Street triple

[chickenstrip]

Toying with the idea of getting one, and have decided that when my leg has improved enough, I'm going to go test ride one. I really want to see what all the fuss is about. Whether I do succumb will depend on how comfortable it is, although keeping my Fazer means it'd just be a toy for fun Sunday kind of rides, so not considering doing big distances. But I'm 6' 2'', so it might all come to nothing if it's just silly cramped for the legs.

There's a car/bike accessories place near me that is selling one for a customer, and if I'd been 100% fit, I would have been seriously tempted. 2014 I think, not sure if it's an R model, and don't know the mileage, but immaculate standard, guy wants £5950, which I might well have paid for the convenience of it being on my doorstep (impulse buy, danger has passed I think ).

But even if not buying private, my local Triumph dealer have a selection for less than that, so I was browsing their site, but wondered if there's a best year for these? Probably wouldn't stretch to an R, so what would those in the know recommend? I reckon £5k would be my top price.

The only other problem I have is that come next year, both bikes may have to go into storage for a while, which so far looks like it'll cost about £37 per month per bike. But sometimes, you just gotta plough ahead with these things

A big part of the reason for wanting to try one is that I still haven't ridden anything newer than my Fazer (2002) and want to get a taste of how far bikes have come since then. Lots out there to choose from, but it keeps coming back to the Striple, as everyone bangs on about how good they are, so seems like a good starting point (can't ride sports bikes as I can't reach the bars with a dodgy arm).

TL;DR Thinking of getting a Street Triple, anything I should know, any problems, year to avoid, anything like that? £5k max budget.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

In B4 Paddy.

EDIT- I'm seriously considering buying one over winter if I can get the 954 fixed and sold, or can save a little more monies.

Seem like awesome little bikes. Engine is mint, suspension is questionable, build quality is okish (bolts like to rust IIRC).
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My Flickr

[Polarbear]

I had an 11 plate one. Lovely bike, especially with after market cans on!

Down side was it didn't tour well. No where to bungee stuff on and ended up scratching the paint on the tail piece The paint on mine seemed rather soft. It needs a rack or ventura luggage if you plan on touring on it.

I had one of the last round eyed ones. Lights weren't the best but passable. Decent bulbs improved it.

The R needs the suspension set up properly. Mine was like a hard tail when I got it and I never got it right myself. A track day suspension firm set it up for me and after that was fine.

People say the R isn't worth the extra monies and I'm inclined to agree. I preferred the R paint scheme though.

The one I really liked was the back with gold wheels, that was stunning. After that, the gun metal matt colour that Marjay has is nice.

tl;dr Cracking bikes, wonderful engine and handling. Much easier to ride fast than a full on sports bike IMHO. Painful keeping it above 100mph being a naked though.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[chickenstrip]

[P.addy]

If you can find a way of getting to Maidstone you are welcome to take mine away for a few weeks to see if its "your thing"

I couldn't think of a more road based fun bike. Noise, power and handling all in 1 bundle.

[chickenstrip]

[Albigularis]

The Street Triple isn't a "big" bike. At your height I'd expect that you would manage one, but any taller and I'd be reluctant to suggest it. One of my friends who tried mine is 6' and he said it's quite comfy so it shouldn't be too bad.

For £5k you could get a great example round-eye R with some extras and a good wad of change like this one *cough*.

I do think that going for the R is worth it, if just for the extra braking power. I've tried a standard and an R now and the brakes on they are brilliant in comparison, the modulation is so much better.

Service wise, if it's got over 12k, make sure it's had the big service done. Other than that, just make sure that if it's of the applicable years that it's had the rectifier recall (if you can see the fins behind the shock, then it's been done).

Not sure about the 'nowhere to bungee stuff' comment - the bits of the subframe under the seat, the stock numberplate hangar (it's basically a small scaffolding) and pillion pegs all make great bungee points. I get the shopping on mine with bungee'd-on bags all the time.

Handling wise they're great, I can only comment on the R here, but the weight distribution is quite good and it gives the back a good chance to dig in. It feels very comfortable leant over, never feels like it's about to step out of line. The only thing to beware of is that the torque makes it very easy to lift the front at low-speed in very sharp turns. Done it on my commute once when riding round a taxi that was arsing about and nearly wheelied straight into Mrs Business who decided to sprint across the road in front of me.

I went to see a Ducati 749 the other week as I've wanted one for years and it was cheaper than what my bike is worth, but after doing the same test route on my bike, I decided not to take it. My bike handles almost as well, it's very nearly as fast in a straight line, the engine is smoother, it's more comfortable, cheaper to run... Although that does bring me to the Street Triple's only downside (for me anyway). If you commute on it in heavy traffic - ie lots of start-stop-floor it away from/through traffic type riding, you'll get 25mpg if the gods are on your good side. Motorway and big-road use, I average about 38/40. Purely motorway I can manage 50.

Another great thing about them is that they're very unassuming, nobody remembers it or shouts out about it when they see it. Not sure about others, but I like that it's good at avoiding old-man-I-had-a-motorbike-before-the-war conversations and young guys telling you they've done 250mph up the local stretch of motorway on their mates quadruple turbo Suzuki Fireblade.
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Biking history so far-
Aprilia RS125 - Kawasaki ZXR400 - Triumph Street Triple R - Suzuki GSXR1000 L3 - BMW R1200GS - Kawasaki Z1000 - Kawasaki ZX10R C1H - Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring - Suzuki Hayabusa

[chickenstrip]

[deeds]

I have just replaced My rear shock for one off the R and My lower back is still thanking Me.

