He he he he he he he.

good design lineage….

Nice

Only been out for a short ride around the town on it thus far – waiting for a sparky to turn up and fix things… but early impressions are it is much easier to ride without killing myself than I imagined (bit of a pussycat… but I am only using teeny throttle openings) and it is disarmingly fast.

I expect it will be a lot of fun once the weather improves a bit 😉

Just looks like a motorbike to me! 😉

w00t. Good arent they. 🙂

Is that a Speed Four or Street Triple?

I had one of those for 6 years/29,000 miles. Lovely bit of kit, superbly reliable and a wonderful engine. Do yourself a favour and resist the temptation to fit a race can though. They make bugger all difference and just drown out the wonderful howling from the airbox, whaich is your own presonal soundtrack. The engine runs smoother too.
And also, when it comes to tyres, swap the 190/50 rear for a 180/55. It improves the handling no end
🙂

This was mine, just after I bought it SH. Although I sold the can and I had the seat hump, too

I swapped it for this, last summer, which is just as wonderful, but in a slightly different way…
🙂

nice bike – revolting colour.

Hornet – it’s the Triple.

Peter – that’s interesting to hear… I had been toying with a high level carbon can (though a road legal one, not a race can) just to boost the road presence like 😉 My lid is so quiet that I can’t hear the engine much through it, my TDM had chuffing load cans on and that let me hear what the engine was doing better 😉

Shall keep that tyre advice in mind too – think the rear looks about half worn at the moment so should see me through a fair few miles yet.

Molgrips – that’s what I love about the Speed Triple (and the other big nakeds) they look just like a motorbike should look.

Which one??? Bikes were only designed to be as Mr Ford once said, any colour as long as it’s black!!

Oh aye – was considering a Monster, but it had to be an S4… and… well… I just really wanted a Speed Triple more (been an ambition since ’94 to own one!)

Rob, I’m not a fan of loud cans for several reasons 😀
a) They serve no purpose other than to pose to other bikers (Perfomance/safety benefits are negligeable/debateable at best)
b) They annoy non-bikers and we hardly need any more bad press, do we?
c) Bikes rarely run as well with one fitted
d) I’d rather spend the money on tyres and fuel and actually ride the bike
e) If you want to go faster, the first place to start is on the brakes and handling, before trying for more power.

That said, the Triumph high level can is the best you can get. I had a Blue Flame Evo (Road legal, removeable baffles) for a while and it didn’t fit as well, or look as good and it left the bottom end rather fluffy…

Wait until you get that S3 out in the wilds and really open it up… the last 2000 revs hold a bit of punch, I can tell you….
You’ll love it. I did.
😀

(been an ambition since ’94 to own one!)

Yeah, me too.
I still want one of the original single headlight models as well. In black. They look sooooooo, err, tough and purposeful…

There’s another bike I’ve always lusted after too. That’s the Monster then.
🙂

I think I may have hit the heady hights of 3000 rpm this morning, but I was in town so couldn’t do much more than that anyway 😉 Just waiting for some nice weather to get out and open her up properly!

I think the main things I am going to be adding in the nearish future will be some better leathers, boots and lid… and possibly some luggage.

Entirely take your point on loud cans – it was something being toyed with, but I can see better ways to spend my cash in all honesty. If I ever need to replace the exhaust I will probably do it… which is why the TDM had a full Nexus system on it… but it is pretty far down my priorities. May get a Corbin saddle though 😉

PeterPoddy, or anyone with a big bike for that matter.

How much does it cost to insure your bike?

Always wondered if it varies as much as car insurance does with different ins. groups?

What would your average 125cc learner bike cost, say for a 35-40year old with a clean licence with FNCB, compared to say a top of the range Ducati?

PMSL at stoner, a second time today – you’re on form! Took the words I hadn’t yet formed, right out of my mouth!

The Corbin saddle will be worth it. I was offered a SH one and turned it down, then a few years later cursed myself as we rode 820 miles back from Switzerland, in one shot….
😯

3000 rpm? You’ve yet to hit that massive mid-range yet then!
Mine would trickle round all day at 30-40mph in top then simply take off with a bit of throttle, if I wanted it to.

But if you give it some, and as you hit the last 2000 rpm, the exhaust/airbox noise sort of hardens and deepens and you end up buggering off down the road in a flurry of gearchnges and manic giggling…..

PeterPoddy, or anyone with a big bike for that matter.

How much does it cost to insure your bike?

Always wondered if it varies as much as car insurance does with different ins. groups?

What would your average 125cc learner bike cost, say for a 35-40year old with a clean licence with FNCB, compared to say a top of the range Ducati?

