Hinckley’s new modern-styled café racer takes Speed Triple engine and frame and adds posh electronic suspension, neat half-fairing and racey riding position
Triumph has just released the details of the new 2022 Speed Triple 1200 RR – and it’s a cracker. The Hinckley firm’s taken its Speed Triple 1200 RS super-naked machine as a base, and used it to create a new, more modern, take on the classic retro café racer sportstbike theme.
The RR gains a neat half-fairing with a classy round LED headlamp – as well as full Öhlins semi-active EC2.0 electronic suspension front and rear. The engine remains the same 178bhp 1,160cc inline-triple as on the RS – more than enough for a half-faired road-friendly sportsbike – and wet weight is just 1kg more than the RS, now up to 199kg ready to ride.
The riding position is now much more aggressive: low-set clip-ons and slightly higher footpegs compared with the RS means a sportier ‘attacking’ stance for bike and rider. It puts more weight over the front too, improving stability under acceleration and increasing front end feel during cornering.
The rest of the chassis package is super-impressive too: Brembo Stylema four-piston radial calipers up front, new Pirelli Supercorsa SP V3 tyres, and the same single-sided rear swingarm and aluminium twin-spar frame as the 1200 RS.
Triumph has gone to town with the electronics package: the RR has a comprehensive suite of rider aids, including cornering ABS, IMU-assisted traction control, wheelie control, cruise control, up/down quickshifter, keyless ignition/steering lock/fuel cap and a laminated 5” full colour TFT LCD dashboard.
You also get full Bluetooth smartphone connectivity with media, navigation and calling functions, and the backlit switchgear also allows GoPro camera control – a novel speciality of Triumph’s.
The various riding modes allow full customisation of the ABS, traction and power maps, with rain, road, sport, track and custom rider modes all available. Traction is also independently adjustable and can be turned off completely. The Öhlins suspension system is also controlled via the LCD dash, with full customisation and integration with the rider modes.
So – a really impressive spec, with the RR looking like the new flagship model in Triumph’s range. The price is steep but not outrageous: £17,950 for the white colourscheme, while the red version costs £250 more for some reason. That’s £2,450 more than the 1200 RS, which seems fair for a suite of Öhlins electronic suspension and the fairing.
It is a tiny bit disappointing that Triumph hasn’t gone all the way and produced a ‘proper’ superbike, in the Daytona mould, using the 1200 motor. We can sort of see the problems there: 178bhp is a lot of power, but not quite enough to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Honda Fireblade, Kawasaki ZX-10R or Ducati Panigale V4. A total revamp of the motor to add another 20-30bhp is a big job, and while you could easily see Triumph’s engineers managing it, it might not make sense to the accountants.
A proper superbike would also need to have WSB and BSB factory race efforts to go alongside it really, and with the firm supporting Moto2 with the current 765cc engine contract, and also just announcing a move into full-bore 450MX and Enduro competition, perhaps adding a superbike project is just too much at the moment. Sad, but probably true.
As it is, the new RR looks like it could do very good work for Triumph. The fairing and sportier riding position not only adds a racy dimension to the Speed Triple, it also extends its usefulness out a bit more, into a more sport-touring dimension. A slightly taller screen, the optional heated grips and the factory tankbag and tailpack luggage package, and you’ll have a Speed Triple that’s much more suited to a sporting tour around the UK or Europe than the current naked machines.
There is a teeny fly in that ointment mind: the 15.5 litre fuel tank will limit the maximum time between petrol/wee/coffee stops, especially if you’re pressing on a bit. Triumph suggests a 150 mile tank range at the standard test fuel consumption figure, but we’d expect to be looking for gas well before then.
2022 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR SPECS
Engine: DOHC 12v, inline-triple, water-cooled, 1,160cc
Bore x stroke: 90×60.8mm
Compression ratio: 13.2:1
Carburation: ride-by-wire fuel injection
Max power (claimed) 178hp@10,750rpm
Max torque (claimed) 92ft lb@9,000rpm
Transmission: six speed gearbox, wet slipper clutch
Frame: aluminium twin spar
Front suspension: 43mm Öhlins EC2.0 forks, 120mm travel, semi-active control
Rear suspension: aluminium single-sided swingarm, Öhlins EC2.0 monoshock semi-active damping control
Brakes: twin 320mm discs, four-piston Brembo Stylema radial calipers (front), 220mm disc, twin-piston caliper (rear), cornering ABS.
Wheels/tyres: cast aluminium/Pirelli Supercorsa SP V3, 120/70 17 front, 190/55 17 rear
Rake/trail: 23.9°/104.7mm
Wheelbase: 1,439mm
Kerb weight : 199kg
Fuel capacity: 15.5 litres
https://www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk/