,750rpm | |
| Maximum Torque | 112Nm@4,250rpm | |
| Fuel System | Multipoint fuel injection with electronic throttle control. Three rider modes (Sport, Road, Rain). | |
| Exhaust | Brushed stainless steel 2 into 2 exhaust system with twin brushed stainless steel silencers | |
| Final Drive | X-ring chain | |
| Clutch | Wet, multi-plate, slip & assist | |
| Gearbox | six-speed, Triumph Shift Assist | |
| CHASSIS | ||
| Frame | Tubular steel, with steel cradles | |
| Swingarm | Double sided, fabricated aluminium | |
| Front Wheel | Cast aluminium alloy, 7-spoke, 17 x 3.5 in | |
| Rear Wheel | Cast aluminium alloy, 7-spoke, 17 x 5.0 in | |
| Front Tyre | 120/70 R17 | |
| Rear Tyre | 160/60 R17 | |
| Front Suspension | 43mm Marzocchi upside-down forks, adjustable for preload, compression/rebound damping. 120 mm wheel travel | |
| Rear Suspension | Öhlins twin rear shocks with external reservoirs, adjustable for preload, compression/rebound damping. 123 mm wheel travel | |
| Front Brakes | Twin 320mm floating discs, Brembo Stylema M4.30 radial calipers, Brembo MCS lever, cornering ABS | |
| Rear Brakes | Single 220mm fixed disc, Nissin twin-piston floating caliper, cornering ABS | |
| Instruments | LCD multi-function instruments with integrated colour TFT screen | |
| DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS | |
| Length | 2,073mm |
| Width (Handlebars) | 79 mm |
| Height Without Mirrors | 1,055mm |
| Seat Height | 810mm |
| Wheelbase | 1,414mm |
| Rake | 22.6° |
| Trail | 92mm |
| Wet weight | 217kg |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 14.5 litres |