OT Anyone ride a Triumph T595 or 955i ?

If you do what do you think of it and what are the pitfalls of buying one ?

Bazzer

I did 30,000+ miles on a 2001 955i Speed Triple.

Pros
Seriously, one of the best pure road bike engines ever made.
Creamy tourque from tickover, you can ride round in 6th at under 30mph if you like and it’ll pull smoothly.
Astonishing midrange punch, and then another kick at the top end
Wonderful induction roar
Solidly reliable, 75,000 miles+ is no problem at all.
45+mpg easily possible if you’re touring (As a mechanic said to me “Triumph, 45mpg. Honda, 45 miles per tank”)
I can’t say it enough, an utterly peachy enagine 🙂
The bike was firmly sprung (Sportsbike with no fairing. You expect that) with fairly high pegs and a long stretch to the bars. I liked it and was comfy on it.
Very well screwed together, better then the Honda I had before it.
Good brakes.
Solid resale value

Cons:
A bit heavy. Top heavy mostly, but you get used to it.
Not cheap to service if done properly, and DO NOT miss the valve clearance checks.
Needs a better seat, although I never did. 820 miles in one day did hurt a tad though.Slightly clunky gearbox needs a firm foot
Errrr, can’t think of any more.

The only things that went on mine were a few bulbs, and all 3 cables: Clutch, Speedo, Throttle. It was still on the original battery at 33k when I sold it despite never seeing a trickle charger and living outside…. 🙂

I’d not think twice about buying another one, basically. 🙂

This is the only pic I have of it….

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SunnyS3g[/url] by PeterPoddy[/url], on Flickr

I had a T595 many years ago and have only fond memories of it. The gear change is clunky but I never found it a problem. Ground clearance is limited, even with the revised manifold the right hand fairing touched down pretty early and the exhaust shortly after. A brilliant road bike and I love the style. Even now I would like one of the old T595 based speed triples.

Here’s mine, happy days 🙂

Cant decide if I should go for a late 2006 one with low miles for about 3.5k or just get an older one for 1.5K and not worry about it being slightly tatty and just enjoy riding it.

Would service it my self so would not scrimp. I built a Turbo Hayabusa engine that is still going strong in my old Westfield so I reckon it should not be too hard.

Thanks for the feedback chaps, I realise I don’t need the latest and greatest 1L bike and I have always loved the styling of the T595 and I don’t reckon it will be as heavy as my old ZX9R B4 🙂

Edited to add, nice pic 🙂

I had a 955 Speed Triple for 4 years – couldn’t really fault it other than a terrible turning circle and that top heavy feeling at low speed, which as PP says, you get used to. I’m now on my second 1050 (Sprint ST and now Speed Triple)all I can say is – if you can afford one, get one! The Speed Triple (’08) is a fantastic machine.

Interestingly Speed triples, hold their money much better than Daytona’s

I love my 04 Daytona. I’ve put one of those comfort bar conversions on it which makes slower riding a lot easier! I don’t think it feels heavy, nice and stable but will change direction without too much effort.
Have a look at the marketplace on triumphtorque.com, some nice bikes sold through there – and you get some good feedback on what’s wrong with them!

Cant decide if I should go for a late 2006 one with low miles for about 3.5k or just get an older one for 1.5K and not worry about it being slightly tatty and just enjoy riding it.

It might just be me, but my experience of buying old tatty bikes is that I go mental and spend 100s of hours and £1000s of pounds making them lovely.

Nice bikes I leave alone.

5thElefant You could well be right 🙂

Only reason I am considering a cheaper bike is that I never rode my last one towards the end so I am not sure how much I would use it. My circumstances have changed now and my commute is longer so I am thinking I may get more use out of it, but I am not sure.

oldgrump I have been looking on triumphtorque, lot of good info on there.

955 is a slightly better engine.
Keep an eye out for the rear shock and linkage bearings as its a common problem.

As said very smooth motor (I had the speed triple)and does everything you would want.

I did get rid of mine though as it was almost honda like in the way it just does everything well…….but kind of soul less. 😐

I now have an Aprilia Rsvs-r which has far more soul than I can handle at the moment… 😆

I now have an Aprilia Rsvs-r which has far more soul than I can handle at the moment…

Bet that sounds great, is the R model the one with the Ohlins suspension ?

😯 A triple trumpet soul less??? Stick a decent can on and wind it it up and see how soul less they are!!!

Mind you, big Aprilias sound fanbloodytastic. Might even prefer them to the sound of a Duke…. Heresy I know.

A triple trumpet soul less??? Stick a decent can on and wind it it up and see how soul less they are!!!

The sound was great . But the power delivery seemed to electric motor-ish.

Imo 😉

You mean no noticeable power band? I see that as a +, but taking it towards the red line gets things growling more and accelerating harder…. Each to their own ;). I just love bikes!

In contrast this is what I chopped it in for
😯

I had a ’52’ plate 955i Sprint.
It was horrible 🙁
Engine was ok, handling was always dreadful no matter what I did with it…ie. tyres, suspension etc.
Bodywork fitted badly.
Then the starter motor began playing up- this meant a big bill was on the horizon, so I sold it sharpish!

Think I had a bad one. I’ve ridden several other 955’s and all but one other has been fine. The ‘other’ was an 04 S3. It burned oil like a Red Arrow!

Owned a 1050 S3. Bloody fantastic bike. The most fun bike I ever had. I’ve ridden a couple of 1050’s and they have all been good.

I’d happily but a 955 (or older) again, but a good test ride is essential.

Really nice Guzzi…. can I have a go?!?

oldgrump08.

Sadly it had to go to make way for the Aprilia.

I sounded like a chinook(spelling) with those pipes on.

Traded my T595 in for an Aprilia too, an 02 RSVR. It took a bit more getting used to but I have a theory that less cylinders = more ‘character’.

Thanks for all the input !!!

Looked at an absolute mint 2005 Daytona in yellow yesterday it was like new complete with the high level carbon race can.

Looking at another one tomorrow, so may have some pictures after the weekend 🙂

Had a change of heart on the Daytona. Realised the only reason I was looking at them was because they were better value than the Speed Triple second hand.

Went to the local Triumph dealer and they were great. Test rode a Speed triple and Street Triple. Speed was fantastic but when I rode the Street Triple R I was blown away. Not as much by the engine but the handling was fantastic. Just like my old R6 except comfier 🙂

So I bought a 09 Street Triple R in Orange and I pick it up on Friday 🙂 Can’t wait 🙂

Nice. I couldn’t decide between a Street and a Speed, but in the end I got the Speed because of the (slightly) better pillion provision and the engine. The handling’s excellent, but it does feel heavier than the Street, especially at low speed. But that engine ………..

Stanley – it really sounds like you got a bad one, normally all the 955 bikes are bombproof. Having said that, ‘they’ reckon that if the battery is dodgy it can knacker the sprag clutch which was your worry, I think.

Yes it was close and the Speed does have a presence, it looks like a big bike.

To sum it up I thought the Speed was all about the engine and the street was all about the chassis.

Might swap it for a speed when the new 2011 version drops in price a bit.

PS edited to add Triumph dealer was fantastic, no problem in getting a test ride 😉