My 2024 Triumph Street Triple 765 - Review, Rides & Experience

It has a linear smooth power delivery. Have a controlled wrist and there are no surprises

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About myself and my interest with Motorcycles

I’m a chap, in my late 20s, on my way to get a license to fix bones and replace joints in the human body. I’m sure most of the readers here come from a generation where, in our school days, we were fascinated looking at posters of superbikes or pics of them in the auto-journals. Those were the days when internet was just getting accessible and we as school kids would search for “superbike” or “ducati” and look at those lovely bikes, save the images and just feel happy looking at them. I, somehow was more fascinated by cars that time. I would argue with others saying cars have more wheels, more premium factor to them and they’re safer and can be used in any weather. Just some silly kids arguments. However, my love and fascination towards cars grew and a slight “not-so-much” liking towards bikes remained the same over years.

Even in the house, we always had a car and almost never owned a motorcycle primarily, since my early teenage. I had a fixed feeling in my mind that my future vehicles are cars only and there is minimal to nil possibility of having motorcycles. I even got my license only for a four-wheeler and not a two-wheeler. I later got the two-wheeler one also added.

That didn’t stop me from learning how to ride, fortunately. Learnt riding in the typical way. Dad agreeing to teach me how to ride a motorcycle, me getting all excited about it, taking the key and putting it in the slot, hoping to start it. Then realizing the fact that I’m not going to start the vehicle anytime soon, since the first few days of training was to push the motorcycle and learn to turn the motorcycle. Lol, fast forward things and I was in an okay state to ride a motorcycle. Learnt on a Pulsar 150. Spent time on activas, duro, friends’ bikes – Passion pro, Enticer, RE, FZ once in a while. Then spent some few months riding a 2005 CBZ in the neighborhood.

But there was one incident that changed my perspective. It’s more like a spark to a dormant love inside me. One fine day in 2015, my cousin brought home a Triumph Bonville T100. Went to have a look at it. Was offered a ride. I accepted and just went for a short ride around the neighborhood. It was a head turner for people around and was an eye-opener for me. The way it pulled. The sheer pleasure of riding that beauty. That is when things changed. The “not-so-much” part of my liking left the chat. This sparked a desire, an emotion inside and that just grew continuously. To add fuel to the fire, casual conversations with friends had my mind fixated on the Triumph Daytona 675. Always wanted to own one. Like any other young guy, I just binged all the videos and internet about the Daytona. Fell in love with the triple whistle, it’s acceleration.

The Bonville that changed things.

Sadly, as years passed, the Daytona was discontinued and what was left, were its videos online. However, its engine lived in the Street Triple. Realization with age also added and my desire turned towards the Street Triple. Since its the same triple engine with the same whistle and was more practical albeit with those bug eyes which weren’t totally in line with my taste, but my priorities were different. Felt it would help me go easy on the back and wrists, better in the long run and friendlier on the streets. So, my heart and mind were set on the Street Triple.

Months and years passed. The 675 was killed. 765 was born. Been following closely but I knew I would never get a go-ahead at home. So, patiently followed and waited. As covid hit us all and we were stuck at our homes, I got even more passionate about this, read through many articles including the big-bike articles on T-BHP, gone through many videos, came to some understanding as to what’s necessary before and while owning a big bike. Also read through the ownership reviews of the Striple. Browsed through forums; got an idea of what issues can be expected.

I slowly started buying gears to ride a motorcycle I didn’t own. Lol. Started off with a helmet. Got full gauntlet gloves. Then got a jacket. These never saw the daylight for quite some time. Then, I had to go to another state for my post-graduation. There, bought the Yamaha FZ V3 for commute and local mobility. Lived with it happily for two years and continuing. Some incident happened, and I finally get a green signal at home for the Street Triple.

