What is the epitome of British? Is it the pomp and ceremony from the era of Queen Victoria or is the Britain of pubs, punks, football hooligans and page 3 girls, or is it the modern loft apartment, luxury cars, investment banking and private dinners with Gordon Foo’kin Ramsey?
I’ll be honest; I’ve heard a lot about Triumph Speed Triples being insane bikes with their street fighter football hooligan looks. And this is what I was expecting when I got the opportunity to ride the Triumph Explorer. I imagined a massive beast of a bike that could arm wrestle for checkerboard drafts and play darts with knives… I mean, it has a new 1215cc triple-cylinder engine with a claimed a 121Nm torque peak at 6400rpm and 137hp@ 9000rpm with more than 100Nm of that huge torque available from as low as 2500rpm. Which isn’t too shabby Nigel, and would certainly get Gordon Ramsey saying f**k even more, if that’s possible.
Anyway, after a short technical and features briefing, which I’m sorry I wasn’t listening to, the keys where in the ignition and I was off. The first thing that came into my brain is that this motor is silky smooth and vibration free. The fly by wire system and fuel injection system is faultless. I found myself chasing the addictive exhaust growl around six thousand ‘are-pea-em’ as I punched holes through traffic whilst never straying out of third gear or ever needing to. Well at least the engine is not the hooligan I presumed, but a thoroughly sophisticated modern British subject and fit for any bloated spluttering Lord for sure.
The riding position felt quite natural and suited the engine perfectly. The bars can be adjusted for reach, there’s plenty of legroom and the standard screen does a reasonable job of protecting you from buffeting. The standard seat is impressive and can be adjusted between a height of 840 and 860mm, which is good news if you have Hobbit legs.
Tipping the scales at 259kg wet, the Explorer is no lightweight but the heft is never felt on the move and thankfully I had no reason to pick it up. That mass is no doubt the reason why Triumph has fitted the Explorer with such taut suspension. While impressively damped, the 46mm Kayaba forks and the single rear shock in particular do transfer some small bumps through to the rider, but I never felt cause for complaint in my chubby buttock department.
Handling is excellent for such a big beast of a thing with the weight kept down low and the wide bars allow plenty of leverage to throw the machine from side to side. The brakes are powerful, the ABS system, which is nice, can be turned off when you want to get serious off-road. Same can said for the traction control system. But this Triumph doesn’t really belong off road, besides the odd visit to a long dirt lane.
Price wise and ticking off the massive options list on this machine can empty your wallet real fast. But to be honest with a starting price of R149,500 you have a fantastic platform to get going. Best go to www.triumphmotorcycles.co.za to see what’s on offer and there’s a lot to make your Explorer, er, explore more.
So have Triumph hit the target? Well I think they have. This is an ultra-modern, quality product that makes you feel proud and regal and it’s ideal for any Country estate. It certainly has enough to give the BMW (Alleged bike of the year) with a 30-year lineage a bloody nose and something to think about, and it’s much faster too. The war however, I feel, will be brand related and not won on the road and/or gravel. If you’re a BMW loyalist then that’ll be your home, If you like Triumph then this bike will be your home. Or you could go out and buy a Range Rover and a wax coated jacket instead, then again maybe not because the Range Rover won’t pull a big f**kin’ wheelie past the Queen.
Go to www.fourwaysmotorcycles.co.za to book a highly recommended test ride today.
