The 2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS is Triumph’s most powerful and advanced naked bike yet, blending 180.5 hp of torque-rich performance with next-gen Öhlins Smart EC3 suspension and cutting-edge rider aids. From rainy backroads to the Portimão racetrack, this updated RS proves it’s as refined as it is ruthless—offering the comfort of a sport-tourer, the control of a superbike, and the raw fun of a streetfighter all in one aggressive package.
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/triumph-speed-triple-1200-rs-first-ride/
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Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/triumph-speed-triple-1200-rs-first-ride/
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Cycle World. Welcome to Porto Meo in southern Portugal. Welcome to the launch of
00:06Triumph's new Speed Triple RS for 2025. Now we're going to do this test in three ways.
00:13First, I'm going to tell you what's changed about the bike. Second, I'm going to tell you what it's
00:17like on the road and then through the miracle of YouTube and TV I'm going to get changed slightly,
00:22get covered in rain and muck and ride on the track. Let's go through what's changed for the
00:26bike. For me, the big talking point is a third generation all-in suspension. So the suspension
00:31is now semi-active suspension. This is the very latest suspension that we've seen from all-ins
00:35that is actually very expensive. However, there's only three bikes on the market that use this
00:40suspension. The very expensive Honda Fireblade SP, the very expensive Ducati Street Fighter V4S
00:47and now the Speed Triple RS from Triumph. Hence, there's a bit of a price hike but it's nowhere
00:52near as pricey as the competition with similar suspension. What that suspension does is it
00:57reacts to what the road imperfections are. It acts to what you're doing in your input. So if you select
01:02in rain mode, it becomes nice and compliant and soft. If you select a track mode, it does the opposite.
01:08Pretty simple. In terms of rider aids, Triumph have also turned up the volume. So we've got a really
01:13neat, unique wheelie control that's got four stages. So basically low, medium, high and uber-jesus a
01:19little bit scary and we've got an engine brake strategy. We've got a new quickshifter. The bars
01:24are slightly higher and slightly wider. The wheels are a little bit lighter and we've got a few more
01:30horsepower and a few more torque. To be honest, the engine improvements is because it's Euro 5 plus.
01:34So we've got the new exhaust, a slight different design to the rear and really unique and very bold
01:40new colours. So now we know what the bike's all about. So Triumph will split it up into two days. So
01:46we've just finished the road ride. Hence the reason I'm a little bit damp, because we had rain in the
01:50afternoon and dry in the morning. Initially, you kind of think that the bike is going to be a little
01:55bit brutal because there's quite an aggressive image by Triumph. There always has been with 30 years
01:59of the speed triple and it's 180 horsepower now, which is proper big power. I remember when super bikes
02:05had 180 horsepower, not naked street fighters. But leaving this track and heading into the hills on
02:11quite slippery surfaces, just in the standard road mode, the feeling is really soft. It's really
02:16nice. The quickshifter works really well at low speeds. It's really forgiving. It's quite easy.
02:22It almost lures you into a full sense of security. And then once you flick into the sporty modes,
02:27you can have a little bit more fun and you can have a little bit more power and start to feel it.
02:31There's still a grunt and a roar from that three cylinder engine. You've still got a nice little exhaust over
02:36run. And once you start to have fun on these roads, it really comes into its own. What's impressive is
02:43how versatile the bike was this morning. In the standard modes, the suspension is really soft and
02:48you go over speed humps like almost like you're on a sports touring bike. You go over these road
02:53imperfections with ease. It feels like it's a little bit too soft and too manageable. And then you think,
03:00well, that's not going to work when I dial in 180 horsepower and I start having some fun on the roads.
03:04But then when you do that, the suspension changes because it's constantly changing. With this
03:09generation three all in suspension, the spectrum of how soft it can be and how track posted it can be
03:14is huge because when you're a manual suspension, you just set the bike to work in this kind of window.
03:20The generation two suspension on all in semi-active worked in kind of that window. And the generation
03:25three window is absolutely huge. So when you're in town, you're like, oh, this is soft. This is easy.
03:31I could put a screen on this. I could put some luggage on this. I could go touring.
03:36And then you get out on the road and you're like, oh, this has got potential. This feels good.
03:40This feels fast. This is holding the chassis. When I brake hard on those big Brembo style Emmas
03:45with cornering ABS, the forks are supported. When I put it into a corner, the chassis is held.
