revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Or, in the words of the 44T lot, my “Nigel” bike, and the replacement for my newly expired KTM 890R, the demise of which is documented here:viewtopic.php?f=4&t=612

As I mentioned in that thread, the expiry of the 890 was a big disappointment to me, I loved my 790, and the 890 was pretty much everything I wanted in a fun road / occasional trackday bike for me, so the replacement for it had to be pretty much that, which in my world means

1. A 100 ish (+) HP naked bike
2. Light(ish) weight- it has to feel a lot lighter than your average 1000cc naked or sports bike
3. Characterful and Fun- I realise that these are both very subjective things, but for me , they both typically stem from the engine, either in the way the power is delivered and/or the noise it makes. The chassis, riding position etc add to that sometimes, but motor is key

So taking those into consideration, it is a very short short-list of 790/890 Duke (both ruled out), a Ducati HyperMotard, a naked 800 MV triple, or a Triumph Street Triple.

I absolutely love just about everything about the HyperMotard 939 SP, and I think I will almost certainly own one at some point, but at this time, the bike I want is more sportsbike derived, so it boiled down to an MV or Street Triple.
I think the Speed Triple RS is one of the best looking bikes you can buy, and a brilliant bike, but just that bit bigger/heavier than I want for this bike, the 790 spoiled me in that respect, I think at the time I got it I said it felt like a 390 on steroids and it really does, I love the relative smallness and lighter weight, compared to the true 1000cc bikes
MV are one of the few marques I’ve not yet owned, and in fact can’t remember ever having ridden one, I’m really not a fan of the styling of some of their Dragsters where they just have far too much of a chopped off rear end for me, but love the look and sound of the Brutale 800RR (and the new 4 cyl 1000 ), I very nearly decided on an 800RR Brutale , but in the end, took what is probably the safer option and plumped for a 765RS Street Triple, and so far, am not disappointed I did.

They only come in two colours, grey or black- I wanted (or at least thought I wanted) a grey one, but there was a black one in stock, and I wasn’t that bothered so I plumped for that as it meant I could have it within days rather than weeks.



I’ve only 150 odd miles on it so far, so early days, but initial observations and thoughts are:

• Greatly higher quality build quality than the KTMs, really is very nicely finished

• Gorgeous sounding engine, both from exhaust an induction, and surprisingly loud when you wind it up a bit- not got the instant GRRR!! at the bottom end that the 890 had, but its definitely not flat either- relatively torquey feeling IMO (although it's all relative and [mention]Couchy[/mention] I've not been spoiled by a 675 ST )

• Higher footrest and very planted and stable feeling compared to the 890, without any real loss of flickablility, it still has that relatively light weight feeling- best way I can describe it, is like a full on sportsbike with the fairing ripped off and straight bars bolted on- very much reminds me of a BMW S1000R , but significantly lighter and more flickable, and with a much more exciting feeling and better sounding engine.

• It looks positively tiny next to a Multistrada 1200

THe deal came out cheaper than the 890R overall , and I splashed a bit on what I think are some decent extras such as the genuine triumph heated grips (fully integrated into the dash), frame and tank protectors, gen triumph paddock stand bobbins and the Bleutooth option for the dash- unlike the 890, all the other electronics (up/down QS/blipper, TC etc) come included in the base price but BLuettoth is an option- does all the usual phone/music/SMS etc stuff on the dash, but most importly, and the main reason I opted for it, puts the SatNav in the standard dash too via an App you install on your phone

I’ve got the first service booked for early in week after next, so need to get another 500ish miles on it by then, but don’t see that as being a problem- so far am very very happy, and much as I loved the 890 in our brief time together, think it may have done me a favour- if I’d test ridden this before putting my deposit down for an 890, I suspect that I might have just plumped for the Triumph.
Some more pics below, and I can't wait to really let it rip at Brands and Pembrey in a few weeks time, updates to follow as we go!

Front view


The frame protectors


Heated grips
#


Standard exhaust can


SatNav!

Proper tidy wee bike, health to enjoy

Reasons to be cheerful, part two

Kev

The rev counter looks mental, as the revs build does it kind of come towards you in 3d?

Nice one, but "Nigel" bike?

Nidge wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 3:31 pm Nice one, but "Nigel" bike?

A reference to the 44 teeth review of the 890R vs the 765RS

Kev

Good on you Tricky.

I had a 765RS on loan from Blade when they serviced my Tiger a month or so ago. Unfortunately the weather was wet but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My first impression of it was that it was a real premium product, very nicely put together with nice touches. I much preferred the riding position to my old KTM 790, it was both flickable and at the same time felt really solid. Motor was lovely but not stretched in wet conditions.

The only thing I found odd was the way the rev counter expanded out in both directions from the centre of the screen on what was otherwise an ace display. Looks like you can play with different settings though.

Looking forward to hearing what it sounds like when it comes past me at Pembrey!

I said years ago what Triumph needed was a proper hatstand naked street middleweight, and I'm impressed they read my mind

They've long had a reputation as a superb rider's bike and the new gruntier engine should make it a real joy. Nice one

Looks a quality item,your good health to enjoy,man.

I was never a Triumph fan,but lately they seem to be making some very nice bikes and I would definitely consider one in the future.

I'm looking forward to giving it a try !!!

They look lovely and it’s a bike i so want to like, your experience almost makes me think I got it wrong or had a duff one tbh. I feel a demo coming up

i am a Triumph fan and love them, but that little thing is just too little! But lovely lovely engine noise! Enjoy it.

Thats a saucy looking thing that is with some top spec bling too. Triumphs seem really well put together

Couchy wrote: Tue Jul 28, 2020 6:33 pm They look lovely and it’s a bike i so want to like, your experience almost makes me think I got it wrong or had a duff one tbh. I feel a demo coming up

Dunno, as I said I don't really have any other recent relevant Triumph reference point- the 2020 Street Triples have a more blingy dash, and supposedly have more bottom/mid-range than the slightliy earlier ones, but I think thats about it.
What didn't you like over the 675- engine, chassis, or what?

Chuffed for you it turned out ok in the end

Excellent choice, if I may say!

Happy New bike day!

The only current modern bike that I think looks good and I would consider buying, I live round the corner from a Triumph dealer and they've got a couple of these a demonstrators, I'm very tempted to try one, but I've a feeling that if I do I'll buy one.

Very much on my shortlist too

I'd been looking at older ones but the newest one does sound to be an improvement. Which is annoying. I'm very much a Buy A Year or Two Old For a Few Grand Less kind of a guy.

Slenver wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 10:39 am Very much on my shortlist too

I'd been looking at older ones but the newest one does sound to be an improvement. Which is annoying. I'm very much a Buy A Year or Two Old For a Few Grand Less kind of a guy.

Think how it is for me, I'm a buy a 30 year old bike for a grand kind of guy