06-20-2019, 09:09 AM
Before I bought my new Z900, I was also considering the new Speed Twin, as well as the upcoming R1250R, which would likely be my first choice. Too expensive, however. For that matter, I really didn't relish the idea of taking on the cost of another spendy new Triumph.
Anyway, after my latest ordeal regarding my CB and Honda of America's attitude regarding my bike's issues, I rode away from the dealership fairly p.o.'d. Each time I came to a stop during my ride, and the brakes either squealed or the rotors made that cracking sound, I grew more angry. Eventually, after taking some twisties up to Grass Valley, I decided to cut the ride short and head back to town to visit my Triumph dealer. My purpose was twofold; one, to take pics of the rubber dampers Triumph placed behind the rotors of the 2017 T120, the thought being that I'd like to see if anyone here knows whether Honda has added those to the CB in other markets, or maybe someone here knows of a place that could fab some up for my bike; two, to take a test rider on the Speed Twin.
I'll deal with the Honda question in another thread. For this 'other bikes' forum, I'll simply give my thoughts on the new Speed Twin.
Okay, first off...wow. Wow, in so many ways. Wow, for diametrically opposed reasons.
You know how the Honda feels like a big ol' 1100, in every way? She has that big, stout, massively beating heart of a liter Four. She is long and rangy. When you get on the throttle, you feel Big Mechanical Things happening beneath you. Everything about this CB1100 feels like something Thor might ride into Ragnarok.
The 1200 Speed Twin? If someone blindfolded me and sat me on the bike, then let me ride it blindfolded (oh, shut up), I would guess that I was on either a Yamaha MT-07 or a Kawasaki Z650. Maybe a Street Twin. The thing feels that small, and not just physically. Sure, the ST is tiny, with one of the slimmest tanks I've ever encountered, complementing a riding position that is dead-nuts perfect for my small size. Think SV650, only skinnier. On top of that, the motor feels just as tiny. It feels like it has no grunt at all, and it revs into its very short redline (7,000 rpm? 7,500? Something like that...) every time I even breathe on the throttle. That thing revs so quickly, you'd never know it's a parallel twin, much less a 1200cc parallel twin. It feels absolutely nothing like the T120, which, while also having zero top end, at least feels like it gives a semi-decent little shove of grunt off the bottom.
This Speed Twin is not like that. It feels like a two-stroke go-kart. It's nearly as buzzy, too, as soon as you blitz into and through the midrange at the blink of an eye. The buzzing of that poor, overworked little (huge) mill is omnipresent, once you move beyond putzing-around speeds. It buzzes way worse than the CB, Z900, XSR900, or even the Street Triple. As soon as you think about accelerating reasonably hard, you're met with a wave of vibrations that permeate the entire bike, and before you know it you've ran into the redline.
It happens every time, and so effortlessly. You don't even have to try.
Yep, it's just like any 600-class Twin you've ever ridden, especially if you were trying to keep up with faster buddies on faster bikes. You use ALL the revs, ALL the time, and you feel like you need to apologize to the poor little dear afterward.
On the other hand, the chassis is PHENOMENAL. As much as the motor feels like a wheezy little 600 Twin, the chassis feels like the most well sorted, best-handling 600 you've ever thrown a leg over. It's mind-boggling, how well that bike handles. It turns even easier than the Z900, and that really is saying something.
Triumph applied some serious alchemy to this chassis. It's pure magic. Zero suspension adjustments available, too, and it just doesn't matter. At least for someone my size (5'8", 175 lbs) this chassis strikes the perfect balance of a supple ride, right-now steering response, rock-solid stability, sufficient firmness, and incredible user-friendliness.
The same can be said regarding those bar-end mirrors. I've never liked bar-end mirrors. They usually buzz like mad. These mirrors are every bit as clear as those on my CB, and they offer an even less obstructed rearward view. They're straight-up amazing.
The instruments are pretty cool, except for the fact that all I ever noticed was the tach needle plowing into redline, which was more than a little disconcerting. Also, the numbers/functions in the digital display windows are hard to discern at a quick glance, and I wasn't a fan of the way it takes forever for the ride-mode display to register your current selection, whenever you tried to switch modes.
On the plus side, the 'Sport' mode wasn't nearly as on-off twitchy as I'd read in some reports. It was fine. No worries. 'Road' mode is supposed to be way better for city riding, but I found it to be no different from 'Sport.' I never tried 'Rain,' and I doubt I ever would.
One of the things that drew me to the Speed Twin was the sound I heard in all the clips. Also, I used to love the sound of the T120, whether simply blipping the throttle or tooling along on the freeway. Loved that soothing P-Twin syncopated thrum.