The Triumph Buying Experience

We had visited the showroom in Hyderabad, my home city. First visit was mediocre. We went into the showroom and we had to browse through the showroom ourselves. Nobody really came up to talk or ask what we wanted. In this case, we were prospect customers who came with a clear-cut picture in our minds and we were expecting someone to approach us and ask what we were looking for, give us a price quote, delivery details and close the deal. But no, after few minutes of looking here and there confusedly and after asking a staff in uniform if someone will attend to us, they have allocated a sales executive to help us. That person didn’t show much interest to sell the vehicle, but at least he was kind enough to tell us the specs of the vehicle, with few mistakes here and there and started the bike in the showroom and revved it cold to show the sound. It is then that we noticed that the showrooms are boxy to resonate the sound. We went back home without much exchange of words.

The second visit was on a Sunday and they were about to close. A similar treatment as first time, where nobody bothered to attend to us. However, this time, the regional sales manager was around and he at least made a conversation. Maybe he understood our intent to actually buy the vehicle, he gave his contact details and he was kind enough to arrange a test ride the very next day at my residence. I wanted the R but they only had RS for the test ride, which is okay. Then they have given us a quotation, rather price break-up of the R and RS variants.

I wanted to have another look at the bike and get some more feel of the bike to make sure I’m not getting something I will regret later. So visited the Showroom in Kochi. This experience was different. The sales executive was very professional. He didn’t talk non-sense. Didn’t push us uncomfortably for the purchase. Behaved professionally, to say the least. They’ve also given a test ride of the R version. I didn’t rev the vehicle very hard since I’m not well acquainted with the bike. Just had a decent ride and my impressions were that it fit me well (me being 5.7) ; it can be ridden comfortably in the city without anxiety ; it is an extremely well-engineered and balanced vehicle. I was able to make U-turns more comfortably than I anticipated, I was able to confidently ride the vehicle without having to wiggle the handlebar or put my feet down at very low speeds (

After the decision was made, we had to follow-up a lot with the Hyderabad staff, literally A L-O-T in all the aspects and finally made the purchase. I was away from Hyd and family had taken delivery of the vehicle. This decision to buy the vehicle in Hyd (vs Kochi, where I temporarily reside) had come from few factors including my return to Hyd soon, the taxes in Hyd being less and also to avoid the fuss of roaming around the RTO for NOCs if bought and registered in Kochi. The delivery experience was fine, the bike was taken for pooja. Post registration, it was transported to my place.

The first time I saw my bike in flesh was in the godown of the transport company, all wrapped up, with a broken clutch lever. Those double discs and Brembo calipers at the front, that fat rear tire on those beautiful alloys, the three headers beautifully curved, and the huge radiator at the front. Lovely!

My first sight of the bike, packed well in a ton of cardboard and plastic wrap.

The Phone Holder

RAM mount vs Quadlock

I went with Quadlock since it’s quite secure and I like its style more than RAM mounts. Ordered directly from the company website. It took 20 days for delivery and some customs charge as well. But the holder (I bought the pro version = full metal) is top notch when it comes to quality and reliability. Installation was easy. Also bought the vibration damper to protect my mobile’s camera. Should say that it definitely works. The OIS on my phone is still alive, touch wood. It took some time to get used to the mounting. It’s difficult to find the right mounting point in the first few weeks. And yes, this needs a quadlock manufactured phone case to work with it.

The quadlock mount

Initial ride experience

As I started the engine up and maybe rode the bike for about 30 meters, from the godown to the parking, I noticed fumes from the front end. It was the residual tape and adhesive that was on the header pipes, which belonged to the packaging. This gave me the thought “Well boy, welcome to the big CC league”

So, my first 1000 kms: The run-in period:

Should we really strictly adhere to the manufacturer’s guidelines about run-in period? Reading about this online, I realized that some do, some don’t and it didn’t harm the ones who did not. However, one fact we know for sure is that the engine oil is changed after the first service (1 month/1000k kms = Run-in). So, I thought, why not follow. And I followed the guidelines, not to the dot, but yeah, can say I did.

