2025 Triumph Speed Twin 900 Review: The One You Want
The Speed Twin 900 is probably the best compromise in Triumph’s massive Modern Classics range, blending retro style with modern riding manners
Triumph’s Modern Classic range is now vast, even with the death of the Thruxton. There are Scrambler models of various capacities, the Bobber, the A2-friendly Speed 400, two flavours of Bonneville, and the Speed Twin models. Along with the recently updated Speed Twin 1200, which now includes a 1200 RS variant, there’s the Speed Twin 900. And now, especially as the latter has been thoroughly rejigged for a new-generation model, I reckon it might be the pick of the lot.
To confirm my suspicions, I headed to the international bike launch in the southern tip of Spain, enjoying optimal riding conditions while the UK weather took a turn for the wintery worse. Our test route had a bit of everything - fast, sweeping corners with glorious flow, tight and nadgery country roads, urban areas, and motorways.
2025 Triumph Speed Twin 900 price and availability
The bike is now available for £9,195 in three different colours: Silver, the Silver/Carnival Red/Jet graphic option, and Phantom Black/Aurum Gold.
Based on a £1,839 deposit, the new Speed Twin 900 could be yours for £116.79 with a final payment of £4,962 should you want to keep the bike.
Compared to the competition, the new Speed Twin comes in as a more expensive option than the Interceptor 650 from Royal Enfield, which starts at £6,399. It’s also a pricier option than the £8,266 Yamaha XSR700. There is a caveat to that though, in that the Triumph is much more powerful than the Royal Enfield, and arguably with a higher level of chassis spec, and more of a true modern classic than the Yamaha is.
What’s new?
Triumph considers this a new generation of the Speed Twin 900, so plenty is new. There’s a new frame with a slimmer rear, allowing for a narrower seat, attached to which are new body parts including the fuel tank, side panels and throttle body cover. The twin silencers and new as well, and slightly shorter, and a redesigned LED headlight.
The 900cc parallel-twin engine, shared with the Bonneville, is no different internally, but it does get different casing covers to further smarten up the look of the bike. It develops 62bhp, which might not sound like much, but the more important stat for this bike is the torque - you get 59lb ft of peak twist, which is felt from just 3,800rpm. As before, there’s a distinct lack of wiring and hoses surrounding the twin - they’re all neatly routed to the point where you need to be looking closely to see where they go.
On the chassis front, there’s a lighter, stiffer swingarm, plus a new upside-down fork from Marzocchi to replace the conventionally arranged fork on the old bike. It has 43mm stanchions (vs 41 on the old fork), and is joined by twin shocks at the rear from the same company. Rounding off the chassis, there are some 100g lighter cast wheels wrapped in Michelin Road Classic tyres and slowed down by a slightly bigger 320mm disc at the front squeezed by a Triumph-branded four-piston calliper.
The bike has been made roomier with the seat height raised by 15mm, the bar height increased by the same measurement and 3.5mm further forward, and finally, footpegs that are 6.5mm lower. You can drop the seat height by 20mm with an optional perch, should you wish.
Finally, the adoption of an inertial measurement unit (IMU) makes the addition of cornering ABS and traction control possible. As before, there are only two riding modes - Road and Rain.
What’s it like to ride?
First swinging a leg over the Speed Twin 900 and getting comfortable, it does feel reasonably roomy. The first thing you notice after that is the same part TFT, part LCD dashboard pod Triumph has used on multiple models for a good few years now. When a company like Royal Enfield is sticking full TFTs on bikes costing considerably less (like the Guerilla 450 I rode down to the airport for the launch, as it happens), it’s starting to look a little dated, but it is dead easy to navigate and clearly displays all the information you need.
Thumbing the starter button awakes the engine to a rumbly idle, providing an instant reminder that this is yet another parallel twin with a 270-degree crankshaft. While not drastically more powerful than the considerably cheaper, A2-compliant modern classics, the Twin 900 has considerably more torque than that lot, and as it’s made so low, the bike feels far pokier than its 63bhp would suggest.
It’s generally best kept to the mid-range - towards the top end the bike feels like it starts to run out of puff, but over a whole day and over 100 miles of riding, there were only a couple of occasions (both during overtakes) in which I found myself wanting just a touch more go.
It’s a reasonably smooth engine despite the offset firing order, with vibes kept to a minimum at a cruise. You will feel more at certain engine speeds, particularly through the pegs, but it’s not bad at all. The noise is satisfying if not truly thrilling, but given how tricky it is to make a good-sounding bike when working with modern regulations, it’s probably about as good as we can hope for.
There’s no quickshifter available (the only Speed Twin you can have one with is the 1200 RS, thanks to its repositioned rear sets), but that’s just fine - one would feel incongruous. It’s a fun bike to rev-match with in any case. On the subject of the transmission, the five-speed ‘box is slick, although it does require a fairly hefty prod on the downshifts to engage.
Despite being a more focused proposition than the Bonneville, the Speed Twin 900 is still a fairly relaxed bike to ride. The suspension is soft, but not excessively so. It soaks up much of its travel when the road surface, but quickly settles. There’s some diving under braking, although the stoppers themselves are fine, if not mind-blowing.
Get more boulshy with your steering inputs, and the Speed Twin 900 does respond well, and can cut through a series of bends at a reasonable rate without starting to feel out of its depth. There are limits to it, of course - this isn’t quite the same thing as a sporty naked. It doesn’t quite egg you on, either, even if it does feel quite comfortable when pushed. It feels equally at home just cruising.
It’s economical, too - despite some particularly unsympathetic riding at times, the bike averaged over 60mpg over the course of the day.
Should you buy a 2025 Triumph Speed Twin 900?
You might be tempted to buy a Speed Twin 900 based on the way it looks alone. Originally inspired by custom Bonnevilles, the Speed Twin enhances the Bonnie’s looks and handling while staying true to its classic roots, twin shocks and all. Compare that to bikes like the Yamaha XSR700, which is little more than a restyled MT-07 with a much more modern monoshock arrangement at the back. The Speed Twin 900 is just a nicer object, with a handsome aesthetic joined by neat finishings and good build quality. It just so happens that the bike itself is awfully nice to ride.
Yes, the Speed Twin 1200 pulls off a similar trick, but most simply won’t need the extra power of that bike, and will be better off saving a few grand and a good few kilos in kerb weight by buying a Speed Twin 900. Yes, some will prefer the even more traditional look of the Bonneville, but the Speed Twin doesn’t depart from the recipe all that much but can give so much more in return.
You could say the same about the old bike, but it’s truer than ever thanks to the raft of changes for the new model.
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Matt has a background in motoring journalism of the four-wheeled variety but has long had a passion for motorbikes, taking his first steps into riding in 2010.