Not so, with this one. In fact, I hated its tone, and I really hated its overall feel. It always felt thrashy and overstressed. It offers none of the T120's soothing cadence. Instead, you get a constant cacophony of two British cylinders trying like mad to do the job of three or four non-Italian slugs. Simply put, the Speed Twin always feels overworked, outgunned, and ready to grenade. My XSR or Z900 would rip its heart out, hold it up, and eat it right in front of the poor ST.
Which is crazy, because the specs indicate nothing of the sort. The ST's wet weight is the same as the Kawi's. The torque is even greater, and it's spread across a shorter, flatter range. The rwhp is down about twenty-five to my piped Yamaha or the stock Z900, so there's that, but here's the thing. The ST just doesn't feel like it has the guts, the gravitas, of a proper 1200 Twin. There is no way I should ever confuse those specs with those of a 50 rwhp Z650, or even a 70 rwhp MT-07 or SV650. On paper, and on the dyno, the ST has so much more torque than those little 650s. It ought to feel like a locomotive, even if it does run out of steam at the very top.
Nope. It just feels hollow and zippy; hollow, being the key. The chassis feels light and hollow, and so does the motor. There is no weighty, meaty core, letting you know you're astride a Real Man's Ride.
Now, sure, plenty of very light, fast bikes have a similar hollow feeling. Think of any supersport 600, or many racy superbikes. The difference is, they're also hellaciously fast, once you get the revs up. This ST is definitely not hellaciously fast, or even entertainingly fast. There are no revs to play with, and no monster grunt to shove you forward in that usual, satisfying way of so many V-based motors.
It's a go-kart, pure and simple. The most surprising, unexpected of go-karts, but a go-kart nonetheless...and, thank god, that description also describes the Speed Twin's wicked little chassis.
Would I still consider buying one?
Nope. I've crossed it off my list. As much as I love the way it handles, there is no way I'd spend well over $12K for that motor. These things are, after all, called motorcycles, and for a full third fewer dollars my equally light Z900 will rip the lungs out of the Speed Twin.
Man, though, what a chassis. Best-handling streetbike I've ever ridden, bar none.
You know what this ride really did for me? It seriously whetted my appetite for a ride on the new KTM 790 Duke. A truly tiny P-Twin, but with more power, similar torque, many more revs, a thoroughly modern, purpose-built chassis, and something like one hundred fewer pounds?
'The Scalpel,' indeed.
Anyway, after my latest ordeal regarding my CB and Honda of America's attitude regarding my bike's issues, I rode away from the dealership fairly p.o.'d. Each time I came to a stop during my ride, and the brakes either squealed or the rotors made that cracking sound, I grew more angry. Eventually, after taking some twisties up to Grass Valley, I decided to cut the ride short and head back to town to visit my Triumph dealer. My purpose was twofold; one, to take pics of the rubber dampers Triumph placed behind the rotors of the 2017 T120, the thought being that I'd like to see if anyone here knows whether Honda has added those to the CB in other markets, or maybe someone here knows of a place that could fab some up for my bike; two, to take a test rider on the Speed Twin.
I'll deal with the Honda question in another thread. For this 'other bikes' forum, I'll simply give my thoughts on the new Speed Twin.
Okay, first off...wow. Wow, in so many ways. Wow, for diametrically opposed reasons.
You know how the Honda feels like a big ol' 1100, in every way? She has that big, stout, massively beating heart of a liter Four. She is long and rangy. When you get on the throttle, you feel Big Mechanical Things happening beneath you. Everything about this CB1100 feels like something Thor might ride into Ragnarok.
The 1200 Speed Twin? If someone blindfolded me and sat me on the bike, then let me ride it blindfolded (oh, shut up), I would guess that I was on either a Yamaha MT-07 or a Kawasaki Z650. Maybe a Street Twin. The thing feels that small, and not just physically. Sure, the ST is tiny, with one of the slimmest tanks I've ever encountered, complementing a riding position that is dead-nuts perfect for my small size. Think SV650, only skinnier. On top of that, the motor feels just as tiny. It feels like it has no grunt at all, and it revs into its very short redline (7,000 rpm? 7,500? Something like that...) every time I even breathe on the throttle. That thing revs so quickly, you'd never know it's a parallel twin, much less a 1200cc parallel twin. It feels absolutely nothing like the T120, which, while also having zero top end, at least feels like it gives a semi-decent little shove of grunt off the bottom.