• Now, I am new to this kind of power. So, I was in no hurry to unleash the beast inside. I took it slow and calm.
• Kept the revs under 6~7 k
• Never gone WOT (Wide Open Throttle)
• Tried to understand the braking capabilities and limitations of the bike
• Did some riding and hard braking to break-in the brakes. (Find a safe, open stretch, hit speeds ~100kmph, do some hard braking with the front and rear individually, couple of times).
• Yes, dropped the bike in the parking lot at 0 kmph. Fortunately, no damages except a scratch on the silencer.

My initial impressions

• The DRLs are bright and good. Right eye of the two angry looking eyes of the bike is the low beam and it is always on. Tail lights are always on. High beam can be switched on and off with a button. There is no pass button as such.
• The visor on the headlight is smaller than the previous iteration. Looks more naked, minimal and aggressive. But if we want a windscreen, we have to buy the visor and the windscreen. (We see what you did there, Triumph)
• Mirrors are okay. Stylish? No. Functional? Yes.
• The engine sound is lovely. Not much to talk about the exhaust note with the stock exhaust. With this years’ model, the company fitted Arrow slip-on option is unavailable. I do no intend to touch the exhause as I want absolutely no dialogue with the cops.
• The machine heats up. And it’s the foot, ankle and part of right leg that feels the maximum heat. Not the thighs or above.
• Seat is comfortable for short and long rides. Pillion seat is okay for short rides.
• Rear foot-pegs close with a weirdly satisfactory feel. I don't exactly know how to put it in words. It's like the last 10~15% of the closure happens by itself, like a soft close shelf door, but with a satisfactory click.
• It has a linear smooth power delivery. Have a controlled wrist and there are no surprises. The numbers on your speedo change and they change fast as the revs build and the sound again, is symphony.
• Rear brakes are good. I know they’re not for primary braking, but it’s good to know that the rear disc brake isn’t useless.
• Front brakes are excellent. No drama. Adjustable brake lever is a feature I am very happy with. But the lever travel before it bites, is more than what I like.
• Clutch is comfortable. Not too tight to hurt the forearm. Could have been closer to the bar. Adjustable levers will solve that issue though.
• Gear shifts are perfect. No false neutrals. Every shift is clearly felt with a clunk. No mushiness in the lever. Finding neutral when coming to a stop is also very clear and easy. Never had to struggle with that.
• TSA – Triumph Shift Assist a.k.a The Quickshifter : Clutch-less up and down. Great when riding fast. Not so smooth when riding slow, which it isn’t intended for anyway.
• All the handlebar switches have a very good, high quality tactile feel to them. No cost-cutting here. They’re not backlit though.
• The side stand doesn’t have extensions close to the body. So, we need to put our leg back and push down the stand. Once we’re used to it, it’s easy. And yes, it does make a very satisfying clunk when retracted fully.
• The suspension is good. Can handle speeds and bumps with ease. I haven’t changed the suspension settings. It’s in its factory tune.
• Lot's of branding. Starting from the front fender, handle grips, handlebar, engine cover, tank, tank cover, indicators, foot-pegs and exhaust.

First Service

Made an appointment at the Service Center in Kochi and dropped off the bike in the morning. The bike has then run few KMs shy of 1000.

I notice a slightly different culture here in Kochi when it comes to service centers. When we go to drop off the vehicle, the staff note down our details in a small notebook +/- any complaints or special mentions. They later allot a SA to the job who will call and have a word over phone. Then they open a job-card at leisure. This is not just at Triumph, but also at Volkswagen, that I noticed. Unprofessional or friendly & casual? I personally don’t like it since it feels very casual when we are actually paying a huge premium for those services. I expect to be attended to by a proper service executive, who inspects the vehicle with me and gives me a briefing of what work will be done and give me a time commitment, looking at me, in person.

Anyway, work was done by evening and the bike was ready. I went ahead and picked up the machine. Thanks to the exorbitant taxes on the already high labor costs, the service was not cheap. And will never be cheap.

The ride felt relatively smoother.

The handle was much easier to turn than before.

