2021 Triumph Trident

Triumph Motorcycles have been heading more and more upmarket in recent years with higher specification models that wear premium price tags to match.  At the moment the entry point in to the range is the Australian LAMS edition of the Street Triple 660 at $13,175 +ORC. Australian pricing from importer Peter Stevens is actually quite aggressive, with many comparable models actually more affordable here than in the UK. Still, overall, there are many more Triumph models that sell for 20k+ on the road than there are under that marker.

Clearly a circuit breaker was needed to bring the entry point down further, particularly for the Asian market. The new model that Triumph hope will spark more interest among motorcyclists brings back the Trident appellation.

While the Trident name has long been associated with Triumph it is interesting to note that a trident is not only the weapon of Neptune or Poseidon, but also the weapon of Shiva, one of the primary deities of Hinduism. Useless facts with Trev #478…

Developed in Britain, the Trident will be manufactured in Triumph’s own Thailand plant, and is not a product of any collaboration with Bajaj or any other brand. Undoubtedly though there will be models coming down the pipeline that leverage those partnerships and allow Triumph to offer a much more affordable range to expand their global sales.

Trident is due to arrive in Australia early next year, and Triumph Australia have indicated to us that the sticker price they are hoping to achieve with Trident is $10,999 +ORC.  That is only marginally more expensive than Honda’s CBR650R, Kawasaki’s Ninja/Z 650 duo or Yamaha’s hugely successful Yamaha MT-07. Of the major brands only Suzuki seriously undercuts them with SV650.

Trident though mounts a very convincing argument in its favour with a specification level far higher than all those aforementioned options.

Full-colour TFT instrumentation with Bluetooth and phone driven navigation via the ‘My Triumph’ app’. Complete with music and GoPro control functionality directly from the motorcycle via a bar-mounted switch-cube. The target market will certainly appreciate this sort of 21st century functionality.

ABS, Riding Modes and a switchable traction control system add to the tech package and tick all the boxes in regards to safety aids. Integrated tyre pressure monitoring is an optional extra, as are heated grips and a USB charging socket.

Showa provide the suspension. SFF forks up front with 120 mm of travel and a pre-load adjustable monoshock rear with a generous 134 mm of travel suggests Trident will ride well. Triumph claim the suspension has been tuned to be pillion capable and offers best in class handling.

Name dropping continues when it comes to the braking components, here Nissin provide the hardware with twin-piston calipers clamping on full-sized 310 mm rotors and a 255 mm rear disc.

LED lighting features throughout from the handsome seven-inch headlight through to integrated LED tail-lights and self-cancelling indicators.

A sculpted 14-litre fuel cell has nooks for your knees and the seat height is a modest 805 mm. The frame is tubular steel.

Most overseas markets get a Trident with 80 horsepower and 64 Nm of torque but to meet our learner requirements the Australian model arrives with 53 horsepower and 59 Nm of torque. The revs these peaks are reached at are also considerably lower than on the overseas model.  LAMS peak power arrives at 8750 rpm, 1500 rpm less than the full power models, and torque peaks 1250 rpm lower.

While the LAMS model is 27 horsepower down, we don’t miss out on much torque, that suggests the Aussie spec’ Trident will be a flexible mill. The full power engine boasts 90 per cent of its maximum torque from as low as 3600 rpm, Aussie models could be even stronger when driving out of the basement.

While the engine does share some common characteristics with the Street Triple it is virtually all-new with 67 different components that include a new crank, cams, pistons, cylinder head, balancer, throttle bodies, air-box and stainless steel exhaust system. The radiator and fan set-up is also different.

Six gears are there to shuffle with the aid of the now customary Triumph slip-assist clutch while a two-way quick-shifter is an optional extra.

Ready to roll with a full tank the Australian specification Trident tips the scales at 189 kg.

The ride away price is estimated to be $12,699 and Triumph are boasting the lowest servicing costs in the segment with 16,000 kilometre service intervals that add more value to the ownership equation.  Warranty coverage is two-years unlimited kilometres.

We expect to throw a leg over the machine when they land in February. Trident certainly looks to be a top shelf option for the discernible LAMS rider, and it could even make an affordable commuter for experienced riders that clock up big kilometres to and from work each day. I look forward to sampling it.

---

Source: MCNews.com.au