There are now two models in the Triumph Speed Twin family, the 900cc and the 1200cc. The 900 was previously known as the Street Twin and as of 2023 its name has changed and is now known as the Speed Twin 900.
I had previously ridden the Street Twin and so was interested to see if the new model was still as good and feisty as the Street.
2023 Triumph Speed Twin 900 Video Review
Review Summary
- The 900 is perfect for riding around town and would be great to commute to work on, but I bet you wouldn’t be able to resist going home home the really long way 😜
- 2 Riding Modes: rain and road. I would prefer to have a sport mode or, better still, no modes at all.
- For $10,747 USD, you are getting an awful lot of bike for your money which is a nicely put together bike that feels solid and quality.
- With a seat height of 765 mm the 900 is a perfect bike for shorter riders.
- 3 colour options: Black; Matt Ironstone and Matt Silver Ice.
- The twin exhausts not only look great but they sound glorious too.
Last year I took part in the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and my local Triumph dealer lent me a Street Twin to borrow for a few days and to do the ride on.
I have the Speed Twin 1200. I had my actual bike on loan from Triumph UK to ride and review a couple of years ago now and when it went back I said when it came up for sale at the end of the season, that I would like to buy it, I was that taken with it.
The Street Twin was very much like my 1200 to ride in terms of handling and riding style but as it is a lot lower than the 1200 with a seat height of 765 mm, I found it felt lighter than my bike and nimble especially in the corners.
I liked the fact that my feet were firmly planted on the floor (I’m 5’6”) and so moving the bike around was really easy. These things need to be considered when considering a new bike, after all if you can’t get the bike out of the garage, you’re not going anywhere!
A couple of quick comparisons on the 900 & my 2020 1200 model for you:
| 900cc Model | 1200CC Model | |
| Seat height | 765 mm | 809 mm |
| Weight | 216 kg | 216 kg |
| BHP | 64 bhp | 98 bhp |
Let’s have a closer look at the Speed Twin 900.
At A Glance:
- Weight: 216 kg
- Seat height: 765 mm standard
- 900cc liquid cooled parallel twin engine
- 80 Nm of torque @ 3,800 rpm, 64 bhp
- 5 speed
- Analogue speedometer with LCD multi-functional display
- Two riding modes: rain and road
- Two into two exhaust system with twin silencers
- Color Options: Black; Matt Ironstone (additional $246); Matt Silver Ice (additional $246)
- Price: $10,747 USD / 14,766 CAD / £8,795
There are two other options available for the Speed Twin 900 namely:
- Chrome Edition available for one year only in Red Hopper. Price from $11,272 USD / $15,367 CAD / £9,145
- EC1 Special Edition inspired by East London’s vibrant motorcycle scene and featuring an exclusive EC1 design scheme in Matt Silver Ice. Price from $11,584 USD / $15,787 CAD / £9,395
First Impressions
Yes, the Speed Twin 900 is still as feisty as the Street, it hasn’t lost its character in the changeover and is still a great fun bike to ride. I had worked this out by the time I got back from my first ride on the bike.
The sound of the 900 is just glorious, the noise of the engine combined with the twin exhausts just sends a shiver down your back on start up and the grin starts from there. There is just a continual thrum to the bike that turns heads whilst riding, it has the distinctive noise of a twin that we are familiar with.
Even though the 900 weighs the same as my 1200, it does not feel as though it does at all. This may be because the bike is lower and because my feet are more planted on the ground, I find moving it around a lot easier.
The single clock showing the speed is easy and clear to read when glancing down and it is easy to change what information you want to see on the lcd display which is easy to read too.
I had a few comments about the lack of a separate rev counter, but this does not bother me and it certainly wouldn’t put me off buying the bike. I think the single clock looks rather stylish and is in keeping with the bike.
The 900 I had on loan came with a few extras namely a flyscreen, a bench seat, bar end mirrors and small round led indicator lights on the front and rear.
The flyscreen is color coordinated with the bike and looks great, this sets off the front end nicely and kept the buffeting on my chest down whilst riding.
