Adamchildchad Forties, 5'7, has been professionally bike testing for 20-years and has attended more than 350 bike launches and covered over a million road test miles. International road racer, with race wins at Oliver's Mount, podiums in NZ and two top ten TT finishes. Chad is just as happy off-road or on a classic bike.
Price: From £9,595 to £13,795 | Power: 118.4bhp to 128.2bhp | Weight: 188kg-189kg | Overall BikeSocial Rating: 5/5
It doesn’t seem long since the Triumph Street Triple range was last refreshed but for 2023 there’s a major revamp to the range including new styling, more power, and a high-end Moto2 Limited Edition model to sit above the Street Triple R and RS.
When the Triumph Street Triple joined the line-up in 2007 it was little more than a streetfighter version of the Daytona 675 sports bike, and few would have imagined that 15 years later we’d be welcoming a fourth-generation version encompassing a three-bike range while the Daytona is little more than a memory.
In fact, the Street Triple has overhauled its ancestor to the extent that in 2022 it was a Street Triple that won the very event that lent its name to the Daytona – the Daytona 200. What’s more, it’s the machine that’s finally seen Triumph entering grand prix competition, albeit as the single-make engine supplier to the Moto2 series rather than as a constructor.
It’s that Moto2 association that’s led to the highest-spec Street Triple 765 yet; the new Street Triple Moto2 Limited Edition that leads the range in 2023.Demand has been so high the limited edition run of bikes has already sold out. The entry level Street Triple R and the Street Triple RS are also upgraded for this year with a revised, more powerful engine, new chassis settings, better electronics, and updated styling, making the British machines a serious rival to a host of competitors including the KTM 890 Duke, Kawasaki Z900, Yamaha MT-09 SP and, of course, Ducati’s Monster.
Pros & Cons
More power and shorter gearing make the Street Triple more fun than ever
Improved chassis and set-up make the RS a superb track tool
New electronics, rider aids, and a quickshifter as standard
Styling changes don’t make the new machine instantly distinguishable from their predecessors.
Lever span adjuster on the RS doesn’t have enough range – is too wide.
Conventionally mounted R mirrors are preferable to the RS bar end mirrors.
We ride the 2023 Triumph Street Triple 765 R & RS - FULL REVIEW
Triumph has deployed its Moto2-derived technology for the updated Street Triple 765 R and RS for 2023, and we sent Adam 'Chad' Child to Jerez and its surrounding roads to ride and review them on road and track!
Triumph is asking £9,595 for the Street Triple 765 R, just £100 more than the old model. The RRP is £11,295 for the Street Triple 765 RS, up £300 on its predecessor. At £13,795, the Street Triple Moto2 is pricier, but its higher specification means there’s never been a Street Triple quite like it before. Sadly, all Moto2 models (1530 of them: 765 in each colour) are already sold out, and any pre-owned bikes will be rare and pricy.
The entry level machine comes in two colour options, ‘silver ice’ or ‘crystal white’, both black wheels and forks. The RS comes in ‘silver ice’, ‘carnival red’ or ‘cosmic yellow’, while the Moto2 is in ‘Triumph racing yellow’ or ‘crystal white’ and gets a contrasting subframe and ‘765’ graphics, as well as carbon fibre parts including the front mudguard, side panels, headlight finisher, belly pan and silencer end cap.
While the basics of the 765cc three-cylinder engine are the same as before, Triumph has made substantial internal changes including an increased compression ratio – up from 12.65:1 to 13.25:1 – and better inlet port design to improve flow. The combustion chambers are revised, with new pistons to match, allowing the higher compression ratio to be used, and the conrods and gudgeon pins are also new. Redesigned camshafts increase valve lift, and the valves themselves are also new, while the intake trumpets are shorter than before. Deeper in the engine, the crankshaft gear, balancer gear, clutch gear and gearbox are all modified.
The updates are thanks to developments driven by the Moto2 engine programme, which sees a new generation of Triumph triple enter service in 2023.
Of course, the engine has to comply with Euro 5 emissions limits. There’s a new exhaust system with a single catalyst that gives improved gas flow and reduces the exhaust’s weight despite the need to be cleaner than ever before.
If you opt for the base Street Triple 765 R, you’ll get a peak power of 120PS/118.4hp at 11,500rpm, 2PS more than the previous model and – perhaps more importantly – peaking 500rpm lower in the rev range. On the RS and Moto2 Edition, the power increase is more substantial, rising 7PS from 123PS to 130PS (128.2hp) and arriving at 12,000rpm. All versions have the same 80Nm (59lbft) peak torque at 9,500rpm, again representing a slight increase on the previous version.
