Previously, we've told you the real story behind Triumph Motorcycle Company. Triumph has made a huge comeback in recent years, from bankruptcy in 1983 to a global motorcycling icon today, largely thanks to the success of their triples. In fact, there are several custom-built Triumph motorcycles we want to throw a leg over.
It is an unusual configuration for a multitude of reasons, it can’t rev like a 4, it can’t give you as much torque as a twin and it is virtually impossible to make it smooth. Somehow Triumph took this ultimate “inbetweener” and really made it their own, to such an extent that other manufacturers have been forced to try and emulate their success in a market segment that never existed before.
10 Triumph Trident
Most recently, Triumph released the all-new 660 Trident as a budget middle-weight. Way back in the BSA days, the original Trident was a big hit in the USA. It could easily outperform its rivals back in the late 60s and early 70s, setting several speed records to highlight this, but still lacked reliability.
Come the 90s, and the Trident badge was on their budget bike, this time with a more advanced DOHC engine and became the foundation on which the new empire would be built.
9 Cosworth
In the early 90s Triumph were determined to become a big player in motorsport again, turning to Cosworth to help get more out of their 900.
The result was middling, although Cosworth is a renowned tuner and got an impressive 97 horsepower out of the Daytona triple, the bike was substantially heavier than its rivals, making it a more touring friendly bike than an out-and-out performance machine Triumph had envisaged.
8 1050 Speed Triple
With the displacement breaking the liter mark Triumph really turned a corner. The performance went up a great deal and weight, for the most part stayed stable.
The latest version takes that to another level, with 148 horsepower and an equally astonishing 86 ft-lbs of torque propelling the Speed Triple along at hyper-naked speed.
7 Rocket III
The latest Rocket is something of an oddball. It is by quite some distance the largest mass-produced motorcycle, that 2.3-liter displacement in itself makes it fairly unusual, the fact that it is a triple makes it completely unique.
It makes 140 horsepower, by no means a small amount, but when compared to the 1050 engine it seems underpowered. That is moot though, as the Rocket III is a purpose-built power cruiser, with the primary focus on how it makes power rather than the actual power output.
6 Daytona
It is hard to look past the Daytona triple sports bike, so many see the modern Triumph as a pure hooligan machine but the Daytona is quite the opposite.
It is a refined, well-balanced middleweight motorcycle that rivals the best from any other brand. If the rest of the bike is as good as the race-proven engine, the new Daytona will be quite special.
5 Hollywood Hooligan
When Hollywood used the Speed Triple in The Matrix and then Mission Impossible II, they couldn’t have possibly done better marketing for the brand.
It encapsulated their cool factor in a way no advertising campaign could have, and it put the brand which was still only slowly coming back, firmly on the map. It went from the hooligan nobody knew to the hooligan everyone wanted.
4 A Tiger In The Woods
It started as an alternative to the mainstream adventure bikes and became one of the best-selling bikes the brand has ever produced.
The Tiger established itself as the go-to small adv, highly capable both on and off-road. It has now grown up a bit and gone back to the 900cc configuration where it initially made a name for itself in the 90s.
3 765 Moto2 Engine
When Triumph landed the contract as the Moto2 engine supplier, it left quite a few enthusiasts scratching their collective heads. This was when the production of the Daytona ceased, but this engine was destined for other bikes first, and only now in 2020 does it find a home in the new Daytona sports bike.
Getting that contract was a landmark achievement for Triumph, the engine was rather obviously the priority here, with the bike being developed around the engine. Seemingly quite intentional from both a development and marketing standpoint.
2 Triple The Value
What the triple has achieved is finding that sweet spot between the premium bikes and the bargain bikes, it also delivers rather well on the reliability front with time-honored performance.
It could have easily found the wrong “in-between” but somehow sliced out a sizeable piece of the market pie for the manufacturer.
1 Extensive Range
The triples are almost a range within a range, Triumph has gone from outcast to top tier engine supplier, all their success built around their engine with 3 cylinders.
One of the great automotive comebacks is all but complete, and we can’t wait to see what the new Daytona can really do.