All-day comfort; sportbike performance.

By Doug Toland, cycleworld.com

Motorcycle designers are constantly digging deep to create eye-candy designs, shapes, and color schemes to get us excited. Likewise, development teams are building on that eye-candy appearance to create a motorcycle that brings the visual to life. The 2022 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR is a perfect execution of this process.

The new 1200 RR branches off from its Triumph siblings with its own personality in styling, features, and ride character. The first thing a rider sees is the elegant Red Hopper/Storm Grey (Crystal White/Storm Grey is also available) color pattern with its several well-placed carbon accents. Then the eye takes in the technical details, the cast aluminum twin-spar frame, the single-sided swingarm, the Öhlins Smart-EC semi-active suspension. This Triumph is meant to reach all your senses.

The nose down “cockpit” half-fairing, as Triumph calls it, with its round LED headlight and clip-on handlebars is reminiscent of 1960s-70s cafe racers, a tastefully dated design. But get beyond that and the 1200 RR is all cutting-edge hardware and software, top componentry matched to performance-enhancing electronics.

And quality-of-life electronics too; the expected elements are all here, navigation, messaging, and so on, all housed thoughtfully in a slow-booting 5-inch full-color display. But Triumph has gone beyond the expected; there’s a tremendous amount of programmability here to cover the preferences of just about any rider, and plenty to keep riders amused, tweaking the bike during rainy-day garage sessions. There’s so much customization that it’s almost overkill; there’s even programmability for the multifunction turn indicators. Luckily, one of the most intuitive features is cruise control, which is on and active with the push of just two buttons and provides simple one-touch acceleration or deceleration.

But complexity issues aside, there’s really no such thing as too many options for your ride. And riding the Speed Triple RR anywhere is pretty comfortable. It’s a snug fit, yet a good fit with the positioning and rider triangle falling somewhere between a hyper-naked and a hard-edged superbike. Even clocking 300-plus-mile days that mixed in both freeway and curvaceous roads in the hills, my 5-foot-10 body didn’t complain, thanks to the height of the clip-on handlebars and the easygoing footpeg distance relative to the CW-measured 32.7-inch seat height.

The handlebar angles also allow a comfortable tuck behind the smallish windscreen while facilitating rider ability to hang off a bit for aggressive cornering. Combine that with very little engine heat to the rider, and the 1200 RR as an overall package works quite well on the street, with a nice balance of straight-line comfort and rider positioning for the backroads.

This more open rider triangle does come at somewhat of a price for trackdays though. As our European correspondent found during his First Ride impression in Spain last year during the track portion, he was using a bit more of his toe sliders than preferred. I had no issues dragging anything on the street.

At any rate, the Speed Triple 1200 RR was never intended to be a track star. That’s all perfectly fine and dandy, because what the Triumph does best is reward the rider with heavy doses of giggles and grins. It’s an impressive streetbike that does a fantastic job around town, in the mountains, and through canyon twisties, all with sophisticated athleticism.

And while the Triumph may not have been born to track stardom, it does come equipped with a lap timer and top-level Öhlins Smart Electronically Controlled 2.0 semi-active suspension with compression and rebound damping on the 43mm fork and rear reservoir shock. Spring preload at both ends uses manual adjusters and is simple to change.

The S-EC 2.0 Öhlins suspension offers various predetermined damping settings based on the selected mode. Even within a selected mode, the rider still has a choice of different damping settings, which are applicable to that mode. Want to get a bit more personalized with your suspension settings? Just select one of the two Rider modes to open a menu that allows you to make more specific compression and rebound damping changes over a very broad range. The available suspension programming options even include three “fixed” options that are saved separately so it’s easy to toggle between, say, straight-line highway, twisties, and two-up riding without having to remember what settings you preferred.

Triumph also makes this whole process simple, if you like. Four preprogrammed modes, Rain, Road, Sport, and Track, have very usable default settings. The two Rider modes, Road and Track, allow many options. You can also adjust the various internal default settings in each of the four preprogrammed modes or simply use the Dynamic setting, which constantly responds to road conditions.

