Triumph’s New Version Of The Speedmaster Might Be One Of My Favorite Releases Of 2018

Triumph, more than any other brand at the moment, has been hitting home runs with its new models. They've been on the gas with R&D and production have the new Bonneville Street 900 platform (Street Twin, Street Scrambler, and Street Cup), 1200 platform (Thruxton, Bobber, and Bonneville T120), and the new Street Triple 765 to show for its efforts.

More impressive than the release schedule has been the level of performance and quality found in these new models. Fit and finish are astoundingly good, the motors and fueling are incredible, and the chassis and geometry have made for excellent handling. Short of maybe two of the models, all of the ones listed above have made the top of my list for last year—and my list actually isn’t all that long.

But that isn't why I'm excited about Triumph's new Speedmaster. I'm excited about Triumph's new Speedmaster because of something odd that happened last year at the Bobber unveil: Triumph refused to call the Bobber a cruiser.

Triumph claimed it was a throwback to the bobbers of old and purely as a different style to its classic Bonneville, but that just didn’t sit right with me. Despite my pressing, Triumph never could quite give me a favorable answer and it only got worse the more I thought about it.

Once home, I played with Triumph’s configurator tool (which lets you see your mods on the bike as you “add” them). What I ended up with was basically a small cruiser that looked a little like a Sportster, albeit with distinct British charm.

Later in the year, we were discussing our cruiser comparison and—unable to shake the fact that the Bobber made for a great cruiser—I argued (okay, I whined) until we agreed to look at some of the smaller options in the cruiser genre and include it as one of them. The Bobber went on to win that comparison (which you can read here) against the Harley-Davidson Street Bob and Indian Scout, and my colleagues started to see that I was on to something.

The “high-torque” variant of their 1,200cc motor is well suited for cruising duty, and the chassis and riding position make for a bike that is both stable and maneuverable. It has lower gearing than either the Triumph T120 or Thruxton which gives it that nice low-end feel, while still being geared tall enough to be comfortable cruising on the highway. Outside of the somewhat aggressive riding position and lack of ability to take a passenger or much in the way of luggage, the Bobber is pretty prime for cruising.

Finally, a month or so back, I began hearing of rumors of proper cruiser based on the Bonneville platform. No wonder Triumph had been so resistant to call a Bobber a cruiser! I was actually discussing a possible project bike, to further my case of it being a great cruiser, when I heard the rumors and decided to hold off knowing that no matter how close I got my Bobber version, I’d always want something with a pillion seat (which you cannot add to the Bobber).

Enter Triumph’s teaser video for the new Bonneville Speedmaster. Little is shown outside of a tank badge, a headlight, some straight pipes, and dark images of an engine as well a teaser that more news will be released on October 3 at 11:30 a.m. PST.

It looks like now I’ll get my chance to build something pretty close to my ultimate cruiser, unless Triumph has done it for me, that is. Either way, I’m excited for what Hinckley has to show us, and even more excited to get my hands (and butt) on it.