I love the bar end mirrors, they look so much better than the standard mirrors and in fact I thought they looked so good that I am ordering a pair for my 1200. Visibility is great with them and I like the subtle Triumph branding on the back.
The small led indicator lights are a nice addition and are really effective but at this stage I am not sure I would change them from the standard.
The ribbed quilted bench seat however, is definitely not for me. Halfway through my first ride I had decided this. I found this incredibly uncomfortable, there just isn’t enough padding in the seat for me.
Don’t get me wrong, the bench seat looks superb and really adds to the styling and I can see why it is there, but I definitely couldn’t go touring with that seat. I guess the answer for me is to eat more cakes and create my own padding 😜
Engine
The Speed Twin 900 has an updated 900cc HT (high torque) Bonneville liquid cooled, 8 valve, SOHC, 270° crank angle parallel twin engine pushing out 80 Nm @ 3800 rpm and 64 bhp and boy does it sound great. There is definitely something very distinctive about the sound of a twin.
The 900 is Euro 5 compliant (in countries where this is applicable) and also A2 license compliant.
An accessory fit conversion kit is available meaning that you can ride this bike on an A2 license and then when you have passed your A1 test, you can remove the kit thus meaning the bike will grow with you as your experience grows.
Chassis
The tubular double cradle steel frame houses the engine and is compact in design ensuring that riding on those twisties is fun.
With high spec suspension which is delivered by 41mm cartridge front forks with traditional fork gaiters and twin rear suspension units, this makes the 900 easy to ride and stable in the process too.
The catalyst box is hidden under the bike thus creating a clean sleek design to the bike. The two into two dual upswept stainless steel silencers not only enhance the look of the bike but also sound glorious, they produce such a sweet sounding noise that you really can’t help but keep opening the bike up just to have a repeat of the sound.
Ride by Wire Throttle & Modes
The 900 has a responsive ride by wire throttle so instead of having a throttle cable connected to butterflies in the inlet, it will all be controlled by electronics and the twist grip just sends an electronic signal to the ECU. According to Triumph, this offers a more intuitive level of control while liquid cooling reduces emissions and offers greater fuel efficiency.
There are two riding modes: rain and road which adjust the throttle map and traction control settings at the touch of a button.
Personally, I would rather there be no modes on a bike or if there are modes, I would like to see sport feature in there too.
On my 1200 model, I normally ride in sport mode as I find this suits my riding style the best and gives the bike a certain amount of flair.
I did think flair was lacking in the 900. Although the bike is nice, solid and stable to ride, I did think it was missing the fun element slightly and felt it was held back a little.
Instrument Display
There is a single analogue speedo clock with lcd display that is stylish and functional. You can decide what you see on the lcd display – the time, mpg, trip, mileage, fuel gauge. Personally, all I like to see on display is the time and how much fuel I have left, anything else is insignificant really when riding.
The lack of a rev counter doesn’t bother me and it certainly wouldn’t put me off buying the bike although it does have a small rev display that you can select at the bottom of the speedo.
A couple of people looking at the bike when parked up commented that they would not buy a bike without a rev counter. I guess at the end of the day it is a personal choice.
Scrolling through the menu is incredibly easy which is a huge plus point for me as someone who is lacking in the technical department.
On the left bar there is a button with ‘i’ on it, simply keep pressing this until you find the information you are looking for.
Likewise, to change the modes, simply press the mode button, again on the left bar, and switch between rain and road. You can use both of these features when riding which is handy.
Tires
The tires on the 900 are Pirelli Phantom Sportscomp which Pirelli describe as ‘A sport tyre featuring fascinating vintage tread pattern design and cutting-edge performance, the perfect fit for modern classic motorcycles’. They are designed to give confidence in the wet offering rapid water drainage and good precision on entry into bends.
I have Michelin Road 6’s on my personal bikes, which are great all round, all year tires which I find work well in all conditions be it hot, cold, wet or dry.
I haven’t ridden with these Pirelli’s before so I was interested to see how they performed. I have to say I was really impressed with these tires.