Triumph’s updated engine drives through a revised transmission with shorter gearing to improve acceleration and give better response, giving a performance increase that’s more substantial than the power gain alone would provide. An up-and-down quickshifter is standard on all versions of the bikes, as is a slip-and-assist clutch.
Triumph has pulled off the trick of making the Street Tripe feel much livelier than its on-paper power suggests. Peak power of 130ps or 128.2hp, that’s up 6% with more power from 7500rpm, might not appear huge, especially when you’re about to take on the historic Jerez MotoGP track, but it feels much more, due to the shorter gearing and revised gear ratios. Lowering the gearing is a simple way to make a bike feel faster. Add this to an increase in power and torque, not forgetting the (now standard on both models) quick-shifter, and the result is a faster accelerating Street Triple, which felt entirely at home at Jerez.
The Spanish circuit is fast and flowing, with second gear only used twice a lap, and you’d think a 130ps might feel a little flat on the MotoGP layout, but the Triumph punched hard from one corner to the next. The power delivery is linear above 7500rpm and there’s a spine-tingling howl from the intake and exhaust to the red line. When you eventually hit the rev limiter it’s a soft collision and not too abrupt, which is lucky considering the rev counter is hard to read at track speeds making for the odd mis-timed shift.
It revs so fluently but, equally, if you opt for one gear too high, the triple's torque will cleanly pull the RS toward the next corner without hesitation. Jerez is one of my favourite tracks and to ride it on the Street Triple RS was a joy, thanks to its sweetly tuned blend of free-revving power and midrange torque. Fast but never intimidating, the Triumph always made it seem that it was me in control of the throttle and not an electronic brain bristling with fiendish rider aids you find on bigger and more powerful sports bikes.
We mainly rode RS on the track and the slightly less powerful R model on the road, where, it turned out, those missing 10 horses were barely noticed. More significantly, both models make the same torque and in day-to-day riding, where the upper regions of the rev range are rarely visited, there's no real difference between the engines. Both come with a smooth quick-shifter, and both sound fantastic for road-legal Euro-5 machines.
The R comes with four riding modes – Road, Rain, Sport and a personalised Rider mode – while the RS gets the extra Track mode. Rain mode restricts power to 100PS, and each mode adjusts the throttle response, ABS and TC. We had perfect conditions in Spain, and I opted for Track or Sport on every ride. However, the Road mode has slightly softer fuelling, which I preferred around town, but this was only a relative issue: the fuelling throughout is so forgiving, the triple so flexible and such fun that it works as well in a snarl up as it does on turn three at Jerez. And don’t worry, hooligans, it will still loft the front wheel on almost any occasion once the TC is removed on the R or put in Track mode on the RS. Sublime.
The frame and swingarm castings are unchanged from the previous model, but there are setup changes that mean the wheelbase and steering geometry are revised for the 2023 machines.
On the base Street Triple R, the wheelbase is reduced from 1405mm to 1402mm, and the rake goes from 23.5 degrees to 23.7 degrees, with 97.8mm of trail instead of 98.3mm. As before, there are Showa 41mm USD SFF-BP forks with adjustable compression, rebound and preload, while the rear has a Showa piggyback shock with the same adjustments.
For the RS, the rear end is raised to give a 23.2-degree head angle, down from 23.9 degrees on the previous model, while trail is reduced from 100mm to 96.9mm and the wheelbase is reduced from 1405mm to 1399mm. Again, the actual suspension components are unchanged, with Showa 41mm BPF forks and an Öhlins STX40 shock, with a full complement of adjustments available at both ends.
The new Moto2 Edition has more serious suspension and a more radical setup, not least thanks to the addition of low, clip-on bars that move the rider’s weight forward and down. The rake is steeper still at 23 degrees, with a shorter 1397mm wheelbase and 95.3mm of trail. The rear shock is the same Öhlins STX40 used on the RS, but for the Moto2 it’s joined by Öhlins NIX30 forks – fully adjustable, of course – to suit its more track-oriented setup.
For 2023, Triumph is getting into line with the industry norm of quoting ‘wet’ weights including a full tank of fuel rather than the unrealistic ‘dry’ mass that was used before. The new Street Triple R comes in at a light 189kg wet, while both the RS and Moto2 models are a kilo lighter at 188kg.