More electronically programmed features within various modes of the RR suspension include Brake Support, Corner Support (in Dynamic mode only), and Acceleration Support (also in Dynamic mode only). Essentially, what happens is that for each type of Support, the rider can program the amount of damping assistance that occurs during braking, cornering, and acceleration to reduce front dive, keep the chassis geometry of 23.9 degrees of rake and 104.7mm (4.1 inches) of trail more consistent, and reduce rear squat based on data from the six-axis IMU.

Getting the best engine-braking setting also helps keep the chassis more settled while making small throttle changes during cornering. Reduce the engine-braking and the RR does not dive as much on deceleration, but you’ll find yourself using just a bit more of the Brembo Stylema brakes to slow things down.

Braking duties up front include a Brembo radial MCS adjustable master cylinder with a piston diameter range from 19 to 21mm. It’s a pretty slick operation, allowing the option for different lever feel and firmness to better match the rider’s braking preference. The MCS master cylinder pushes the brake fluid through steel-braided lines to dual radial-mounted four-piston Monoblock Brembo Stylema calipers squeezing 320mm rotors; these can easily lift the rear wheel quite high in the Track ABS mode, as discovered during 60–0 mph braking tests. Rear braking duties include an inboard mounted Brembo twin-piston caliper acting on a 220mm rotor, all mounted to the aluminum single-sided swingarm.

The RR also enables various functionalities based on conditions for its Road and Track mode ABS and cornering ABS system. For example, in Road mode, the brakes include a linked brake function that is very transparent but becomes disabled when Track mode is selected. The same goes for “progressive brake applications” for anti-stoppie and cornering ABS, which are disabled during Track mode.

Sound a bit complicated? Sound impressive? It is, and it is. And if you’re asking how much all this improves the ride, well, once everything is set up and dialed in, the RR handles everything the road throws at it quite well indeed.

On the CW Dynojet 250i dyno, the four-valve, 13.2:1 compression 1,160cc triple lays down 150.5 linear horsepower at a relatively low, very usable 10,500 rpm. Match that with a constantly rising torque curve that peaks at 8,500 rpm with 82.6 lb.-ft. of grunt, and you’ve got remarkably smooth, almost electric, power delivery in a machine that tipped our scales at 443 pounds, full of gas. On the street, that makes it feel like the fabled gentleman’s superbike, and behave like one too; during top-gear roll-on testing, the Speed Triple took only 2.52 seconds to vault from 60 to 80 mph, and the big triple is just starting to wake up and pull even harder from there.

Riding at a spirited pace in the local mountains, the Triumph RR has an uncanny feel once all the support options and other available chassis and engine settings are dialed in. There’s an almost glued-to-the-road connection, as the RR’s 56.6-inch wheelbase is complemented by a reduced amount of front dive under light braking and lack of front/rear chassis pitching, all of which makes for a less active ride than one might expect.

This planted ride, smooth acceleration, seamless throttle-by-wire response, and the ability to click through the gears with the quickshifter all allow the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 tires to corner hard enough to easily use up the better part of the Speed Triple’s 4.7 inches of front and rear wheel travel.

Shoppers care about fuel economy as well, as do we. While ripping around the hills, accumulating highway miles, and running errands, the 1200 RR managed to return anywhere from 27.2 mpg to 42.2 mpg out of the 4.1-gallon fuel tank. Given the somewhat relaxed rider comforts, a tank of gas seems to go pretty quick, both in the hills or on the highway, because the Triumph does not take a great deal of physical or mental energy to ride.

However, to deal with during the mundane day-to-day this bike takes a bit more effort, or at least familiarization. When refilling the fuel tank, starting the RR, or locking the steering, there’s no need for a key and the fob just needs to be close enough. Easy enough. But in addition to the fob, the Triumph has a “Master Ignition Switch” located on the right side of the engine above the clutch cover. This is a simple-looking rotary on/off switch that, when in the “off” position, prevents the engine from starting even if the fob is within range. Strange.