This Speed Twin is not like that. It feels like a two-stroke go-kart. It's nearly as buzzy, too, as soon as you blitz into and through the midrange at the blink of an eye. The buzzing of that poor, overworked little (huge) mill is omnipresent, once you move beyond putzing-around speeds. It buzzes way worse than the CB, Z900, XSR900, or even the Street Triple. As soon as you think about accelerating reasonably hard, you're met with a wave of vibrations that permeate the entire bike, and before you know it you've ran into the redline.
It happens every time, and so effortlessly. You don't even have to try.
Yep, it's just like any 600-class Twin you've ever ridden, especially if you were trying to keep up with faster buddies on faster bikes. You use ALL the revs, ALL the time, and you feel like you need to apologize to the poor little dear afterward.
On the other hand, the chassis is PHENOMENAL. As much as the motor feels like a wheezy little 600 Twin, the chassis feels like the most well sorted, best-handling 600 you've ever thrown a leg over. It's mind-boggling, how well that bike handles. It turns even easier than the Z900, and that really is saying something.
Triumph applied some serious alchemy to this chassis. It's pure magic. Zero suspension adjustments available, too, and it just doesn't matter. At least for someone my size (5'8", 175 lbs) this chassis strikes the perfect balance of a supple ride, right-now steering response, rock-solid stability, sufficient firmness, and incredible user-friendliness.
The same can be said regarding those bar-end mirrors. I've never liked bar-end mirrors. They usually buzz like mad. These mirrors are every bit as clear as those on my CB, and they offer an even less obstructed rearward view. They're straight-up amazing.
The instruments are pretty cool, except for the fact that all I ever noticed was the tach needle plowing into redline, which was more than a little disconcerting. Also, the numbers/functions in the digital display windows are hard to discern at a quick glance, and I wasn't a fan of the way it takes forever for the ride-mode display to register your current selection, whenever you tried to switch modes.
On the plus side, the 'Sport' mode wasn't nearly as on-off twitchy as I'd read in some reports. It was fine. No worries. 'Road' mode is supposed to be way better for city riding, but I found it to be no different from 'Sport.' I never tried 'Rain,' and I doubt I ever would.
One of the things that drew me to the Speed Twin was the sound I heard in all the clips. Also, I used to love the sound of the T120, whether simply blipping the throttle or tooling along on the freeway. Loved that soothing P-Twin syncopated thrum.
Not so, with this one. In fact, I hated its tone, and I really hated its overall feel. It always felt thrashy and overstressed. It offers none of the T120's soothing cadence. Instead, you get a constant cacophony of two British cylinders trying like mad to do the job of three or four non-Italian slugs. Simply put, the Speed Twin always feels overworked, outgunned, and ready to grenade. My XSR or Z900 would rip its heart out, hold it up, and eat it right in front of the poor ST.
Which is crazy, because the specs indicate nothing of the sort. The ST's wet weight is the same as the Kawi's. The torque is even greater, and it's spread across a shorter, flatter range. The rwhp is down about twenty-five to my piped Yamaha or the stock Z900, so there's that, but here's the thing. The ST just doesn't feel like it has the guts, the gravitas, of a proper 1200 Twin. There is no way I should ever confuse those specs with those of a 50 rwhp Z650, or even a 70 rwhp MT-07 or SV650. On paper, and on the dyno, the ST has so much more torque than those little 650s. It ought to feel like a locomotive, even if it does run out of steam at the very top.
Nope. It just feels hollow and zippy; hollow, being the key. The chassis feels light and hollow, and so does the motor. There is no weighty, meaty core, letting you know you're astride a Real Man's Ride.
Now, sure, plenty of very light, fast bikes have a similar hollow feeling. Think of any supersport 600, or many racy superbikes. The difference is, they're also hellaciously fast, once you get the revs up. This ST is definitely not hellaciously fast, or even entertainingly fast. There are no revs to play with, and no monster grunt to shove you forward in that usual, satisfying way of so many V-based motors.
It's a go-kart, pure and simple. The most surprising, unexpected of go-karts, but a go-kart nonetheless...and, thank god, that description also describes the Speed Twin's wicked little chassis.
Would I still consider buying one?
Nope. I've crossed it off my list. As much as I love the way it handles, there is no way I'd spend well over $12K for that motor. These things are, after all, called motorcycles, and for a full third fewer dollars my equally light Z900 will rip the lungs out of the Speed Twin.
Man, though, what a chassis. Best-handling streetbike I've ever ridden, bar none.
You know what this ride really did for me? It seriously whetted my appetite for a ride on the new KTM 790 Duke. A truly tiny P-Twin, but with more power, similar torque, many more revs, a thoroughly modern, purpose-built chassis, and something like one hundred fewer pounds?
'The Scalpel,' indeed.
