The Street Triple 765 has just been launched by Triumph, and us thrill-seekers are now reading up about how it stacks up against similarly-priced competition and products of a similar format. However, should you walk into a Triumph store, you’ll see two other products in the same store that will catch your eye. Those are the Bonneville T100 and T120.
The Bonneville range is a modern classic range, while the Street Triple is a modern street bike. However, if you’re not too picky about the finer details, either will do for your purposes. Let’s start with the lowest-priced one from the three: the Bonneville T100. It is a lovely throwback to the original Bonneville, but has a dash of modern tech with the recently-launched model. The engine is a water-cooled one with a new firing order compared to the previous model. It displaces 900cc but has only two cylinders to the Street’s three. The focus remains on torque throughout the rev range, with 80Nm coming in at a measly 3230rpm. Peak power is 54bhp – half that of the 765’s. It will still manage to get to its claimed top speed of 100mph (160kph – and what puts the ‘100’ in the ‘T100’). The spoke rims, the cream-and-white dual-tone paintjob, the minimalistic instrument cluster, it all appeals to the nostalgia of the brand, but riding it around on the twisties is fun as well, thanks to the traction control and ABS that are packaged along with the T100. The price? A smidge over Rs 8 lakh, ex-Delhi.
The Street Triple 765 S will ask you for Rs 50,000 more, at Rs 8.5 lakh, but for that much more, you get a modern streetfighter with what can only be summed up as ‘more’. There’s one more cylinder, there’s more power at 111bhp, there’s more performance by virtue of less weight, and if you prefer riding around at a fair clip, then there’s more fun to be had as well. It makes less torque than the T100, at 73Nm, and it is formed at a stratospheric 10,421rpm. This is a motorcycle that needs its neck wrung if you want performance out of it. The soundtrack from those three cylinders is also unique. At the moment we’ve got only the base ‘S’ variant, but it still offers quite a few features compared to the Bonnevilles. You get two riding modes, ‘Rain’ and ‘Road’ with the traction control built into them, a 5 inch TFT instrument cluster, and an optional quickshifter. Unlike the T100, the traction control cannot be switched off.
Throw in yet another Rs 50,000, and we’re looking at the bigger Bonneville; the 1200cc T120. At nearly Rs 9 lakh, ex-showroom, you get what the T100 offers but with more power (79bhp) and more torque (105Nm) and peak torque is at a similar, ridiculously low 3100rpm. You also get as many speeds in the gearbox as the Street, at six. You also get twin front brake discs to rein in the extra performance. The rest of the features are similar to the T100 – two riding modes, switchable ABS and a minimalistic instrument cluster that nevertheless shows a lot of information.
It is an interesting conundrum for the potential Triumph customer: go modern classic and retain the ability to cruise slowly, or opt for a streetfighter and get that hit of adrenalin every time you hit an open stretch of road?
