In hindsight, Triumph as a company was prescient to an unprecedented degree when it introduced the ‘new’ Bonneville range in 2001. Triumph’s then-ambitions to be seen as a manufacturer of thoroughly modern motorcycles made the idea of a shameless delve into its past seem a bit desperate and the Bonneville was in danger of being seen as merely a slightly tacky pastiche.
Of course, we now know different; the Bonneville and its derivatives are excellent modern bikes in their own right, with no need to trade on past glories. But no-one could have foreseen the impact and importance this new breed of ‘retro’ or ‘modern classic’ models would have on the motorcycle market, with sales going through the roof and every major manufacturer jumping on the bandwagon.
The question then was, how to maintain the interest? How could Triumph develop this into something with long life? Nostalgia only goes so far. But development was the key. Here was something that engineers dream of; a blank canvas. This retro style could be taken anywhere, and where’s the obvious place to take it? Into the performance realm, of course.
The Triumph Bonneville and its derivatives kept one step ahead of the opposition in this respect and maintained a consistent lead in terms of development and improvement; improvements and developments that noticeably and consistently made the bike enormously better with each generation.
For example, I’m on video record somewhere saying that the original Thruxton 900 was great but…! My point was that it was a great bike, with the right name on the tank, the right configuration of engine, the right style, but the performance maybe didn’t live up to the legend. Or the possibilities.
Then the Thruxton 1200 arrived, and it was a whole new ball game. Triumph had not only looked into the past for style but also into the present for dynamics and realised that a bike could both look retro and have modern-day performance. It’s no small compliment that the Thruxton R was the Pirelli South African Bike of the Year in 2016/17.
And this is what Triumph has been so good at doing. They did it with the Thruxton, then the Scrambler range and now they’ve done it again with the roadster Bonneville range. The Speed Twin version has been around for a while, but now it has been massaged into the performance Bonneville derivative.
Introduced in 2019, the Speed Twin 1200 was, in essence, a Thruxton 1200 with a more relaxed riding position but with no loss of dynamic ability. In 2024, Triumph updated the model with new suspension, brakes and electronics.
Now, for 2025, Triumph has unveiled the Speed Twin 1200 RS, with further upgrades to suspension, brakes, tyres, and electronics and it is a thing of both utterly addictive performance and dynamics, and also physical beauty.
The thing is, the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 RS is no longer a ‘retro’ or ‘modern classic’ bike; it is a thoroughly modern sports bike. So what if it doesn’t have a fairing? Neither does the KTM 1290 Super Duke, nor the BMW S1000R (nor, for that matter, the Triumph Speed Triple), but are they not sports bikes? For my money, the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 RS is just as good as any of those; the performance is stunning, the handling is razor-sharp and inspires confidence, while the ride is plush, perfectly complementing the riding position. The ST 1200 RS even looks thoroughly modern, despite the ‘retro’ tones of the styling. Maybe we’ve just become used to those lines after so many years?
The engine is Triumph’s now-familiar parallel twin, which remains a stunning piece of engineering. Power is up to 104bhp at 7,750rpm and there is a healthy 112Nm of torque at 4,250rpm, all wrapped up in uncanny smoothness. It also sounds fantastic; a booming, rumbling bass soundtrack through the standard exhaust system.
There’s a torque-filled urge at any speed in any gear and the quick-shifter is a nice addition but, really, the Bonneville/Thruxton/Speed Twin gearbox was always so smooth and switch-like that a quick-shifter is almost an unnecessary luxury. Add to that the insane low-down urge of the engine and you really don’t need to stir the gearbox all that much to surf the linear torque curve and have fun.
The riding position is more aggressive than previous Triumph roadsters but a lot less extreme than the Thruxton. Handlebars on the RS are positioned further forward than the Speed Twin 1200 and the foot pegs are moved back and slightly up to accommodate the quick-shifter but, helped by the excellent seat (with a grippy Alcantara cover), this is an all-day comfortable machine, assisted by the lack of vibration from the engine. It manages the trick of being roomy enough for tall riders but unintimidating for shorter riders.
Happily, Triumph has clearly spent as much time on engineering the bike as a whole as it has on improving the performance and dynamics. The overall fit and quality of finish is hugely impressive – in line with every Triumph model; it looks expensive and beautifully made, and feels solid and all of a piece. Traditionalists might bemoan the loss of twin analogue clocks, but the single round digital instrument doesn’t look out of place while providing clear access to the electronics menu.
It doesn’t feel particularly light; weight has been pared down to 216kg without fuel (14-litre tank) but it’s still a solid-feeling bike. The weight doesn’t affect the performance, however; quite the opposite, in fact, as the Speed Twin 1200 RS feels securely planted and it refuses to be disturbed by bad road surfaces. No doubt the upgraded suspension – Ohlins at the back and Marzocchi at the front – plays a large part in this.
While it begs for the open road, there is never a time when you can’t wait to swing a leg over it for even the shortest of journeys. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, naturally, and there was never a time walking towards it that I failed to fall in love a little bit more. Part of that attraction was in anticipation of what was to come once the starter button was thumbed and a short hop to the shops inevitably turned into something significantly longer, just for the hell of it.
That in itself is part of the attraction; it will perform mundane tasks without complaint and be well-suited to them, but show it the open road and crack open the throttle, and the other side of its character will be revealed in all its glory.
At R280,000, the Speed Twin 1200 RS is R30,000 more than the standard Speed Twin 1200. Is the RS sufficiently better to justify the extra expense? It’s likely that without the benefit of having both to ride side-by-side, we’ll never know, but does it really matter? There are plenty of people out there who will spend the money to have the best, so why
not create a bike for them to own and for us to drool over? Isn’t that what we used to do when we were kids?
For my part, I love the fact that the Speed Twin 1200 RS exists, not simply because it’s just lovely to ride but because someone at Triumph thought that whatever they were doing, it was worth trying to do it even better. It’s hard to argue with that.
Triumph Speed Twin 1200 RS
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