This is a minor quibble though, more of an eccentricity, something riders can easily get used to. There are areas for definite improvement more deserving of attention.

At lower rpm and around-town speeds during casual riding, this quickshifter would benefit from better downshift settings for smoother shifting. Getting the six-speed stacked transmission into neutral was also a bit challenging at times while manually disengaging the slipper clutch. Also, during twisty road riding, the rider’s kick-plates on each side could be reshaped to provide a bit more room and allow the rider to keep their feet on the pegs more and closer to the motorcycle. This would provide a narrower feel during straight-line riding as well.

The horn is attached to the bottom of the radiator and seems a bit out of place, but as it is in an open area with nothing blocking it, it is quite loud. The helpful Accessory power socket located next to the master ignition switch uses a hella socket connector; its presence is definitely appreciated but a commonly available USB socket relocated near the dash would be useful as well. And despite the engine’s buttery qualities, the mirrors suffer from a blurring buzz at highway speeds.

Still, note that aside from the finicky quickshifter and the difficulty finding neutral, the problems are minor. And for major worries, the 1200 RR comes with a two-year unlimited mileage warranty.

Taken as an entire package, the 2022 Triumph Speed Triple RR comes complete with the latest electronics, rider aids, and a top-level suspension that allows countless combinations. Combine that with silky-smooth power delivery, the inimitable triple exhaust note, and a relaxed riding position, and you’ve got the makings for easy all-day rides that will leave the rider unruffled. Yes, at an MSRP of $21,275, it may be a little pricey. Yet it’s a unique motorcycle with a subtle personality, a very different level of class, and style like nothing else.

2022 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR Specifications

MSRP:	$21,275 (as tested)
Engine:	DOHC, liquid-cooled, inline 3-cylinder; 12 valves
Displacement:	1,160cc
Bore x Stroke:	90.0 x 60.8mm
Compression Ratio:	13.2:1
Transmission/Final Drive:	6-speed/chain
CW Measured Horsepower:	151.5 hp @ 10,500 rpm
CW Measured Torque:	82.6 lb.-ft. @ 8,500 rpm
Fuel System:	Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection w/ electronic throttle control
Clutch:	Wet, multiplate, slipper/assist function
Frame:	Aluminum twin spar; bolt-on aluminum rear subframe
Front Suspension:	Öhlins 43mm fully adjustable USD fork; S-EC 2.0 OBTi system electronic compression and rebound damping; 4.7 in. travel
Rear Suspension:	Öhlins monoshock RSU w/ linkage; S-EC 2.0 OBTi system electronic compression and rebound damping; 4.7 in. travel
Front Brake:	Brembo Stylema Monoblock 4-piston calipers, dual 320mm floating discs w/ OC-ABS
Rear Brake:	Brembo 2-piston caliper, 220mm disc w/ OC-ABS
Wheels, Front/Rear:	Cast aluminum; 17 x 3.5 in. / 17 x 6.0 in.
Tires, Front/Rear:	120/70ZR-17 / 190/55ZR-17
Rake/Trail:	23.9º/4.1 in.
Wheelbase:	56.7 in. (1,439mm)
Seat Height:	32.7 in. (830mm)
Fuel Capacity:	4.1 gal.
Average MPG:	35.1 mpg
CW Measured Wet Weight:	442 lb.
Availability:	January 2022
Contact:	triumphmotorcycles.com

CW Measured Performance

Quarter-Mile:	10.70 sec. @ 139.20 mph
0–30 mph:	1.61 sec.
0–60 mph:	3.19 sec.
0–100 mph:	5.91 sec.
Top-Gear Roll-On, 40–60 mph:	2.56 sec.
Top-Gear Roll-On, 60–80 mph:	2.51 sec.
Braking, 30–0 mph:	33.8 ft.
Braking, 60–0 mph:	130.22 ft.