Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS | Interview with Chief Engineer Stuart Wood
With the launch of any updated model, you inevitably have questions. Here is the man behind the Speed Triple 1200 RS to answer them all
THE launch of the 2021 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS sees the legendary naked go through its most extensive update since the mid-2000s. With it, the Speed Triple not only becomes the most powerful and fastest iteration of the bike to date, but it also becomes the lightest and most responsive as well.
Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS 2021 | Triumph's Ultimate Naked Motorcycle
Now, increasing the displacement of the engine and re-tuning almost every aspect of it has meant the 2021 Speed Triple is pumping out a very healthy 180bhp. But with around 30 horses more than the old bike to play with, the chassis, suspension, and pretty much every other component of the bike has had to be upgraded or changed. Doing that without increasing weight – and actually losing 10kg – is really no mean feat, and one this I couldn’t really get my head around.
To find out what was at work here, Visordown sent me off to Triumph’s Hinkley press office for a socially distanced chat with Stuart Wood, Chief Engineer at the factory, and the man with his name already attached to some of the brand’s most famous bikes.
2021 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS specs
In the interview, Stuart talks us through how Triumph set about slimming down the latest Speed Triple, in terms of physical size and weight. We also get to hear how they managed to increase displacement, power, torque, and the bike red-line, all while creating a physically smaller engine for the Hinckley roadster.
To read a full write up including everything that is new with the 2021 bike, click here.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
