An improved motorcycle with lessons learned from Moto2.
When Triumph signed a deal with Dorna in 2019 to be the exclusive engine supplier to Moto2, it wasn’t only so the British bike maker could get international exposure. It was also to speed up further development of the 765-cc inline triple, which was introduced in 2017 in the Street Triple 765. The engine has its roots in the 2006 Daytona 675, a machine that had redefined the then-popular middleweight supersport class, which was populated exclusively by Japanese 600-cc inline fours.
While those 600s dominated supersport race grids around the globe, the Triumph was excluded from the popular race class due to its larger displacement. In a twist of irony, 600s have all but disappeared from competition today, while Triumph is now showcased on the international motorsports stage. The 765 Moto2 engine had received a few modifications for use in Moto2, and those modifications have made it onto the new Triumph Street Triple R and RS.
We’re in Jerez, Spain, to ride the new Street Triple R and RS on the road, and the RS exclusively on the racetrack. Triumph has redesigned both models for the 2024 model year (they will likely be in dealerships by the time you read this) with new styling and revised electronics — and a lot of the lessons learned on the racetrack have now made it into the street engine.
Race-bred mods that are now part of the street engine include high-flowing intake ports, higher-compression pistons with machined crowns that provide a more precise combustion-chamber shape, higher-lift cams, strengthened connecting rods and wrist pins, and closer gearbox ratios. The airbox intake snorkels have been shortened and the exhaust now has one freer-flowing catalytic converter instead of two.
The inline triple is now more powerful in both models; the R claims 118 horsepower, up 2 hp, while the RS claims 128 hp making it the most powerful Street Triple to date. For reference, the Moto2 race engine is tuned to produce 138 hp. Both street engines’ torque peaks at 59 ft-lb, and the torque curve is broad and flat.
Street Ride on the R
We began with a 140-kilometre ride on the Street Triple R along moderately winding, occasionally bumpy roads, which were quite similar to what can be found in most of Canada. And just like in Canada, the morning…
