MCN Fleet: Triumph Street Triple’s 2.4-litre smaller tank causes range anxiety

There are a whole host of updates to the 2023 Triumph Street Triple naked roadster family – masses of enhancements to the 765cc triple to liberate more power, chassis tweaks to make it even better handling, as well as subtle styling refinements to keep it looking modern-yet-distinctively Street Triple.

Yet one of the changes for this year that caused me to raise a quizzical brow was the reduction in tank size. Gone is the 17.4 litre fuel tank that the model has had since it was launched (as a 675cc) in 2007, and in its place is a lower-profile 15-litre tank. Triumph say this reduction brings it more into line with its competitors, like the KTM 790 Duke, the similarly triple-cylindered Yamaha MT-09 and the latest remodelled Ducati Monster 937 – which all have 14 litre tanks.

So, Triumph still has a one litre advantage over its rivals, but I was still concerned by such a small tank; I despise having to stop to fill up for petrol so prefer my bikes to have a decent range before the fuel light comes on – 150 miles to reserve and 180 to dry are my benchmarks.

As Triumph claim 52.8mpg for the 2023 Street Triple (which incidentally is a fraction thirstier than the previous 765 which the firm claimed could manage 54.3mpg) it’d still give a theoretical 174 miles from the smaller tank.

Yet, after a few long days in the saddle, I noticed that I seemed to be stopping at petrol stations too often for my liking. This prompted me to dig out my trusty plastic jerry can and purposely run the tank dry so I could get discover exactly how much range the bike has.

Using standard E10 petrol, riding normally and using a variety of steady motorway cruising, A- and B-roads, as well as urban riding, the fuel light blinks on at 105 miles with two blocks remaining on the digital fuel gauge. At this point the range promises 37.2 miles until empty. When the countdown hits zero, the Street kept going for a further eight miles until finally spluttering to a stop at 150.5 miles. The tank then took, as promised, 14.1 litres – which translates to an mpg of 48.52.

Personally, I find this a bit annoying when doing long days’ rides when I’m using the Street as an enjoyable method of transport rather than a toy (especially as the bike’s pretty comfortable over distance, too).

Although I can appreciate that if you’re just riding for fun this is less of an issue. But I’d be interested to know what you think – is a 150-mile total tank range just too small? Drop me a line emma.franklin@motorcyclenews.com

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Update two: A quick blast to Hinckley gives Emma a chance to appreciate the Striple’s chassis

Published 01.06.23

The fact that one of the world’s biggest motorcycle manufacturers is just on my doorstep to me never gets boring. Although production of the modern Triumph range, including the Triumph Street Triple, is spread across three other facilities in Thailand, India and Brazil, the firm’s HQ in Leicestershire remains the hub of R&D as well as the production line for most European-market models, as well as being the place where all TFC editions are lovingly bolted together.

It’s an exciting place to visit regardless of what model bike you own, but somehow when you’ve got a Triumph in your garage, it becomes an inescapable draw, almost as if the bike’s got an in-built homing mechanism. With 68 miles of fast, flowing A-road between my home and Hinckley, it was the perfect excuse for an afternoon ride out to explore the Street’s chassis.

Once of the first things that struck me about the Street Triple when I first slung a leg over was how tall it is. Granted, at 826mm it’s not exactly a towering GS but still, I was a bit surprised by the fact that I was on tiptoes. Yet now as we’re calypsoing westward through the corners of the A47, the reason for its lofty rear becomes apparent – it’s so sweet to steer through the bends. There’s no resistance, no hesitation – just pure, effortless fun.

Triumph have altered the geometry of the new Street Triple 765 to boost its handling performance to even loftier heights, and they’ve cleverly done this via several setup changes rather than reworking the frame itself.

The R’s Showa suspension, too, feels racier than I remember – it’s firm without any hint of harness and very compliant over the Midland’s myriad bumps. I really struggle to see why, other than satisfying your inner magpie, you’d opt for the RS with its golden Ohlins shock.

Thirty limit, brakes on. The Leicester ring road signals the end of today’s fun. Rolling round to Hinckley, road signs proudly declare ‘Motorcycle factory this way’, and pulling into the visitor’s centre I discover I’m not the only member of the flock who’s made the pilgrimage as the carpark’s crammed with Triumphs of all types and from all over Europe, too. Welcome home, little Triple. Welcome home.

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Update one: Triumph Street Triple R – Punches aboves its weight!

Published 01.05.23

Are we looking at Britain’s best value fun machine? My first few weeks living with the Triumph Street Triple R leads me to believe that we most certainly are. The ‘entry-level’ Street rocks all the electronic assists of its pricier, speccier brother – the RS – but does so at a price that makes you look twice: £9595.

But it’s not just those ride and safety-enhancing zeros and ones that’ll get all you spec magpies in a flap – the fit, finish, feel and overall quality seems spellbindingly spectacular too, almost like someone over at Hinckley HQ made a goof up with the price.

Here are the five places where I think the new Triumph Street Triple R punches above its price tag.

Those details!

