Updated Speedmaster tested: Laid-back British cruising in style

With a Speedmaster residing in the modern-day Triumph range for just over 20 years, it’s clear that a classically-styled cruiser from Triumph is here to stay. 

For 2026, Triumph hasn’t reinvented the Speedmaster, but it has given its laid-back cruiser a series of measured, sensible updates aimed at comfort, confidence and usability rather than headline-grabbing performance gains.

Triumph flew us out to Oceanside in Southern California for the launch, a surf town backdrop that couldn’t have been more different to Hinckley. The Speedmaster wasn’t the only bike on the menu either, with most of the 900 and 1200 Bonneville range available to sample. I spent a full day on the Speedmaster, covering everything from fast, sweeping mountain roads to urban traffic and plenty of motorway miles — or “freeway”, as I was repeatedly reminded.

What’s new with the 2026 Triumph Speedmaster

The most obvious change is the new 14-litre fuel tank, which not only extends range but also gives the Speedmaster a broader, more muscular stance. It’s visually chunkier and, as it turns out, more noticeable from the saddle too. The tank is restyled, complete with new metal Triumph badges and a redesigned filler cap, while restyled side panels and intake covers sharpen up the bike’s profile without losing its classic identity.

Comfort gets a clear boost for 2026. Both the rider and pillion seats are new, now wider with deeper foam, and finished with contrasting piping. The riding position has been subtly revised thanks to new, straighter handlebars, which replace the overtly swept-back vintage-style bars of the previous model. The result is a more natural reach to the grips and reduced strain on wrists and shoulders, particularly on longer rides.

Underneath, Triumph has fitted new lightweight aluminium wheel rims, reducing unsprung mass and promising improved steering response and agility - although on a bike like this, I’m taking the word ‘agility’ with a pinch of salt! Braking hardware remains familiar, with Brembo calipers and twin 310mm front discs, but electronics take a step forward with the addition of an IMU, enabling lean-sensitive Optimised Cornering ABS and Traction Control for the first time on the Speedmaster.

Elsewhere, there’s a new LED headlight with a DRL, a USB-C charging socket tucked neatly under the clocks, and a new A2 licence restrictor kit, broadening the bike’s appeal to newer riders. Two new colour schemes arrive for 2026 — Carnival Red over Crystal White and Sapphire Black over Crystal White, both with Empire Gold detailing — and pricing starts at £13,795, with bikes arriving in dealerships from January 2026.

Riding review

Built to be a Bobber with more classical styling and genuine two-up potential, the Speedmaster remains the most relaxed and easy-going Bonneville in Triumph’s modern classic line-up. It’s still an eye-catching, chrome-laden thing, but the changes for 2026 are fairly low-key when it comes to how the bike actually rides.

The new handlebars and larger fuel tank are the most noticeable updates from the saddle. The bars are much more conventional in their positioning and, while I’ll admit I quite liked the excessively swept-back items on the old bike — which gave it a proper vintage feel, like steering the thing with six feet of twisted chrome tubing — the new setup undeniably works better. Wrist fatigue is reduced, and longer rides are noticeably more comfortable.

The larger tank feels like a bit of a moot point on paper, but it’s clearly chunkier when you’re sitting on the bike. That extra bulk actually makes you feel more connected to it, particularly while cornering, helping the Speedmaster feel planted rather than ponderous.

I’m not going to pretend I could feel the benefit of the lighter wheels — for that, you’d need a proper back-to-back test — but the Speedmaster remains a rewarding thing to ride at a decent pace. Ground clearance is the limiting factor, with the pegs decking out at the merest suggestion of lean, yet for a bike that’s long, low and hefty at 265kg ready to ride, it tracks a line nicely and behaves exactly as you’d hope.

The best way to describe it is this: where the Bobber is all point-and-squirt through a set of bends, the Speedmaster flows from one corner to the next. The brakes are strong, the throttle connection accurate, and the gearbox beautifully direct, helped by a clutch that’s lighter than most other 1,200cc twin-cylinder bikes.

The addition of an IMU with lean-sensitive ABS and traction control is welcome, though on a bike like this, it feels largely irrelevant. On dry roads and under blue skies, I was nowhere near needing it. I flicked between riding modes briefly, but for all but the most cautious riders, Road mode is the one you’ll stick with, thanks to its sharper throttle response. The engine remains a huge part of the Speedmaster experience. Why hamstring it with electronics when you’ve got all that torque to enjoy? 

After a day in the mountains, we hit the freeway, and it comes as no surprise that the Speedmaster is the comfiest Bonneville of the lot. The seat is plush and supportive, and the revised riding position makes relaxed cruising effortless.

It’s also noticeably smoother than the Bobber. With the Bobber’s pegs mid-mounted, vibrations creep in. The Speedmaster’s forward controls, despite being close to the crank, seem to isolate you from that, making it a more refined and genuinely relaxing bike to ride. Crucially, it can do something the Bobber never quite manages — proper, chilled-out cruising. The Bobber’s hot-rod engine tune means it always wants to misbehave; the Speedmaster is perfectly content to just lope along at a more leisurely pace. Leave it a gear higher than it should be, ride the torque and enjoy the exhaust note.

Verdict

While the changes to the Speedmaster for 2026 are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, they’ve been made in exactly the right places. It’s a bit more serene to ride, a lot more comfortable over distance, and still delivers that thunderous Bonneville exhaust note that makes every journey feel like an occasion.

If the Bobber is the rebellious sibling that always wants to play, the Speedmaster is the one you’d actually choose to live with. It’s happier going slow, better when ridden far, and more accommodating. Triumph hasn’t tried to turn it into something it isn’t, and it’s that restraint that is precisely why the 2026 Speedmaster works so well.

Find out more about the 2026 Speedmaster on the official website.

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