Phil the Motorcyclenut’s Weblog

Watch out Wally, there’s a new 400 in town!

In the pits at Auto Club Speedway

Made my annual Saturday after Thanksgiving track day at Auto Club Speedway yesterday. It was formally known as California Speedway. The AMA circuit was modified slightly to slow down riders at turns #10 and #11. It used to be a fairly straight shot if you hit it right, but now it is a distinct chicane. It makes lap times about 4 seconds slower than before.

I took my “new” ’08 Triumph Speed Triple and one of the 1st things I did was get my suspension set by Randy at InHouse Suspension. The first couple of sessions was plagued with fairly gusty winds and lots of dust on the track. By the 3rd session, the winds started to die down and the track was getting warm. It got up to around 80 degrees (which is above normal for an October day in SOCAL), but I ain’t complaining!

Turn #16

The Speed Triple performed flawlessly! Only had the bike about 10 days, so I took it very easy in the beginning, especially with the wind and dusty conditions. As time went on, I was able to wick it up a bit and have some fun. The brakes are superb! Even with the short wheelbase, I could brake with so much confidence. Braking late is what I like to do, and is often hampered by riders who brake earlier. I was riding in Fastrackriders.com Level 1, which is the slowest group of the 3 levels, so there were quite a few riders who were 10-20 seconds slower than the rest. I’d rather work through slow traffic than to be one of the slower ones in a faster group.

140mph with no wind protection- what a BLAST! (and tired arms)

Riding with no wind protection, other than my helmet, is a total rush. (Remember, about a year ago, I rode my Triumph Bonneville 3126 miles in 4 days with no wind shield). I guess it is the old school biker in me.  I will post a video (camera mounted on my helmet) soon of some laps at this track on the Speedy.

In the garage, waiting for the next session

More pictures can be viewed at

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Auto-Club-Speedway-11-26-11

and

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/ACSW-11-26-11

It was a great day of riding and getting a better feel for the Speed Triple. It is an awesome bike that handles so well. The acceleration, braking, the wind pressure against my body at speed, and the beautiful sound of that 3 cylinder engine made my day!

After getting my Tiger 800 last June, I fell in love with the 3 cylinder engine all over again. Triumph has refined the 3 cylinder engine in a way that puts it in a class of it’s own. I believe only Benelli and MV Agusta are the only other current manufactures that produce 3 cylinder machines. In the past, Kawasaki and Suzuki made 3 cylinder 2-stroke machines and Yamaha made a 3 cylinder 4-stroke 750. Triumph made their 1st 3 cylinder machine in 1968.

The Tiger 800 is so smooth and the power delivery is very linear. I know a few who own the Street Triple (675cc’s) and only read about the Speed Triple, never seeing one in action, nor knowing anyone who rode or owned one. Since selling my VTR1000, which I had owned for 12 years and used in recent years for track days only, I started checking out the Speed Triple with more gusto. I found a 2008 Speed Triple with  850 miles on it, on Craig’s List. I arranged to see it, and then arranged to ride it the next day. As soon as I took it for a spin, I was hooked! The Speed Triple is so responsive in every area: handling, braking, and acceleration! The seating position suits me well and the sound of the engine is music to my ears!

My local Triumph dealer (Rocket Motors) checked it out and did the official initial break in check and I have put over 200 miles on it since. My annual pilgrimage to Auto Club Speedway the Saturday after Thanksgiving is coming up. It will be a pleasure to take this Triumph and learn its capabilities.  I hope to have some pictures after that event to post here. Meanwhile, here is some shots from my garage.

2008 Speed Triple

2008 Speed Triple

Last Supermoto race of the year for SMX Racing fans in San Diego. Here’s some pics:

http://motorcyclenut.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Apex-SuperMoto-Nov-13-2011/

Triumph’s new Speed Triple R. What a beautiful piece of machinery!