What Triumph has done is relatively simple, and something race teams and track days addicts have been doing for years: they've raised the rear, which changes the head angle, making it steeper – and the result is a faster steering ‘lighter feeling’ bike. However, the clever bit is by how much: too steep and you compromise stability, meaning you have to compensate by tweaking the suspension, which isn't easy to get it precisely right.
Triumph has only made small adjustments – 20mm more ride height on the rear and a fractionally shorter wheelbase – but they make a difference on the track. Running on OE Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP V3 rubber (pre-heated in tyre warmers) the Street felt lighter to turn and wanted to attack Jerez's famous blue and white apex kerbing. The RS feels eager but easy; after the first session I rolled back into pit lane feeling relaxed, not overawed as I do on some bigger machines, my head buzzing with the excitement of how easy the RS is to ride at pace. It turns accurately and quickly, drops your knee to the tarmac, then carries its speed through the corner like a an old-skool supersport 600. Ground clearance isn’t an issue once you get used to riding with your toes on the pegs, though if you get lazy, toe sliders will start to touch.
For the later sessions, Triumph technicians put the factory track settings (as found in the owner's manual) into the suspension – and again the RS excelled. At times I had to remind myself the RS is a versatile, useful and highly effective road bike, because it performed like a pure race bike with its bodywork removed.
By 'race bike' I don't mean a radical, razor-sharp thoroughbred, but something far more forgiving. The way the RS holds its line gives you space and time, The perfect blend of 130PS and a midrange full of triple oomph means it drives out of corners no matter what you matter what you got wrong on the way in. Rapid, yes; intimidating, never. And if you make a mistake, you have a raft of excellent and now lean-sensitive (dependent on mode) rider aids working in the background.
The R is a marginally lower-spec version of the RS, but this doesn’t mean the RS is a racehorse and the R is a donkey. In fact, on road, you have to ride both bikes back-to-back to get any sense of the differences. The R is a little slower to steer as the rear sits lower and leaves the factory on sports touring Continental ContiRoad rubber. On the road the RS has a slightly plusher feel to it, is more agile, and once the sporty Pirelli rubber has warmed up, delivers more confidence when you hit the twisty B-roads.
But, if you have no intention of going on a track day or dragging your knee slider on the road, the £9500 R makes a lot more sense. It exudes stability, gives great feel and feels immaculately planted when the pace picks up. It's also a tad less serious than the bling RS and says: jump on, let's just have fun!
If you decide to break your track day virginity, throw on some sportier rubber, add a little support to the fully adjustable suspension and it won't be a million miles away from the RS. In reality, the RS only makes a proper difference when you are pushing for a fast lap in the fast group. If you don't mind not having an Öhlins shock and Stylema brakes, it's a relatively easy choice to make.
Rider aids are a little more basic on the R (no Track mode, for example, and you can't switch off the ABS on the rear either). The traction control (TC) has to be disengaged on the R version at a standstill, which takes about 20 seconds as you scroll through the (informative) dash, whereas on the RS you can turn off the TC in the personalised ‘Rider’ configuration, which takes just a second or so. But functionally the lean-sensitive ABS and TC are the virtually the same on both models, and you also get the excellent up-and-down quickshifter on the base R version.
On the Street Triple 675 R and RS, there are new bars that are 12mm wider than the old ones to give a bit more leverage and controllability. That’s combined with the new suspension setups that alter the seat heights – the R’s is up 1mm to 126mm, while the RS is hiked 11mm to 836mm, although there’s a low seat option that cuts 28mm from each model’s height, and for the RS and Moto2 version a suspension lowering kit will bring it down another 10mm.
The Moto2’s comfort proposition is quite different to previous Street Triples, with clip-ons that are 80mm lower and 50mm further forward than the standard bars and held at a different angle to give a riding position that’s more akin to a faired sports bike’s.
All versions have a new, 15-litre fuel tank, reshaped for better comfort and handling but 2.4 litres smaller than the old models.
At the press riding launch we managed a full day in the saddle, jumping between the two bikes, and comfort wasn’t an issue, what you would expect from a middleweight naked bike. There’s a USB port under the seat on both models, cruise control is an optional extra. The seat is a little higher on the RS and the suspension has less sag, but if you are a shorter rider, there is an optional lower seat. I’m relatively short and had no problem with the fractionally higher RS. Even though the RS is more track focused the chassis is still forgiving and the suspension plush.
