2013 Triumph Street Triple R review

Made for roads like these

White looks the business

Simple clocks, perfect for the job

This is page 2. Click here for page 1 of our 2013 Triumph Street Triple R review.

Is that a good thing? Well, I quite like a bike that needs bossing around.

Triumph have revised the frame and it now features an adjustable pivot position for the swingarm and due to that, there's a small geometry change but the noticable change is the steering lock which has been increased: up from 56-degrees lock-to-lock to 62-degrees. Bound to make it easier to muscle around town, around a U-turn and around the garage. I bet they kicked themselves for not allowing more lock in the original Daytona 675's frame.

Even though Triumph haven't really altered the motor, it's still worth more of your time. Unlike a four-cylinder 600 naked, the three-cylinder Triumph can pull from low down. Even loading it up in top gear at 40mph, it doesn't take long for the Street Triple to overcome the adverse gearing and haul you up to 120mph. Try that on a 600 and you'd go backwards ...and then the motor would go pop.

It's not just a cliche: you definitely change gear less on the Street Triple than you would on any other 600 and that makes for a more relaxing and yet more involving ride. You can concentrate on the road ahead and wringing those three cylinder to their glorious 12,500rpm redline and not just feed in gear after gear.

Triumph claim improved fuel economy, well here's what I got: On a 36 mile run from the hotel, mainly motorways at 80mph, the bike showed 47-48mpg on the go and averaged 42mpg for the trip.

Out on twisty roads, thrashing the poor old Street Triple R to within an inch of its life, we covered 101 miles, at an average speed of 53mph, including a petrol stop and coffee stop and the total consumption averaged out at 34mpg. Pretty good.

The Street Triple comes with Pirelli's Diablo Rosso Corsa as standard. A good tyre but - and this is unusual for manufacturers these days - Triumph also recommend Metzeler's M5, Dunlop's Qualifer II and Bridgestone's BT016 Pro. You could opt for stickier rubber but it really doesn't need it - you will run out of ability before you run out of grip or ground clearance.

The rear of the bike, just like the previous versions, feels planted. It sticks to the road like a limpet clings to a rock; you will not get it to budge. The week before this launch, back in the UK, I had ridden the 'old' Street Triple R on Hickley's finest dank roads. I rode up to Triumph on a Panigale which lit up the dash like a Christmas tree every time I tapped the throttle but when I jumped on the Street Triple the roads felt like they'd dried out. They hadn't but the Street Triple has so much natural grip and manages to find grip where you think there's hardly any to be had.

It's such a confidence inspiring bike, it squeezes out the SV650 as the naked bike that caters for the broadest levels of experience. You could be totally green to motorcycling and the Street Triple will give you everything you need without being intimidating or you could be a seasoned pro and you'll enjoy being able to extract every last drop of what the Street Triple has to offer.

Sure the R is slightly tricker than the standard bike and it's £700 more expensive but both are immensely usable and capable. If my riding was mainly commuting, I'd take the standard bike, opt for Triumph's ABS (£350) and blow the rest on a quality heated jacket. If my riding was mainly for fun, with the odd trackday thrown in, I'd plump for the more costly R version and not bother with ABS.

Street Triple, the third album: not quite as raw as the first and not as controversial as the second, it has mellowed slightly but like the best albums, I reckon it'll grow on you. It did me.

Triumph Street Triple price: £6,999 OTR

Triumph Street Triple R price: £7,699 OTR

Release date: Late November 2012