03:50It's not wallowing or sitting on the exit. And there is a lot of power to deal with,
03:54and the chassis is coping really well. The roads here in Southern Portugal, I've ridden many,
03:58many times and they're not the gripiest. They are quite sliding. It was nice to feel the traction
04:03working. What's interesting is between the traction, the speed at which it catches the slide
04:08feels about the same, but it's how quick the power comes back in after the slide. So in rain mode,
04:13I was deliberately hitting white lines to make it slide. It catches the slide and then it just
04:18releases the power kind of nice and gentle. But when you're in a sports mode or in the track mode,
04:24it grabs the slide and then it puts the power back in. And then if it slides again, it grabs the power
04:28and then it releases the power back in. It's all nice and controlled. There's no back firing or
04:31misfiring. It gives you a real nice, secure feeling that you know that it's working. And equally,
04:36the suspension is doing the same. It's finding grip that really kind of isn't there or shouldn't
04:41be there. So what you end up actually doing is widening a little bit quicker and enjoying the roof,
04:47even though the conditions are rainy and horrible and slimy, I was actually using the road and sports
04:53mode because it was finding grip and giving me the confidence just to go a little bit more.
04:57And for me, cornering ABS in these conditions are absolutely paramount. It makes it so much
05:01easier and fun to ride because I don't know the roads that well. So I'm going into unfamiliar corners
05:07and if I think I'm just going in a little bit too hot, I can just pull on those Brembo style lemmas and
05:11just pull the bike back into the line perfectly safely with that cornering ABS. Even though they look like
05:16massive Brembo radial stoppers with this unique multi-adjustable lever, they're actually nice
05:22and forgiving and easy. That really sums up the bike on the road. It looks very bold,
05:27it looks very dramatic and you look at the 180 horsepower, the massive amount of torque and the
05:32three cylinders, you hear the rasp of the exhaust and you think that's going to be an animal on the
05:38road and it actually isn't. It's very forgiving and much easier. In many ways for me, it reminds me a
05:43little bit of the Aprilia Tuono V4 that I absolutely love. I think that is a brilliant
05:48road bike. I think it's got a brilliant balance of torque, suspension, power and rider aids and this
05:54feels very much like that and I think that's a massive compliment to what Triumph have done.
05:59But we didn't want to deliberately push the road limitations of this bike because what Triumph
06:04have done is they've given us a day on the road and a day on track where normally we ride one of these
06:09bikes just on track or just on road and if we ride on the road we ride it like it's a dangerous riding
06:14competition to see what it's like in a sporty way and if we ride on track we push it to its limits and
06:19we don't really know what it's like as a road bike. But now we know what it is like as a road bike which
06:24is really forgiving, very easy, very manageable, not the aggressive animal that I thought it would be
06:30despite the 180 horsepower. The cocks are a little bit slow, they're not that intuitive. That's the only
06:35really downside of this model but that's the same with other Triumph models that I've tested.
06:40Everything works and everything is reasonably functional, intuitive, it's just a little bit
06:44slow in its operation and it'll be interesting to see your comments from other Triumph riders below
06:49to see what they feel about the clocks. But in terms of an overall road bike it's a big tick
06:54but the next question is going to be what's it going to be like on track?
06:56This is the exciting bit, this is the racetrack where we've been blessed with slick tyres and an
07:08awesome racetrack. I'm slightly lying, it's been a little inclement and we've been riding the majority
07:14of the day on full Pirelli Race West. In many ways that's been a really good test of the bike because
07:20the big talking and big new aspect of this bike is the generation three bowling suspension, is the
07:27new rider aids like the wheelie control and the sophistication that Triumph have put into the new
07:321200 RS. What this bike allows you to do is have that soft suspension that we tested on the road
07:39yesterday, develops grip, gives you feeling through the tyres, generates some heat and gives the bike and
07:44chassis an easier time. I didn't actually try the rain mode because when you're in rain mode it only gives
07:50you around about 100 horsepower and on a big fast track like this you can still need all 180 horses
07:57down the straights. So I went for full 180 horsepower but I did use the rain mode traction control and the
08:04rain mode cornering ABS in those first sessions and that's kind of like the unique aspect of this bike
08:10in that you can trim all those rider aids depending on the conditions, depending on the rider and even
08:15depending on the riders weight. You could actually put your weight into the bike and then it will give
08:20you preload settings. So even though the suspension is electronic preload isn't but you put your weight
08:27into the dash, 90 kilograms for example, it gives you a recommendation on the preload, you put the
08:32recommended preload in and then the suspension will react for a 90 kilogram rider or a 100 kilogram rider or
08:39even a lighter rider depending on where you are. I've left it at 85 kilograms because I'm lying a little
08:45I'm a little bit heavier than that but that's the standard saying 85 kilograms and I've left it standard
08:50but that suspension that was so plush and gave so much feel on the road does exactly the same on the
08:56track. What's unique about it is in sections where it's soft and manageable it's developing grip but then
09:03when you go a little bit firmer when you could ride a little bit faster it moves in its parameters and the