However, if I was to cover some serious miles, I’d take the R over the RS. The conventional mirrors give a clearer view than the blurred bar-end items on the RS, and the clocks, despite being more basic, are easier to navigate, read and understand.
The fuel tank capacity has been reduced, and with lower gearing and a slightly revvier more powerful engine, more so on the RS, it won’t be as frugal as the old bike, and the tank range will have been reduced. The 2022 bike was good for around 150-160miles before panic set in, expect that to be lower on the 2023 model.
2023 TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE 765 Brakes
While the Street Triple R’s brakes – Brembo M4.32 calipers on 310mm discs – are unchanged, the RS steps up from the M4.32s to Brembo Stylema calipers for 2023, allied to a Brembo radial master cylinder. The Moto2 version gets the same setup. All 2023 Street Triples have standard cornering ABS, relying on an IMU for info on the bike’s lean angle and yaw, as well as a linked brake system that applies a touch of rear alongside the fronts for improved stability and shorter stopping distances. The ABS can also be tailored via the dashboard, with two selectable levels of intervention.
The cornering ABS is allied to traction control – again using the IMU to work in corners as well as a straight line – as well as multiple riding modes and throttle maps.
The R gets four riding modes, road, rain, sport and a new rider-configurable setting, while the RS and Moto2 add an additional ‘track’ mode as well. In rain mode, the power is limited to 100PS, with the ABS in standard setting and the traction control intervening earliest. In ‘road’ setting, the throttle, ABS and traction control are all set to their standard modes. In ‘sport’ the throttle map is made sharper and the traction control intervenes later, while in ‘track’ mode the sharper throttle maps is joined by ‘track’ settings for the ABS and traction control to make them even less obtrusive. The rider configurable mode lets you choose your own throttle map (road, rain or sport), combine it with either ‘road’ or ‘track’ ABS settings and select one of five traction control modes (road, rain, sport, track or off entirely).
The end of the long back straight at Jerez is a real test for the stoppers and front end. The Street Triple RS was almost on the rev limiter in fifth gear. Then it's back to second, and the new RS with its improved Stylema stoppers was more than up for the challenge. Braking power is immensely strong, the chassis remains planted, and it’s only when provoked that you can you get the rear to step out. Despite the shorter wheelbase and steeper head angle, stability when braking, even from high speeds is impressive.
On the track the braking was consistent and predictable, free of fade for lap after lap. The ABS intervention was hardly noticeable, and minimal to the point that I questioned if it was working. As noted, in Track mode ABS is not lean-sensitive.
My only criticism on track was the MCS span-adjustable levers, which look great and offer multiple adjustments, but I couldn’t adjust the lever close enough for my small-ish hands. I actually preferred the more basic-looking brake lever on the standard R, as this could be adjusted closer to the bar. On the road, the wide span of the levers wasn’t really an issue, but I preferred the feel from the R lever. The R stoppers may be down on spec compared to the RS’s but they are quality items, hard to fault on the road, and only a back-to-back test with the RS on track would highlight any difference.
Triumph identifies a wide range of rivals for the Street Triple. The base ‘R’ version intended to compete against Yamaha’s MT-09, KTM’s 890 Duke and Kawasaki’s Z900. The RS is set against the likes of the Yamaha MT-09 SP, the 890 Duke R, the Z900 SE and the Ducati Monster.
The only direct competitor with a three-cylinder engine, the base MT-09 competes with the Street Triple R and the £10,650 MT-09 SP goes against the Street Triple RS.
While the £10,049 base 890 Duke rivals the Street Triple R, the 11,049 890 Duke R is a closer match to the Street Triple RS. A bigger parallel twin means more torque but less power than the Triumph.
If you prefer four cylinders, the Z900 and Z900 SE compete with the Street Triple R and RS respectively. A bigger engine and more torque, but in a substantially heavier bike.
I rode the now-old 2022 Street Triple for a few weeks before heading to Spain to ride the 2023 model, and it left me slightly perplexed. How, I wondered, is Triumph going to improve on an already excellent road bike?
Well, they have done it. The new RS is sportier, lively, racier, more aggressive and so good around Jerez I want to fit some cheap race bodywork and go race it. Tweak the suspension and it’s a true track tool with a comfortable seat and relaxed riding position. It’s so good it in part at least fills in that large gap left by true supersport bikes like Triumph’s own Daytona 675.
