Triumph’s King Of Middleweight Nakeds Gets Dearer

Triumph has updated the asking price of its flagship middleweight naked motorcycle, the Street Triple RS, from Rs 11.13 lakh to Rs 11.33 lakh (ex-showroom India). The price hike of Rs 20,000 isn’t too high in the context of this motorcycle. It still remains the most expensive bike in its class but thankfully, the arrival of the Street Triple R should make matters better for Triumph in India.

The Street Triple series of motorcycles has seen a lot of small but significant changes for model year 2020. The Street Triple S now gets a smaller 660cc engine and will no longer be available in our country. The tag of the entry-level Street Triple motorcycle now falls on the R model which is nearly as sophisticated as the RS. But it does miss out on a colour-TFT screen as Triumph has chosen to skimp on this feature for the 2020 model to save costs.

Also Read: How Different Are The Street Triple’s R And RS Trims?

Thankfully, the Street Triple RS doesn’t miss out on any tech but rather gets new features. For starters, the 765cc triple puts out the same 123PS as before but peak torque has gone up to 79Nm, 2Nm more than the BS4 bike. Even though on paper it might seem like a small change, the new torque curve makes for a better all-rounder, offering more mid-range performance than the earlier version, which we experienced on our short spin with the bike in sunny Spain last year. Plus, you get the same set of electronic rider aids as before but now the quickshifter is a bi-directional unit.

There are no changes to the hardware of the motorcycle. The extremely capable twin spar frame is still suspended at both ends by fully-adjustable suspension units. The front USD is provided by Showa while the rear monoshock is made by Ohlins. The Brembo M50 monoblocs used on the RS were the best in class, no Stylemas here.

The Street Triple RS was always one of the costliest bikes in its segment and this price revision doesn’t help its cause greatly. The Kawasaki Z900 BS6 and the KTM 790 Duke are yet to be launched in their BS6 avatars but both of these bikes will be significantly cheaper to buy in comparison. Even the recently launched BMW F 900 R is almost a lakh and a half cheaper in comparison. While these three bikes might not have as sophisticated hardware or performance as the Triple RS, the asking price of Rs 11.33 lakh makes it a bit hard to digest, especially for those who aren’t looking at taking this bike to the race track at all.