The Triumph Street Triple R looks and feels every inch a premium bike and it’s thanks to little finishing touches like the gorgeous swingarm pivot bolt cover, the plastic infills within the rear subframe, the machined frame bolts, neat tool for adjusting the damping on the Showa forks, and lacquered-in graphics. When many naked bikes can look a bit half finished (Yamaha MT-09 I’m looking at you), the Street hangs together beautifully. It’s definitely a bike that you can enjoy looking at as much as you enjoy riding.

Electronic tech

An up-and-down quickshifter as standard is more than direct Euro rival the 890 Duke GP can boast, as cheeky KTM offer the part as a £361 optional extra. In conjunction with the reasonably smooth ‘shifter, the base-model Triple also packs lean-angle sensitive traction and wheelie control (which can be turned off) as well as cornering ABS. It seems to be impressively sophisticated too because, on the road at least, I have yet to feel it working.

Braking prowess

Ye gods! This thing stops like a race bike! Perhaps my braking sensitivity has been detuned after a year of using the benign stoppers on Suzuki’s GSX-S1000GT, but I think the Triumph Street Triple’s got an aggressive initial bite and plenty of power.

Triumph, like most European manufacturers, understand the importance of braided brake lines and as such they’ve been a feature on the Street Triple since its launch in 2007. Teamed up with the Brembo M4.32 calipers, and pads which feel like they’re made from sharks’ teeth, they give the Street Triple tremendous stopping power.

That noise…

Surely worth £9595 on its own, right? MCN’s Michael Neeves describes the Street’s on-the-pipe soundtrack as being like a demented bumblebee and he’s not wrong. However, it’s the yowling induction noise which makes my ears prick up – and brings out the idiot in me.

Air enters through the revised intake above the headlamps then gets crammed through the frame headstock and into the airbox. I swear there’s a hidden feedback loop between the sound being received by your ear and the angle of your right wrist – twist if you want to get louder and faster! Purely intoxicating!

Who needs more?

As someone who’s been on a bit of a power trip for the last few years (215bhp Honda CBR1000RR-R; 187bhp Suzuki Hayabusa; 150bhp Suzuki GSX-S1000GT), I squirmed a little at the prospect of living with the R’s 118bhp and naturally thought I’d be much happier with the £1700 more expensive RS model’s 128bhp. It took me one ride to work out that absolutely was not the case. Talk about exciting!

The Street Triple is as direct as a slap in the face – leaping out of bends with its flat slab of torque and spurred on by shortened gear ratios. Would I really get any more benefit from the RS’s extra 10bhp courtesy of its added 500rpm? For road riding, I really think not.

A Moto2 bike for the road: What has racing done for the new Street Triple?

The 2023 Street Triple range includes the base model R version, the 128bhp RS version and the already sold out Ohlins-encrusted Moto2 Edition, complete with clip-ons. At the unveiling of the 2023 Street Triple family, Triumph proudly announced that they given “customers and the press what they’ve been asking for – a Moto2 bike for the road”.

That statement is a tiny bit of a stretch given that Moto2 machines are fully faired, stiff chassis’d, 157kg and, for this season, now over 140bhp – but the sentiment is certainly there, and courtesy of Triumph’s four seasons as sole engine supplier to the series, this era of Street Triple certainly has plenty of Moto2 DNA running through its engine oilways.

“Getting involved with Moto2 was a fantastic opportunity for Triumph,” the firm’s Chief Product Officer Steve Sargent told me. “It was a chance for Triumph to be seen by a new audience and in a new light, because although we’ve always had a performance element to our brand, I think previously a lot of people knew us more for the classics. So Moto2 was a great opportunity to say to people, we are also a performance bike brand and capable of doing this. And also it gives our team and engineers a bit of a challenge.”

With Moto2 race engines regularly stripped down and analysed through the course of the season, Triumph are privy to the data generated by what is quite literally the world’s toughest durability test – 30 victory-hungry Moto2 riders thrashing their engines for thousands of race miles every season.

“Someone worked out that we’ve done close to a million kilometres of racing,” Steve added. “What we’d learned from Moto2 and the durability of the components was that we could push it [the Street Triple engine] a bit further, it gave us the confidence to go from 123 to 128bhp.”

Improved airflow and greater cylinder pressures have allowed Triumph to confidently generate more bang from the Street Triple 765 motor. Courtesy of new combustion chambers, the compression ratio has been increased by  4.7% (to 13.25:1) with new pistons to match, as well as beefier con-rods and gudgeon pins.

New valves and camshafts give increased valve lift for improved intake, combustion and exhaust efficiency. The entry level R model has its revs electronically capped to 11,500rpm which means peak power is clipped to 118bhp; the RS and Moto2 Edition models have an extra 500rpm which gives them their 128bhp. Sam Lowes and Jake Dixon’s race engines rev to 14,400rpm and produce over 140bhp.

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After owning an original Triumph Street Triple back in 2007, I’ll be keen to see just how much one of Britain’s best-loved models has evolved during its 16-year lifespan, and finding out exactly how it’s benefitted from trickle-down Moto2 tech via plenty of trackdays in the name of research.

Contact: emma.franklin@motorcyclenews.com