If you don't go for the R I would definitely consider upgrading.

[Old Git Racing]

Just for balance I'll chuck in my two pennies worth.

I bought a new squint eyed 'R' model in 2012. Fancied something different so traded a K7 GSXR 750 for it. I'm a fairly quick rider, do track days occasionally, used to race on track and road. Test rode a standard ST and got a good deal on the R model. From all the gushing about the STR in the bike press it had to be right, right?

I rode it for a year, did 6k on it and sold it. It still remains in my mind the most disappointing bike I've owned in relation to expectations. This is just my opinion as you will get 99 others saying it's a great bike.

Engine - Best bit of the bike but runs out of steam at the top end, why did they detune the 675 motor and put it in this? Engine used quite a lot of oil, when I asked about this they said its normal. (None of my other modernish bikes have used oil like this did.) Fuel consumption was about 40 average, ok.

Running gear and finish - Cheap components like indicators that broke off on their own, headlamps cracking ( both done under recall warranty) Bolts went rusty especially around the exhaust/shock area and I only ride in the wet if caught out. General finish average for me but never rode it in winter so can't really comment on what it would be like. Mine had the gel seat and was ok for about an hour then it was numb arse time.

Suspension and brakes - Brakes were ok, not outstanding just ok. Thought the ones on the standard ST were crap when I test rode it.
The suspension was the deal breaker for me. To say this was the R version it was rubbish. I know how to set up a bikes suspension, been doing it for years but this bike defeated me largely due to the poor quality of the components. The adjusters for rebound and compression on both forks and shock only worked for 3 or 4 clicks at either end of the scale meaning it was too hard or too soft. The rear spring was too hard for solo riding, the front too soft. The rear spring overcame the damping. I messed about with it a lot. The ST forum is full of suspension threads, best bet seemed to be to change the shock for something decent and have the forks revalved, not something I wanted to do on a new bike. Again why didn't they just put the 675 suspension on with 2 speed damping and adjusters that work?

In short it wasn't the bike for me, but as I said most people rave about them. If I was buying another ( I wouldn't ) I'd look to getting a modded one in terms of suspension.
Don't let my experience put you off, go and try one and see what you think.

OGR
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2022 Tiger Sport 660 2019 Street Twin 2003 K3 gixxer 1000 1998 Srad 600 track hack

[P.addy]

I found the initial suspension setup a little soft but the more I rode it the nicer it felt.

I really cannot fault it. I got 55mpg on the motorway and have got 20 at its lowest which was absolutely ragging the tits out of it in 2nd and 3rd doing wheelies.

I've not ridden the R, however it can't be that different. Bit of suspension but unlikely to make or break the decision.

[chickenstrip]

Sorry, this turned out to be a bit more TL;DR than intended

[Alex A]

[chickenstrip]

[Albigularis]

Re- corrosion. I've been using this bike as a commuter and the person before me did as well. Even through previous winters, still looks like this when cleaned down-

https://i.imgur.com/0g3Oxyq.jpg

I'd say judge it on your test ride, but as others said, if I was your height I'd probably try and a grab a Tuono. Although I'm biased because I prefer v-twins... Already thinking about financing me a Tuono 1100 when released next year.
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Biking history so far-
Aprilia RS125 - Kawasaki ZXR400 - Triumph Street Triple R - Suzuki GSXR1000 L3 - BMW R1200GS - Kawasaki Z1000 - Kawasaki ZX10R C1H - Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring - Suzuki Hayabusa

[chickenstrip]

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

I cant compare directly as I had an older (round headlight) ST and now have an Aprilia Falco (same engine in the older (single headlight) version of the Tuono. Ive had no reliability problems bar to do with age related wear and tear on my Falco. It has almost 50,000 miles on it.

I know I'm protected by the wind more on the Falco but it's too much for fast use to be fun on the roads. The engine is also awful around town, far too lumpy and too much clutch slipping required in London traffic. Good for fast roads but maybe too fast.

ST brakes are definately a weak spot. I never had an issue with corrosion, reliability or suspension on mine and it was used through winter to commute (although I only weight 60kg).
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Pictorgraphicalfantastical

[Polarbear]

[Alex A]

[Aspire]

I have a speed four and was considering a street but having rode both to me its not worth the extra 3k, the speed four handles & stops better then the std street power wise not much in it. Going from a fazer I think you will find the same, the difference isn't worth the £. I would rather a tuono, ktm etc etc

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[Nemo]

The only thing you have to check periodically, on most triumphs using the triple, is the engine casing bolts.

They like to come loose on their own accord and can start weeping oil.

Other than that, cracking bike, however i still haven't rode an mt-09 to see how it compares.
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Previously owned: Kawasaki KH125, Suzuki GP125, Suzuki GX 125, Honda CB125 TDC '83, Honda ntv 600, Kawasaki ER5, Kawasaki ZZR600, Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille
Now own: Ducati 848 evo

[P.addy]

Brakes, superb. However pads will likely be the biggest change you can find.

[stonesie]

[Albigularis]