Triumph Street Twin, Track Test

The Street Twin is the smallest of the new Bonnevilles, and it’s quite a remarkable machine. It was a very close battle to be crowned one of the three ‘Best of 2016’ bikes, and the Street Twin lost out by just a fraction of a point.

The Street Twin is a compact urban classic motorcycle, and it’s got the dimensions to be a great city bike – which makes it very practical and accessible as well. It also looks quite appealing with its retro style infused into a proper modern chassis, but it certainly isn’t a showstopper. But if you aren’t a fan of its standard persona, you can always choose from over 150 accessories and customize the bike to suit your personality.

The new 900cc liquid cooled unit gets 54bhp – it’s very refined and tuned to provide a full 80Nm of torque. It’s not super quick, but it’s fun to play with the throttle – which responds well and shoots you forward with ease. But what’s great about the engine is that the midrange has been greatly improved in comparison with the previous generation Bonnie. The overall ride quality is very good, and there are no vibrations anywhere on the bike – and even though it’s aimed more towards urban riders, it’s super smooth on the highway as well.

Because the Street Twin is very light and has a stiff chassis, it’s very manoeuvrable. Let’s just say that the handling is certainly confidence inspiring – although the front-end does feel a little too light. But this bike can take on all kinds of roads, and remain enjoyable and comfortable all the time. There are also great new-age features, such as traction control and a new ABS system that work very well. And staying with the urban theme, the bike also gets USB accessibility and an AUX-in charging point.

We couldn’t rally find anything to complain about in the Street Twin. It’s a very composed and refined British motorcycle. It doesn’t really grab much attention on the road, as it is quite tame, but its quality and refinement levels are phenomenal – and it’s reasonably affordable too. It barely missed out on winning an award, but it certainly deserves to be praised for being an all-out great motorcycle.

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