Triumphrat

banda · 08-02-2005

I went on a nice ride on Sunday with a new friend, a rider I had not ridden with before. We covered about 300 miles with about 100 of those through the Mark Twain National Forest... excellent twisty, clean, sparsely populated roads. Top speeds between corners was under 85, typical cornering speeds around 65-70... a good spirited road ride in perfect weather.

I rode my 2003 Speed Four. My companion was on a 2004 R6 with Akropovic silencer. We traded bikes for a fast twisty 12 mile stretch. Here are my thoughts:

The R6 is physically tiny. The bars are closer, lower, flatter, and narrower. The instruments feel like they are below your chin. The bike is very narrow between the knees, and the pegs feel lower. The R6 feels 50 pounds lighter than the Triumph when it's only 25 or so lighter. The R6 feels delightfully small. The word that sticks in my head is jewel-like.

The R6 motor revs quicker, and with the aftermarket can, is much louder at low to mid RPMs. The clutch action is better, with a lighter pull, and more feeling at engagement. The gearbox shifts much more lightly, without the big "klunk" of the Triumph at street pace. Once underway, and especially when riding in a spirited way, the R6 is no louder than the Speed Four. The motor has similar mid range acceleration to the Speed Four between 6k and 9k, but pulls fiercely after that, where the Speed Four maintains its steady acceleration.

The R6 still feels much lighter on corner entries, and has more engine braking at 7k, obviating the need to brake for most street riding. But here's the surprise: The Speed Four requires less effort to turn in. And once heeled over, the Triumph deals much more effectively with mid-corner bumps.

Finally, the seat on the Speed Four is far more comfortable.

So, in a nutshell, I found all the things that the magazines did: The Speed Four feels large, doesn't have that big rush on top, but handles like a champ in the real world, while making cool sounds in the upper rev ranges.

Still, I wouldn't mind riding the R6 a few more times. :-D

SVRider · 08-02-2005

Quote:

On 2005-08-02 11:11, banda wrote:

<snip>

So, in a nutshell, I found all the things that the magazines did: The Speed Four feels large, doesn't have that big rush on top, but handles like a champ in the real world, while making cool sounds in the upper rev ranges.

Still, I wouldn't mind riding the R6 a few more times. :-D

I just bought a 2002 Triumph S4, and I also recently demo rode a 2005 Kawk ZX-6R 636 at the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Weekend at Mid Ohio.

My comparison between the two is very similar to your S4 vs R6. The 636 definately felt like it had about 20 more ponies on the S4. But for me, coming from 30K miles on an SV650, the S4 feels like it's got a huge top end charge from about 9-10krpm until redline.

I love my new S4. I told my g/f last night, I'm off to ride, gotta hit up the inline four crack pipe. :razz:

TTsixxer · 08-02-2005

The S4 has better turn in because of the height of the handlebars. Good review though.

Occean · 08-03-2005

Then look at servicing costs

*cry*

DaveC · 08-03-2005

Occean,

The R6 service costs are higher than for the S4? For what reason, more complicated engine, hard to get to, etc?

Dave

Will · 08-03-2005

If my experience helping a friend with his '01 R6 is typical, they bodywork on one of those is a real PITA! I don't know if the rest of the bike is as fiddlely to deal with, but I can strip my bike and have the plastic all back on in the amount of time it took me just to strip his R6.
That is deceptive since I know my bike very well and have only worked on his once, but the difference is pretty amazing when you start to work on one of those.

Occean · 08-03-2005

No they are half the price and every 6k intead of 4k.

that was a *cry* at my S4

Using Two magazine as a refrence I recently went to the local Yamaha dealer as I was considering a swap, they confirmed the servicing prices on the R6 and 600 Fazer were significantly lower and less often than my S4. IIRC £120@6k and £210@12k - at least in that ball park. My S4 was £230@4k £400@8k and £230@12 (and additionally chain and sprocket at 12k).

Two magazine also refrenced triumph servicing prices correctly.

But I just couldn't do it and am still riding my S4 approaching 16k.

[ This message was edited by: Occean on 2005-08-03 11:21 ]

nostatic · 08-03-2005

S4 service intervals are now every 6K

Occean · 08-04-2005

Nice I did not realise that!

Thanks for the info...

Wonder how that affects my major service which I last had done @ 8k but now is reccomended at 12k (which I had already as a minor) - so at 24k valve clearance won't have been checked for 16k.

[ This message was edited by: Occean on 2005-08-04 04:19 ]

banda · 08-05-2005

Quote:

On 2005-08-02 22:17, TTsixxer wrote:
The S4 has better turn in because of the height of the handlebars. Good review though.

I'm having trouble believing that.

By that reasoning, bikes with ape hangers should flick from side to side like nobody's business.

Certainly wider bars would give the rider more leverage for counter steering, but there was no significant difference in the width of the bars between the R6 and the Speed Four. I think the easier turn-in on the Triumph is more likely related to the different tires on the bikes: The Triumph had the 70 profile BT-010s, and the R6 was wearing 60 profile Diablos.

[ This message was edited by: banda on 2005-08-05 15:08 ]