'The Scalpel' holds its own at Bike of the Year:

By Réhann Coetzee

Triumph 765 Street Triple RS

When we were judging the 2018 Pirelli SA Bike of The Year a few weeks ago, I had a vague idea of which bikes would probably fill the five top spots on my scorecard. Although I wasn’t completely wrong about that, there was one surprise for me. Quite a big surprise, actually: Triumph’s 765 Street Triple RS.

I am no stranger to the Triumph brand, I have actually owned the first 675 Street Triple R in the country in Phantom Black. So, I really should’ve known better.

My 675 was a predecessor of the BoTY finalist. But I think I must have gotten lulled by the fact that very little has changed stylistically on the Street Triple. Sure, since my 2010-model 675 the shape of the headlights has changed, the colour schemes have gotten zootier and the twin under-seat silencers have been replaced by an underslung single. And the Öhlins suspension and TFT instrument panel certainly take the next step up.

And the engine has been upgraded from the not-too-shabby 79kW 675cc to the engine closely related to the one that will be powering MotoGP bikes next year: a 765cc that breathes 91kW of hellfire at a dizzying 11 700rpm.

Yes, quite impressive, but that doesn’t tell the full story. The seating position, the handling, the crisp brakes, an incredibly tractable and responsive engine with a really good ride-by-wire throttle, switchable ABS, riding modes, speed control and a quick-shifter (albeit only for up-shifts) make for a package that is so impressive that my colleagues voted in this bike as the runner-up to the technological marvel that is the Ducati Panigale V4.

Although it probably was the fastest bike around the Gerotek dynamic-handling track, again that is not the whole story. What the Street Triple does better than any of the other finalists is provide a ride that is both viscerally and intellectually satisfying. It goes like a proverbial bat out of the warm place, turns on a dime and stops so well that your eyeballs might make wet spots on the inside of your visor.

This is most likely the best-balanced mid-sized bike in the world.

Technically speaking: Triumph 765 Street Triple RS

Engine: 765cc, inline-three-cylinder, DOHC, 4 valves, liquid cooled

Power: 90kW @ 11 700rpm / 77Nm @ 10 800rpm

Gears: 6 speed, chain

Fuel tank: 17,4 litres

Seat height: 825mm

Tyres: 120/70/17 front, 180/55/17 rear

Brakes: 4-piston 310mm single disk (front); single-piston 220mm single disk (rear)

Dry weight: 165,5kg

Price: R157 000