Rennie Scaysbrook | October 25, 2021
Triumph’s delightful Speed Twin has been given a nice little makeover for 2022, with some tasty mods to bring this retro rocket into the present.
Retro with a modern flavor. The Triumph engineers nailed the aesthetic on the new Speed Twin.
By Rennie Scaysbrook | Photography by Kit Palmer
Triumph has a stranglehold on the modern retro market right now. The crew from Hinckley in southwest Leicestershire has been churning out café racer/roadster versions of its Bonneville motor for generations, but in 2019 we got the first taste of the 1200 flavor with the new Speed Twin (not Speed Twin 1200).
I’ve got to be honest and admit I have not ridden the first iteration of this model as we sent Alan Cathcart to the world launch in Spain back in 2019, but I have ridden the fantastic Thruxton RS, so I’ve got a bit of experience with this new 1200 block.
Take the wide line…
I’ve just spent the last month cruising around on Triumph’s roadster and while parts of it were a touch annoying, most of the time I absolutely loved the riding experience. This is the kind of bike anyone with only the slightest amount of riding experience could enjoy, despite the fact there’s a 1200cc beating heart beneath their legs.
The original 2019 model marked the 80th anniversary of the Bonneville model as the company’s first-ever parallel-twin-engined motorcycle, but the two years since 2019 have seen Triumph give the Speed Twin a proper going over.
Simplistic pleasures abound on the Speed Twin. We just wish the end of the pipe wasn’t black.
Inside the Bonneville high-torque twin-cylinder motor sits a lighter crank, pistons, cylinder head and camshafts, with Triumph claiming 98 horsepower at 7250 rpm and 83 lb-ft of torque, reached 500 rpm lower than the 2019 machine at 4250 rpm.
The motor is matched to lovely upswept stainless-steel exhausts that are sadly (only slightly) spoiled by the black end caps. Triumph’s done well to hide the catalytic converter to give a proper old-school look to the pipes, and the audio result is just fantastic. Under acceleration the Speed Twin has a lovely bark to it that isn’t overly loud, thus ensuring your eardrums don’t blow out when on constant rpm down a freeway.
Rennie’s 6’1” frame found the ride on the Speed Twin a little cramped, but shorter riders will have no issues there.
The motor spins up surprisingly quickly for a 1200 twin, and it’s matched to a silky-smooth throttle response that somewhat hides the amount of go clenched in your right hand. It’s geared rather tall, but there’s plenty of performance on offer in third and fourth gears as you zip from corner to corner.
Triumph is claiming a 17-percent reduction in inertia with this new motor, and as before, there are three riding modes at your disposal in Sport, Road and Rain, which alter the throttle response and the available traction-control intervention.
Superbike stoppers on your retro rocket.
Unlike the last few bikes I’ve tested, I left the Speed Twin in Sport for my time on test. Road mode gives a slightly diluted throttle response, but Triumph has done well to make Sport mode punchy without being snatchy on the throttle. Nice work.
The fact it only has to push a measured 480 pounds might have something to do with the peppy performance, as is the fact you’ve got some quality suspenders underneath you in the now inverted Marzocchi fork and twin shocks out the back. Ride quality is excellent on the Speed Twin, so long as you don’t go searching for overly roads bumpy because although the suspension is good, there’s not a lot of give in that seat and you’ll feel the bumps sooner rather than later.
Super clean analog dials hide neat digital faces at the bottom.
Triumph’s gone into Brembo’s back catalog of greatest hits and fitted the M50 four-piston monobloc calipers up front, which is the same caliper you’ll find on the much faster Aprilia Tuono V4, so you’re in good hands there.
Triumph’s done the right thing and laced some proper sporty rubber beneath you in the Metzeler Sportec RR tires, which have more grip than this bike could ever need and would be more adept on something like a Streetfighter V4. The Speed Twin’s agility is impressive, offering quick direction changes while able to hold its line nice and tight when you get on the gas.
The seat is relatively comfortable but not overly padded and you’ll feel the bumps filter through pretty quickly.
Right now, it all sounds pretty hunky-dory, right? For the most part, it is. But the one issue I had with the Speed Twin was it was just too damn small! This is a bike designed for riders 5’10” and under; at 6’1” I found the gap from the seat to the pegs too small, the width of the tank too narrow, and the same for the width of the handlebars.
The Speed Twin has a rather low seat height of 31.9 inches, which makes it ideal for shorter riders out there, but I found I was just too cramped on it. That was about my only gripe with the machine because the performance is excellent, and this bike got more looks from interested onlookers than any test bike I’ve had for a long time. I even had one old guy come up to us refusing to believe this was a 2022 motorcycle and not something from 40 years ago. Thus, Triumph’s styling department is absolutely on point, even if I personally am more inclined to go for the rangier Scrambler 1200 than the Speed Twin.
Good front-end feel means you can hustle the Speed Twin along at a fair clip.
Electronics-wise you get a handy USB charging point in the un-handy position of under the seat instead of near the dash somewhere, as well as LED lighting with a neat Daytime Running Light. Nighttime vision is decent enough on the Speed Twin, although I’ll admit to being spoiled of late having had the Kawasaki H2 SX SE+ at the same time. But considering there’s only one headlight and no cornering lights, the Speed Twin lights up the road pretty well.
Overall, I enjoyed my time on the Speed Twin, but the small size of the bike means that it’s not for me. Despite this, riders shorter than me will love it as the Speed Twin offers snappy performance mixed in a retro suit that appeals to way more people than just your average motorcyclists. CN
2022 Triumph Street Twin Specifications
| MSRP: |
$12,500 |
| Engine: |
270° crank angle parallel twin, 4-stroke |
| Valvetrain: |
8-valve, SOHC |
| Cooling System: |
Liquid |
| Fueling: |
EFI |
| Displacement: |
1200cc |
| Bore x stroke: |
97.6 x 80mm |
| Compression ratio: |
12.1:1 |
| Power (claimed): |
98 hp at 7250 rpm |
| Torque (claimed): |
83 lb-ft at 4250 rpm |
| Transmission: |
6-speed |
| Clutch: |
Wet multi-disc |
| Chassis: |
Tubular steel |
| Front Suspension: |
43mm USD Marzocchi forks, 4.7 in. travel |
| Rear Suspension: |
Twin RSUs with adjustable preload, 4.7 in. wheel travel. |
| Front-Wheel Travel: |
4.7 in. |
| Rear-Wheel Travel: |
4.7 in. |
| Front Brake: |
Dual 320mm floating disc, Brembo M50 4-piston monobloc caliper, ABS |
| Rear Brake: |
Single 220mm disc, Nissin 2-piston floating caliper, ABS |
| Front Tire: |
120/70 ZR17 in. |
| Rear Tire: |
160/60 ZR17 in. |
| Seat Height: |
31.9 in. |
| Wheelbase: |
55.6 in. |
| Rake: |
22.3° |
| Fuel Capacity: |
3.8 gal. |
| Weight (wet, measured): |
480 lbs. |
