Bike Match

2004 Triumph Speed Triple

Review by Jon Urry – Visordown.com

All three bikes are great examples and virtually the same price. The Z1000 and Speed Triple may look expensive when sat next to a Tuono that’s over two years fresher but it’s a testament to their re-sale value and a worrying insight into how much someone’s lost on that Tuono in just two years.

So first up the Tuono. I set off and was instantly reminded of the first Tuono I rode back in 2003 when they were launched. For naked bikes they were a revelation, but so stiff and sharp, gone was the plushness of naked bikes like the Ducati Monster. This was a Sambuca shot to the Monster’s Mojito. It’s an all-or-nothing bike, with super-sharp throttle response, rock-hard suspension and an even harder seat. Don’t get me wrong, the Tuono is a buzz, it’s precise and instant, sporty and aggressive and you may think “Yes yes, these are the things I want” but I’m not so sure.

This bike feels anxious and needs to be calmed down. You notice it most the moment you get back on the gas out of a corner; it sits up, jerks forward and demolishes the revs – the motor doesn’t appear to be stressing, there’s no progression of power, just instant on-and-off delivery. The massive bars means the merest millimetre of direction change on the bars puts you on a different side of the road, let alone a different line. I got off the Tuono with a post-rollercoaster like buzz. It doesn’t do anything to chill me out. I like my nakeds relaxed and – for a seriously capable bike – that’s one thing the Tuono can’t do.

Next up, the Z1000. It’s the first time I’ve ridden a Z1000, so I’m quite excited by it. We stopped after 10 miles and my exacting analysis of it was ‘It’s just like a big Z750’. No shit Sherlock, you might think, but I’ve never ridden a bike that replicates it’s bigger, or smaller, sibling.

When you see the Z1000 parked up you expect its brutish looks to be backed up by a grunty, blunt engine with loads of torque, but the Z1000’s motor fizzes away, not delivering much down low but more than making up for it once the revs hit the sky, which consequently is shortly followed by the front wheel in first and second gear.
It’s pliable and smooth, no lumpy dollops of torque to upset your line, you can feed in the power precisely and it makes the Z1000 rewarding to thread through a good set of bends. Our version had a funny-looking official Kawasaki fly-screen fitted, which made it good for just over 140mph. You can cruise at 100mph no problems, and I reckon you could chip halfway into France in one hit and not need too much of a massage afterwards.

The Z1000 is too rounded, nothing stands out and I love a bike with character. It’s like your family Labrador; easy to live with, reliable and you can feed it on Pedigree Chum. On second thoughts, if you want to fire it up and get lost for an hour, a day or a week, you know the Z1000’s going to do it all.

So finally, the Speed Triple. In this company it looks dated, not just the silhouette but it’s non-LED rear light, analogue dash and right-way up forks. That said, this one’s in mint nick and with just 9,000 miles on the clock it’s hiding its age well.  Straight away the Speed Triple’s riding position feels right and the lack of fuss infront of you leaves you to focus on the road ahead. The Speed Triple, whether it intended to or not, has a refreshing lack of data being fired at you from the speedo unit, just revs and speed. But it’s not short on feedback from the front-end. It feels light and agile, much more compact than the Z1000 and less rigid than the Tuono. The Triple feels precise without being over-eager. And I love the engine. It’s like the Z1000 but with added torque low down.

So as we started off on this test, for me, the Tuono had won before we even started. With that spec, at that price it just had to. But it felt like it would be more at home peeling into Paddock Hill Bend than your local pub car-park after a good-old country lane blast. As the most involving, the most interesting and the best value for money – especially if you pick up an older model – the Triumph Speed Triple is my choice.