When I had the 900 on loan, the temperatures did not get above 10 degrees and the majority of the rides on the bike were on wet roads and in heavy rain. It’s not my ideal to go riding in the rain but sometimes you just have to.
I liked how the tires handled and that they did not falter on the wet tarmac. They definitely gave me confidence when riding that they would do what they have been designed to do.
LED Lights
There is a single round LED headlight which has the Triumph ‘T’ logo nicely positioned in the middle of the lamp. At night this did give off plenty of light and had good scope, I thought high beam was pretty good too.
The indicator lights, both front and rear, are LED too. The 900 I had on loan had accessory indicator lights fitted which are round in shape. I really like these compared to the standard ones and am looking to replace the ones on my Speed Twin with these, they definitely suit the bike.
I like the rear light. It is simple and nicely in keeping with the bike. Again, this is LED so although it is not big in design, because of the LEDs, it lights up well and can be clearly seen.
What’s The Triumph Speed Twin 900 Like To Ride?
So what is the Speed Twin 900 like to ride? I was excited to get on and ride the 900 as I was interested to see how it compared with my 1200.
With the low seat height of the bike, 765 mm, my feet were firmly planted on the ground making moving the bike out of the garage really easy as I had lots of traction. The bike weighs 216 kg but really does not feel like it does, it feels a lot lighter.
I love the styling of the single clock housing the speedo with an LCD multifunction display and the flyscreen really suits the bike and sets it off nicely. The speedo is easy to read as is the information on the screen.
When I first started the bike, I could immediately feel myself grinning under my helmet. The sound of the engine combined with the twin exhausts sent a shiver down my back, it sounded glorious.
I felt at home straightaway riding the 900. At low speed there is just a rumble of the engine and it is happy to meander in traffic. As you progress out of the town onto an open road and open the bike up, the noise is sublime.
The 900 has a five speed gearbox and I did find myself looking for sixth gear quite a lot of the time and felt that the bike needed that extra gear. After riding the bike for a couple of weeks I did get used to the missing gear and eventually stopped looking for it!
Riding through the twisties, I was struck by how light the bike felt and how nimble it was. It certainly felt planted on the road and the suspension seemed to soak up the bumps in the road nicely.
The 900 has one brake disc and Brembo brakes so I did wonder how the brakes would perform but I needn’t have worried, they felt as good as my Speed Twin which has twin front discs.
The 900 is a very torquey bike so I found just by lifting off the throttle the engine does a lot of the braking for you. Having said that, when you need to stop quickly, the brakes perform brilliantly as I discovered when a car very kindly pulled out in front of me!
Pulling up different information on the screen whilst riding along is easy to do, simply press the ‘i’ button on the left bar and you can scroll through until you find what you are looking for.
Likewise, changing from road to rain mode is easy when riding too – just press the ‘mode’ button also on the left bar and you can switch between the modes.
I love the fact that the 900 is a simple and easy bike to ride. There really is nothing complicated about the bike, simply choose the mode you would like and off you go. There is no setting the suspension up, level of traction control, wheelie control, engine brake control etc. Nope, it’s just simple easy riding that offers you plenty of smiles with every mile that you cover.
The 900 is no slouch, it is happy to be ridden like you stole it and can keep up with the faster boys quite happily.
I found the 900 to be a great bike to ride, handles well, corners nicely, looks beautiful but not only that, it sounds awesome too.
The 900 is perfect for riding around town and would be great to commute to work on, but I bet you wouldn’t be able to resist going home home the really long way 😜
Thank you to Triumph Motorcycles for the loan of the Speed Twin 900.
Pros:
- Very easy to ride
- Low seat
- A2 compliant (accessory kit available)
- Under seat USB charging socket
- Immobilizer transponder built into the key
Cons:
- Weight – a bit chunky at 216 kg
- No radiator guard
- Heated grips not fitted as standard
- Two riding modes: rain and road, would prefer no modes or sport mode also
2023 Triumph Speed Twin 900 Image Gallery
