Here was the first proper big British sports bike for many years and one which - on paper at least - promised to give the legendary FireBlade a run for its money. Cue 'Land of Hope and Glory' and much jingoistic flag waving.
But, when the flags stopped waving and the music had died down it could be argued that the original wasn't quite the bike it was hyped to be. Understandable hyperbole from the weekly motorcycle press allied to final development being inexcusably completed by the first paying customers led to the machine and its image losing some of its shine.
Eventually, while the Honda FireBlade and Yamaha R1 went off in sportier directions, Triumph quietly went about slowly refining the bike and ironing out the early bugs until it could stand alone as a machine which would become a modern classic and foster its own passionate band of owners and admirers.
If you want to try and pigeon-hole the 955i, you could simply look at it as a rarer ZX-9R. Both machines started out as sportier machines but while the 9R was always in the shadow of its sportier Japanese siblings the British bike could stand aloof from the Japanese cutting-edge competition.
Riding the T595/955 has never been as silky as swinging a leg over a Jap four, but you get a connection with the Trumpet that you simply don't get with a rice-burner. Yes the clutch can be heavy, yes your wrists can ache on the early models, sure it runs hot, but it's involving, visceral, emotive and, yes, sometimes agricultural.
Effectively, there's been a myriad of changes to the family under the skin, with three major models being easily identifiable thanks to major aesthetic changes and it would be fair to say that the bike has got better as it's got older. Finish has improved, fasteners have shrugged off the weather easier and castings have been of higher quality. So if you want a bit of British bark in your garage take a look at the 955i.
Here was the first proper big British sports bike for many years and one which - on paper at least - promised to give the legendary FireBlade a run for its money. Cue 'Land of Hope and Glory' and much jingoistic flag waving.
But, when the flags stopped waving and the music had died down it could be argued that the original wasn't quite the bike it was hyped to be. Understandable hyperbole from the weekly motorcycle press allied to final development being inexcusably completed by the first paying customers led to the machine and its image losing some of its shine.
Eventually, while the Honda FireBlade and Yamaha R1 went off in sportier directions, Triumph quietly went about slowly refining the bike and ironing out the early bugs until it could stand alone as a machine which would become a modern classic and foster its own passionate band of owners and admirers.
If you want to try and pigeon-hole the 955i, you could simply look at it as a rarer ZX-9R. Both machines started out as sportier machines but while the 9R was always in the shadow of its sportier Japanese siblings the British bike could stand aloof from the Japanese cutting-edge competition.
Riding the T595/955 has never been as silky as swinging a leg over a Jap four, but you get a connection with the Trumpet that you simply don't get with a rice-burner. Yes the clutch can be heavy, yes your wrists can ache on the early models, sure it runs hot, but it's involving, visceral, emotive and, yes, sometimes agricultural.
Effectively, there's been a myriad of changes to the family under the skin, with three major models being easily identifiable thanks to major aesthetic changes and it would be fair to say that the bike has got better as it's got older. Finish has improved, fasteners have shrugged off the weather easier and castings have been of higher quality. So if you want a bit of British bark in your garage take a look at the 955i.
