I was curious as to how different the new Speed Triple is from its previous incarnation. I’d read all the differences, but it’s hard to get a visual with specs only. Even comparing photos can be difficult because of lighting, depth of field, lenses, etc. So I decided to compare them directly. Using Photoshop, I took two side views – a red 2004 and a white 2006 – and resized them until they were the same and overlaid them. The one thing that seems identical is the bolt pattern on the engine, so I used that as a reference point. They’re marked with yellow arrows.
I’m surprised how similar the geometry is. The 06 looks slightly taller at the tank and seat, wheelbase and steering angle seem a touch different, and the rear tire looks taller – although, that may just be the types of tires on the bikes in the photos. The frames look identical also. The only reason they aren’t as dark as the engine is because one is silver, the other is black.
My point with all of this is that I’ve been considering an 06 but it looked like the whole bike was considerably smaller than it was before and I was curious as to how much. Turns out it isn’t smaller. It just looks like it because of the lack of a tail section.
Anyway, I still haven’t decided between a 2006 Speed Triple or Sprint, but thought you might find the comparison interesting.
These are the two photos I used.
[ This message was edited by: StoneTriple on 2006-08-10 13:43 ]
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