09:08second and third session I wanted a little bit more support on the rear just when you come down the
09:13waterfall where the bike bottoms out a bit to just give you the back tyre an easier time so then we
09:16move into the sportier rider modes so simply flick into those sportier rider modes that tells the
09:22suspension what I'm expecting what I want it to do we turn down the wheelie control a little bit we
09:27turn down the traction control a bit but still had that working as a safety net and the difference
09:31between those modes and suspension modes is really noticeable but normally when you change modes on a bike
09:36it's all about the fueling and throttle response and power but with this it feels more about the
09:41suspension the parameters of the suspension is huge on this generation 3 suspension we've not
09:46got this tiny little window that the bike can work in it is quite a sizable window the front end is
09:51definitely worth a mention i was really impressed by the cornering abs really impressed by that front
09:55end feel the way you could even in the way it carries some braking into the corner it gives real nice
10:01support it gives nice feeling it gives plenty of grip in the rain and the road mode you can feel the
10:05cornering abs working in the wet so we had to move it a little bit to give me less cornering abs again
10:11you can feel it when you're pushing it to the limit especially into some of these second gear hair pins
10:16but it's kind of like reassuring you know once you start to feel that traction working once you start
10:21to feel the cornering abs working you kind of feel okay so there's the limit and this is what i can do
10:26and this is what i'm capable of doing what's also worth a mention is the actual feel from the chassis and
10:31the feel from the electronic suspension some electronic suspension and i'm possibly talking
10:36maybe five ten years ago was a little bit vague because it probably wasn't reacting quick enough
10:41or maybe i wasn't used to it but it wasn't like a one-to-one feeling where with this bike i felt really
10:47in control the conditions were changing and you cannot ride a bike to a decent level or a fast level
10:53unless you feel confident with the bike and you feel the chassis you feel the grip and you feel everything
10:59working and that's what the triumph has done for me today i'm going to mention the wheelie control
11:03that we've all had a little play with basically you've got four levels of wheelie control and here
11:07on the track triumph gave us a unique opportunity to try it essentially if you've got wheelie control
11:12on number four it's relatively high if you've got wheelie control on number one all you have to do
11:17is twist the throttle to 100 and let the rider aids take control of everything so on wheeling level
11:22number four first gear off the fall back on the throttle go to 100 be aggressive as the front comes
11:30up it'll hold it at a high level leave the throttle at 100 and click through the gears for those who know
11:35how to wheelie you can't use the clutch so you can't clutch the bike up when the wheelie control is
11:40on so you need to turn the wheelie control off if you want to do nice big balancing wheelies the only
11:44slight criticism which is a difficult criticism is if you want to pull wheelies on track then you have
11:50to turn the traction control off and the wheelie control so on some of the models in this category
11:54you can still have some traction control to save a slide and you can wheelie it where this one you
11:58can't in terms of price in the us i think we're just knocking on the door of twenty thousand dollars
12:04which means it's more expensive than the previous model but we've got that generation three all in
12:09suspension and if i remember rightly the panigale the fireblade and the street fighter the s versions
12:15obviously are the only models with that generation three all in suspension and they're considerably
12:21more expensive than twenty thousand dollars so to have that suspension and the brembo dilemmas of
12:26a six axis imu and all the goodies that this bike comes with even cruise control the standard yes twenty
12:32thousand dollars is a lot of money but it is less than the other generation three all-ins suspended bikes
12:39it's a shame we didn't get to try the track mode it's a shame we didn't really get to push the
12:43limitations of the chassis i can't see any reason why this chassis can't be pushed in slicks i can't
12:48see any reason why this chassis is not going to work the brakes are really strong there was no sign
12:52of fade there's great feeling there seems to be ample ground clearance but obviously we were on wets
12:57just about knee down it'll be interesting when we get this bike on slicks and really push the limits
13:02and in many ways and i mean this as a compliment that this 180 horsepower triple feels a pretty
13:08like in its friendliness but with way better suspension and way better electronics it's a
13:13really easy bike to ride at a good strong pace yet ex-racers like myself can flick it into a different
13:21mode and really enjoy it on the road it's not this 180 brake horsepower british animal it's quite
13:27accessible and it's quite easy to ride and on track it's also proved very easy and manageable with
13:34really really good electronics working in the background should you get it wrong but the big
13:38thing for me is this generation 3 suspension how it can change from being a almost comfortable sports
13:45tourer into a track ready let's throw some slicks on the parameters in this window is huge can't wait
13:52to try it on track can't wait to put some slicks on it hopefully the guys will invite me back for another
13:57go but the test will probably be done in the us we've not gone into too much detail about the the lighter
14:02wheels and the reshaped rear end so if you want any technical details please find them in the questions
14:08below me or one of the team will get back to you don't forget to click and subscribe and hopefully
14:14the next time you see me is when they give me this bike for some slicks