Triumphrat

Captain Jack

OK guys I need your help here, My son (23)wants a triumph for when he passes his test. He has his eye on a 2006 "speed four", I have reports of them having a flat spot when taking off from start & then kicking in with a sudden start resulting in a somewhat unnerving ride until you get used to it. What are your views regarding this as a first bike & what if any are the pitfalls, what faults do I look for.

Thanks guys

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spank86

well I guess that's a question I'm actually qualified to answer.

well about 9 years ago i rode a Suzuki rg125 for a year and I had a dirt bike last year but really my speed four is my first proper bike. I've had it about three months now.

I don't find it a problem at all, I haven't noticed the "flat spot" although I do notice that it doesn't like just idling along just below that rev range, gets a bit lumpy if your in first and occasionally second.

Acceleration wise it's never given me any problems at all and I habitually ride at low revs, usually in the first third/half of the rev range.

I don't know about any log term pitfalls or faults since I haven't had it long but as far as it goes right now I'm loving it. I find the wind buffet is unnoticeable up to about 75 and with the fairing not a problem up to 100.

Without the front fairing I actually find it better. All I'd say is get him to have a test ride first just to see if he likes actually riding it, I didn't but then I was lucky.

1stmoto06bonnie

Go for the Bonnie T100. It sits upright, it is comfortable after loooong rides. It has great manuevarbility. Plus, it's flashy and retro. It was featured in GQ a little bit back. Just my opinion.

themaster

There are probably better first bikes ... but it was my first bike. Had it for a nearly 2 years until I was taken out by some idiot in a car not checking his mirrors.

I was looking for one specifically and called a Triumph dealer who said it would be a good first bike -- "confidence building", and they didn't have any in stock, so I took him at his word.

I found it quite a change going from a carburetted 125 to an injected 600, the response being more jerky, but perfectly manageable. The flat spot happens with most 600cc bikes for emissions reasons - it was just particularly marked at low revs in town (change down) and easy to ride around. More annoying than dangerous - it's not like the power dies to nothing and then takes off without warning!

There is a 33bhp restriction kit available.

In terms of faults, you're looking to make sure that the important (i.e. expensive) services have been done. If I recall they are every 8k (or 10k) miles. Lots of topics here on the charging system, which isn't expensive to fix if you don't buy Triumph parts.

Catenaccio

My son was gifted my Speed Four by my wife. He'd had lots of experience on high horsepower quads so the transition to a bike was more an adjustment to riding on pavement. If your son has any experience at all, he might be capable of handling the S4.

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dw562714

I have a TT600 as second bike (first was a 600 shadow). Kudos to your son wanting a triumph. There's a huge appeal to pulling up to a gas station and people looking at you like "what the F*** is that?" (in a good way). The bike is well tempered under 6 grand but still gives you a thrill past 6 that that hasn't worn off after a year of ownership. Two, if you miss a shift when you rip on the throttle you (most likely) aren't going to pull up the front end. The handling is excellent in the curves and relative to a honda or yamaha, the obscurity works in your favor (cheap rides to be found). If your son is responsible (or at least mechanically coordinated) it should be a fine bike at a reasonable price.

S3Partisan

If your son is sensible then the Speed Four is a good choice. Though the same could be said for any 600 really (the bit about being sensible!).

I bought one new for my first big bike, and first Triumph. I've since had a 1050 Speed Triple, T595 Daytona and 1050 ST.
For my first big bike I told myself I wanted to be sensible and not by a Supersport bike, but thats exactly what it is. It wouldn't match one of todays Supersport bikes on a race track head to head, but on the road it's more than capable. It's a fantastic handling chasis.
No real flat spot, but mine suffered throttle surge around 3000rpm, commonly encountered at town speed 20-30 mph. That was with the very latest Triumph tune installed. The Speed Four glitch was not as bad as the earlier TT600's, the 06 bikes were as good as it was going to get without a custom tune. More of an annoyance than a hindrance, easily solved by dropping a gear in town traffic.
The surge and the howl at >6000rpm was adictive though, and would see the front popping up on occasion Tell him to go steady!

skiTTles

No supersport is a good beginner bike, honestly. Twitchy power, grippy brakes, and an aggressive riding position. Some supersports are better than others in regards to this, but still they are all purpose built machines putting performance ahead of ‘rideability’.

In fact, I’d go so far as saying the more powerful Street Triple would make a better first bike than the Speed Four (though granted it will cost more to buy).

Something like the Bonnie would be a perfect first bike, low CoG, neutral riding position, linear power deliver, forgiving chassis; if it weren’t for the price attached to them (used they are still pricey in my part of the globe) and all the expensive chrome bits all over it (everyone drops their first bike) it would be a fantastic choice. If it were my kid (who is only 13 right now ) I’d find a used Kawi EX500.

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spank86

Oh I don't know. I find that the riding position only gets to be a problem as you get older and less flexible.

As for the twitchy power and grippy brakes, I've never found them an issue on the 4.

The thing is if he wants a supersport then he wants a supersport, and at 23 I'm not surprised. I take it he's done direct access and not been a learner for long, not ideal but it's what I did and is working out fine.

skiTTles

I’m not talking about comfort, I’m talking about the way that the seating triangle of a supersport (high pegs to high seat to low clip-ons) forces the rider into the sportbike crouch.

No one can convince me that the ‘crouch’ is going to allow a novice to concentrate on using the controls, their eyes, their perception of traffic and possible dangers in a better fashion than that of the standard sit up and beg position. Not to mention that being bent over the tank changes the CoG and allows the bike to tip into curves easily which, conversely, makes for some interesting low speed stability in tight maneuvers (aggressive head rake also is a detriment here, and is also a trademark of a sportbike). It also lends one to think Just like Rossi! and gets themselves into even more trouble

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We're in Italy and occasionally we get a dumbass Italian who decides to do something heroic and it all goes pear-shaped. -Colin Edwards