Thankfully, Triumph hasn’t sacrificed any of the Street Triple's road-going prowess in the process. It’s still an excellent everyday machine that is easy to ride, terrific fun in town and country, sounds wonderful and looks great. Build quality is noticeably good, too, and £11,295 for the RS feels more than reasonable value. After all, not many bikes can commute to work in the week, excel on B-roads on jacket-and-jeans Saturday, then tear up the fast group on a track day on Sunday – not for under £12k at any rate.
There are niggles. The RS rev counter is hard to read on track when you have very little time to glance down, and I prefer the clocks on the R. The brake lever doesn’t have enough adjustment and, on the road, the conventional mirrors on the R are preferable to the bar-end items on the RS. But I’m really struggling to find any major faults with the RS, which retains the qualities of the previous bike while gaining a little more in almost every area. Looking at the competition, I think it’s the leader in the middleweight sports naked class and like the old bike the one I’ll now be recommending to mates.
Objectively speaking, if you’re not going to ride on track then you’re better off with the R version, and you’ll save yourself nearly two grand in the process. It may lack the RS's wow factor but is still great fun, churns out the same amount of torque, sounds just as fruity and is still immensely capable. Fit some sportier rubber and it wouldn’t be far behind the RS in lap times either. For under £10k it’s thoroughly impressive package. Shame it’s not available in yellow or red like the RS.
One of my favourite bikes of the last decade has been updated. Whoop! I recall the effort it took not to apply to Head Office (Mrs Mann) to put a deposit on the 2020 bike having ridden it on road and track at the press launch. I was then offered the 2022 model (essentially the 2020 bike just in a different colour) for a couple of weeks ahead of the 2023 bike being launched at Jerez. It brought back many happy memories yet also showed me the niggles that a press launch – aka holiday romance – doesn’t normally bring up.
As you’ll have seen from the above, we packed Chad off to the 2023 bike’s launch while I picked for the fortnight in the UK option filled with the usual weather and pothole-related challenges. And whatever fading fascination with Street Triple I had was boosted once more. My colleague Simon uses the expression ‘garage wood’ to describe the look-back factor, and the sexy, slimline Triumph most certainly has it. Though I appreciate the double bug eye headlight layout can be open to individual judgement.
Despite the lack of wind protection, the riding position of this roadster is still versatile enough to reward you with a comfortable sit-up-and-beg for the around town sections, or for a more athletic backroad jaunt should you wish. It’s the motorway bits that’ll strain your neck unless you invest in the £235 official Triumph accessory flyscreen and visor set. Other options are available.
Though much can be said about the unintimidatingly narrow layout of the three-cylinder motor and the chassis in which it sits, the road-holding belies its stature. For what seems to be a small and manageable machine that you feel perched on (rather than ‘in’), its wheelbase dimensions alongside a fiendishly good suspension/brake/tyre combination accentuates the splendid balance and dexterity. It’s comparatively lightweight machine with a dynamic speed of turn, in the dry at least, and the exhaust note and perkiness of the 128bhp triple keep your senses alert. Wind it on and you’ll be rewarded with a reminder of how brilliant motorcycling can be when it tickles all the right senses. A smooth throttle connection and fuelling aids the alertness of the ability to drive out of a corner, while the graceful notion of the Showa and Ohlins suspension keeps the ride direct and supple.
The deliberately dual carriageway-avoiding 65-mile trip to Donington Park was over too quickly but the grin on my face and adrenaline coursing through my veins remained strong for long enough to be uber-excited about the return trip rather than the Bennetts British Superbike round I was there to witness.
Yet for all the benefits of this spritely little sausage, I should also talk about the clumsy ignition key placement which barely allows enough room for the actual key let alone any others, or indeed a keyring. Or the length of ignition cut with the quickshifter – yes, we’re talking about tenths if not hundredths of a second but unless you on TT Supersport attack mode, then the gap is too big. £315 for cruise control is mildly annoying rather than a deal breaker, yet worthy of note. And then there’s the irritating frame/seat junction against the inside of my knee. And, aesthetically, is it different enough to the previous model?
Pound-for-pound, the 2023 Triumph Street Triple RS is a bargain. There’s so much to like about the rewarding ride, the power-to-weight ratio is cracking for a sub £11.5k motorcycle – regardless of the journey duration, it’s a worthwhile use of your time.
If you are a BikeSocial member, own a 2023 Triumph Street Triple RS and would like to contribute your thoughts, then please get in touch: enquiries@bikesocial.co.uk
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