Now I’m a bit lucky here, I’ve got full bike NCB and the bikes I choose seem to be cheap to insure as well.
Car NCB isn’t transferable to bikes
The Duke is 696cc, and I reckon it’ll cost me about £130 fully comp at renewal. The Triumph was about £150 f/c. I’ve got a limited milage on those though, and specifically excluded commuting, which does help a LOT
I did have a 180cc Gilera scooter that sill cost me about £125 to insure, but that was a seperate policy with no NCB.
It’ll cost more if you’re on L plates, but it shouldn’t be too bad, especially bearing in mind it’s only £15 tax on a 125.

Aye – been told that the thing starts to wake up properly above 5k rpm… just need to not be in a 30 or 40 zone to find it 😉 I was being entertained by just how tractable the engine is though – sitting in a 30 in 4th, and a slight increase in throttle and the thing picks up and goes! My TDM would only do that in 2nd!

Ski – no idea on the various prices – I have 0 no claims, and a licence that is freshly minted (well, it was in the summer)… so suffer from expensive insurance. That said, the Speed Triple is costing £280/year fully comp… which isn’t bad for a pretty sizeable machine. The TDM 850 was coming in at £80 third party fire & theft for comparison. Never owned or ridden a 125 (other than the day of CBT) but expect they would cost utter buttons to insure (my prices are for a 33 y/o living in Cumbria)

How much does it cost to insure your bike?

depends very much on your location, mileage you’ll be doing, garaged or not. also gets cheaper if you remove the pillion passenger option.

a 125cc will be cheap. they’re generally cheap bikes.
a ducati is altogether a different beast. best run a quote online for an idea.

a race can though. They make bugger all difference

utter tosh.
a properly fitted race can with the engine rejetted or remapped will be the biggest bang per buck you will get from a bike. additionally, a carbon can weighs a fraction of a standard steel one – offering a power to weight boost.

utter tosh.
a properly fitted race can with the engine rejetted or remapped will be the biggest bang per buck you will get from a bike. additionally, a carbon can weighs a fraction of a standard steel one – offering a power to weight boost.

Sorry, I beg to differ.
(And I know I’ve got an odd point of view here)
But exactly how much faster will a bike like a S3 be with ohh, 4bhp extra, if you’re lucky?
It’s fractions of a second on a race track if anything, and on the road how many times can you use all the performance of even a 600cc commuer?
Not very blooming often!
In 6 years I never maxed my S3 out, top speed wise, and it had enough performance on tap without going over 5000rpm to blow 95% of cars into the weeds with consummate ease.

And ‘a fraction of a standard one’ ?
What? Come off it!
You’ll maybe save 2,3,4 kg? It’s nothing. Nowt. You’ll never, ever notice that in a million years.

You’ll go faster if you spend the money on advanced training or get some expeience under your belt spending the money on fuel and actually riding the thing. Or maybe get the suspension set up correctly….

That being said, I do understand why people buy them.
They look lovely, they make the bike a bit ‘different’ (although these days a standard bike stands out more, I reckon 😉 ) They’re a talking point at Box Hill. Riders want to hear the noise of the engine, and make sure they get noticed as they wobble through town. It’s sheer pose value, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Just admit it, that’s all……

But kidding yourself, trying to justify it, that it’s making you faster? Oh come off it, sunshine!
😀

I expect it will be a lot of fun once the weather improves a bit [;-)]

tut, tut fair weather riders!! 😉

Oh, by the way, I’ve ummed and ahhed about fitting carbon Termis to my Duke. They come with a race ECU and air filter and give a proven 8bhp increase over standard, which is a lot. And they look lovely, too.
But £750 on a £5750 bike is just too much and I really don’t want to drown out the wonderful rich noise of the airbox.

So, d’ya know what I did instead? I spent £15 on a 1-tooth smaller front sprocket (Dukes are generally overgeared to get them through emissions testing) which plonks the useable rev range just where I need it, improves acceleration noticeably, and makes it far more tractable at lower speeds.

That beats your ‘bang per buck’ hands down, fella!

😉

ut, tut fair weather riders!! [:wink:]

Don’t you believe it 😉 If it’s raining/snowing/cold/miserable… I have a car to get me places. If the sun is shining and I am feeling somewhat more sprightly then the bike is the answer 😉

eewww they’ve got engines.. unclean…unclean…

4bhp?

If a superbike weighs 165Kgs that translates to an extra 24BHP per tonne.
That also goes up by lightening the bike.

Call me picky but wont the tree sticking out of the seat get in your way?

The tree is there to keep me on – just slot it on up yer arse and you aint going to fall off the back 😉

Sorry… did I take that too far…