These two were the clear differences I could feel. Rest was same.

The persisting issue of squealing brake noise :

After few rides in the city, the front brakes started making a squealing noise as I apply the brake. There was no difference in braking performance though. I again visited the Kochi service center since it’s not even 2k KMS and the brakes are already squeaking. One of the technicians went for a ride and agreed that there is a noise, which is not normal for the mileage. They took the bike in, without a job card, tried to wash the brakes with a pressure washer, used their brake cleaner and then gave back the bike. I took the bike hoping the issue is sorted. By the end of that street itself, I realized that the noise persisted. Took the vehicle back and asked. They started justifying that it is very normal and that it will go away by itself. I told him that after paying 12.5 big ones for this, a noisy brake is not something I expect and definitely not something I can accept. The answer given by the technician was “Even if you pay 25L, this issue will be there”. That ticked me off and I demanded that they open a job-card with my complaint specifically mentioned in it. So, they obliged with not very happy faces and charged me with labor charges, which I paid and left. The noise still exists now.

Rides

Ride to Idukki:

On a fine weekend, wore my gears, took my camera on the backpack and started off early. It was a pleasant ride through the mountains. Realized the beauty and importance of moving little backwards and leaning forwards. The motorcycle was never tired. Always ready for more. I’ve ridden through some rough patches. Had an event where my bike entered a puddle of mud, thanks to the routes google maps put me through. Got down and slowly accelerated, the rear tire just spins and the traction control cuts off power. Lol. Doing all these stunts in boots, heavy jacket and gloves with a heavy helmet on the head while it’s drizzling. Adrenaline rushing. Tension building up. But fortunately, was able to push and pull the bike onto grass which was to the side. Then got on and rode off. Reached a viewpoint called Kalvarimount Dream Viewpoint. Took about 3~3.5 hrs. Took some pictures of the view, had a coffee and started back. The tires were perfect. No grip loss, even in the heaviest of rains. No surprises. Came home with quite a lot of experience and few photographs.

Lessons learnt were to be careful of the mud and that backpacks are very tiring.

This brought the necessity to search and explore mounting options.

The KalvariMount Dream Viewpoint

And so, The Luggage Options

I did not want to install anything heavy on the rear. So, mounting racks and panniers were out. I went simple. Started off with bungee cords. But then found these little nice products called ROK Straps. Very sturdy and useful. Used them to fix the bag pack to the rear seat. They could be mounted (looped actually) to the grab handles and they wouldn’t scratch up the rear panels (The bungee cords did). These were damn sturdy and didn’t need much time to use as well.

Then came up Kreiga. The company that makes one of the best and original motorcycle luggage options. But the prices? Off the charts. ~17k for a 20 L bag and needs another 2.5k worth mounting accessories for the street triple. Wasn’t down to shell so much yet.

Explored few Indian options. There are many companies that make these modular bags that can be mounted on the rear of our motorcycles. Two reasonably nice ones I found were Carbonado and Dirtsack. Both had very similar modular luggage bags, both with slight modifications from the original Kreiga ones. But neither offered custom mounting straps for the street triple. The carbonado comes with straps that needed to be looped around the visible sub-frame of the bike once the rear seat is removed. But such a subframe is not visible for the street triple. I’ve e-mailed Carbonado regarding how we can mount the bags to my vehicle. My question was very specific. But the answer they gave was basically a closed caption version of their YouTube video as to how to mount their bag to a motorcycle. I e-mailed them again and received no reply. Dirtsack just had a long strap with loops on either ends which we had to position below the seat. I just went ahead with dirtsack and bought one of their 10L bag, thinking if that mounting is not possible, I’ll just use the ROK straps.

The bag arrived and the quality is fine. First few rides I just used the ROK straps to mount the bag. No issues at all.
Later bought the Kreiga Mounting straps for the street triple. These are definitely more secure as they have to be mounted to the screws below the seat. I am yet to use them.

I did not explore the tank bags as I didn't want stuff to be over my tank.

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