Rode the Triumph Speed Twin 1200 & rivals: Still undecided what to buy

The sitting position for my height was perfect. Not too laid back not too weighty on wrists either. Purposeful but infinitely better than older Thruxton.

BHPian amol4184 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I took test rides of 2025 1200 and bunch of other motorcycles in this segment during the last weekend and week before that.

Here are some of my observations for each of them. Do note that these weren't really long test rides but enough to make up mind.

1. 2025 Speed Twin 1200 (non RS) - Easily the best looking of the lot. Its not even a contest. Top notch fit and finish. High quality kit that justifies the premium over 900. Riding modes make no difference to me but apparently the "Rain" mode on 1200 is rather effective in this rain soaked place. No Sport mode like the RS. Absolutely effortless acceleration and smooth power delivery all throughout the range. Instantly brings smile to the face. A breeze to ride in traffic despite hefty looks. I didn't miss the twin pods but then again I have never ridden previous iterations of this bike. The sitting position for my height was perfect. Not too laid back not too weighty on wrists either. Purposeful but infinitely better than older Thruxton. The turning radius felt humongous but probably a non issue as couple of bikes in this list felt similar.

2. 2024 Speed Twin 900 - Mistake to ride it after 1200. Feels inferior. Everything on it feels lower quality than 1200 including the finishing kit and overall look and feel of it. The riding experience is excellent though and a fantastic in traffic. More laid back than 1200 in every way. Also for whatever it is worth, it sounds better than the 1200. The seat is very low for my 185 cm height. The 1200 fits me better with taller seat. I am going to ride 2025 model coming weekend. The 2025 gets USD forks and other goodies that will fill up the gap it currently has vis-a-vis 2025 1200.

3. 2024 Yamaha XSR 900 - Awkward styling that doesn't hide its MT09/MT10 roots at all. Neo retro theme on it is just for namesake as everything on it is nearly 100% similar to MT09 including how it delivers power - snappy and rowdy. If you are not careful, it will bite you back. The design is basically this: someone ripped off Transformer style headlamps from MT series of bikes and installed round headlamp and called it retro. Definitely not my cup of tea. It sounds fantastic though. Besides its a Japanese machine and my experience with old FZ09 tells me that this will be a no nonsense cheap to maintain bike compared to Triumphs. Could be the quickest of all the bikes here. The seat is hard compared to others, especially the Kawasaki. Not a bad bike, just doesn't feel like proper retro.

4. 2024 Kawasaki Z900RS - As good as the Speed Twins IMO except looks. Butter smooth power delivery, perfect for my height and overall a very pleasant, non offensive bike with excellent reliability. Supremely relaxed sitting (may be more than I like) but if that's your jam, these bikes are better than Speed Twins in that regard. If comfort and reliability were my top choices I think this would be my first choice. The "Cafe" trim solves the problem of lazy sitting position so that is an option too. It also deflects wind hitting you in the face quite effectively.

5. 2024 Honda CB1000R - Too much naked bike rather than neo retro/cafe style despite what Honda calls it. This is somewhat similar to XSR900 with its awkward styling but not as bad. Typical Honda traits present in spades. Sounds good, everything feels good but not exceptionally high quality. Super smooth power delivery but I had a mis-shift and that immediately made me lose confidence in it. Excellent torque and a breeze to ride slow in traffic but the wind really hits you in the face. I think this would be my last choice among all the bikes here. It feels somewhat boring. Oh and surprising amount of heat radiated from engine.

All in all, 1200 is better than 900 in every aspect except price. Despite that I might still go for the 900 or Kawasaki. The 2025 900 has an interesting colorway coming up that might finalize my vote. And of course I have kept doors open for used bikes too.

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