Review: From FZ6R to Street Triple R

[Bert-Aus]

The difference a decent fairing (FZ6R) & no fairing is worlds apart.

In traffic there is no difference,
In hills/ canyons is noticable but only slight as you are concentrating on other things,
On highway/ touring the difference vast as your entire body will suffer fatigue sooner without a fairing.

Yes it feels great to lean into the wind,
For a couple hours of ride day fun where you may stop every hour or so for a rest/ eat/ drink etc
...but after 2-3hrs of having to do that & braving yourself against crosswinds & traffic in opposite direction (ie trucks).
It makes a day of 6hrs+ of actual ride time arduous.
To which end you won't enjoy the tour as much.
And this fatigue can make you more susceptible to an accident.

You do still get some helmet buffering from the FZ6R/ XJ6S fairing but compare that to buffering on your entire body,
It takes its toll on you.

Afterall you dont see Sport/ Tourers or Touring bikes being released from factory without screens/ fairings.

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

 

[latony007]

The difference a decent fairing (FZ6R) & no fairing is worlds apart.

In traffic there is no difference,
In hills/ canyons is noticable but only slight as you are concentrating on other things,
On highway/ touring the difference vast as your entire body will suffer fatigue sooner without a fairing.

Yes it feels great to lean into the wind,
For a couple hours of ride day fun where you may stop every hour or so for a rest/ eat/ drink etc
...but after 2-3hrs of having to do that & braving yourself against crosswinds & traffic in opposite direction (ie trucks).
It makes a day of 6hrs+ of actual ride time arduous.
To which end you won't enjoy the tour as much.
And this fatigue can make you more susceptible to an accident.

You do still get some helmet buffering from the FZ6R/ XJ6S fairing but compare that to buffering on your entire body,
It takes its toll on you.

Afterall you dont see Sport/ Tourers or Touring bikes being released from factory without screens/ fairings.

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

i agree not going to notice it very much on the streets and only a little in the canyons, on the freeway is another story. I took the screen off my cruiser on a hot day figuring it would give me more wind and i would be more comfy, wrong! it certainly gave me more wind but made it unbearable. The pressure of the wind pushing me back made my back start to hurt after about 2 hours. i know its not a sport bike but assume the principle is the same.

 

[Marthy]

Just a little fly screen on the FZ09 made a huge difference. Pounded a 900 miles/14 hrs day few months ago. I was sore but not as bas as I was expecting, or not any worst then if I rode the 6R.

 

[RooKie]

Question for RooKie on this review (or any other generous Street Triple riders). I have been idly looking at the Street Triple for years. Looks like a great bike. I am curious on how you find the wind at extended highway speeds say 60-70 mph and above? and have you added a screen?

Still breaking in the engine, but today I passed 300mi so I was able to get the engine up to speed enough to use freeway and a bit of highway.

Here are some things I noticed...

1 - Highway is scary: As I was accelerating to get up to 70mph I felt as if I was traveling at 80mph+. After a few seconds I started to realized that by placing the balls of the feet on the foot pegs to get a better grip on the tank and leaning forward slightly more made the bike feel more stable with the cross wind.

2 - Freeway not so scary: I noticed that the head-wind is not much of an issue... it's the cross-wind that will wear you out fast. When traveling on the freeway I didn't feel any discomfort from wind blast or anything like that. I actually like it a bit better than with the fairings. The reason for that is I use hand-signals together with the turn signals when making lane changes, and sticking out my hand with the fairings made my arm fight quite a bit of wind. Now I don't have that since there's an even amount of head-wind pressed up against me at all times.

And no, I have not received the flyscreen yet. Will post how much diff it makes, if any, for you when I get it.

Finally, related question - do you find the cross winds any different, since the Street Triple is a lighter bike?

Yes. Not sure if it's because of the weight of the bike or the lower center of gravity, but the bike felt like it was getting moved around quite a bit at higher speeds with a good amount of cross-wind. Slightly more affected by the wind than the 6R.

 

[buzzbomb]

This one’s is for you, buzzbomb.

Man, I'm glad you love your new bike. It'd be a blasted shame if you didn't. The torque a triple makes is all but legendary. Enjoy it (safely). From what I've read, the sound is pretty sexy, too.

From everything I've ever read, the Street Triple is a bang-up bike with very few flaws. It's a suitable upgrade from the 6R, if one is looking at going naked and tourqey.

You know I'm in love with my 6R for all the things she does so well. The difference is, I've done the naked, done the torquey, done the big displacement, done the fairinged, done the smaller displacement...

I came around a circle and discovered a bike that to me, was better than all the rest. I think if the 6R is one's first bike, they should move "up" to what they want more of.

So many bikes make better top speed, cut corners better, cruise better, tour better, ride smoother, feel the bumps better, are more comfortable to ride, or just lift the front end at every gear change.

If any of those particular things peak one's interest? Jump on it! Then get a different one and jump on the back of that one, too!

For me, I don't jump from every stoplight, nor do I dive into every corner. I've got what I need when I need it. I've also got everything else I need.

I'm not saying anything bad about your new bike. Get back to us after your first 11-hour ride. Get back to us after commuting for a few thousand miles. Get back to us after the sidebags are installed and you've a backpack strapped to the rear and you've run both highway and mountain roads for hours and hours and hours to get to the mountain road you want to run, and are then going ride for hours on.

After 20k or so, we'll talk about maintenance, but that's another post. Not that the maintain on the Triple is bad, but it's hard to beat just sprocket, chain, plugs, tires, oil and filters.

I need to have my valve clearance checked. I haven't done that. OK. I'll eat that one.

My point is (finally) not there are not better bikes out there. There are. I just haven't found one that I think is as good as my 6R.

I loved your honest review, and it was spot-on to everything I've read. I truly am happy that you love your new beauty. Here's what I honestly think, though:

If the 6R or something like it exists in ten years, you will have been partially down the road I have, and you'll love the the 6R or it's contemporary for all it will give you. There are things you'll remember loving on your previous bikes, but you'll love the bike you find that does everything.

 

[Bert-Aus]

Buzz, if it is any consolation
I still love my beat to death '81 CB250RS -she was MY first moto
I still love my herbie XJR400 -MY 1st taste of grunt
I regret taking myself & my XJ6S out -she was my first MY BIKE, I modded her, broke her in, I learnt how to ride different techniques on her

I still miss my Nifty50 scooter that started it all for me in 2000

I look forward to sharing my love of bikes with you all in another 14, 20, 30 years.

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

 

[buzzbomb]

Buzz, if it is any consolation
I still love my beat to death '81 CB250RS -she was MY first moto
I still love my herbie XJR400 -MY 1st taste of grunt
I regret taking myself & my XJ6S out -she was my first MY BIKE, I modded her, broke her in, I learnt how to ride different techniques on her

I still miss my Nifty50 scooter that started it all for me in 2000

I look forward to sharing my love of bikes with you all in another 14, 20, 30 years.

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

Yep. You understand it. It's a circular progression. I loved every single one of my intermediate motorcycles.

Some time ago I met a guy on a really old Beamer. It was all beat up and was literally held together with duct tap and zip ties.

I took the time to speak with him, and he'd been around the block as well. He could have bought a newer bike, or spent more money on his Beamer.

He chose to ride the bike he was riding, keep it going by whatever means necessary and loved every minute of it.

He'd run the circle and found HIS bike.

I can't help but be excited by all the hot stuff that is coming down the sport bike pipe. I've found MY bike, though. Luckily for me, the 6R rocks!

I look forward to your adventures in bike progression. I really hope you continue to hang out here and share them.

 

[nismos14]

agreed i noticed that too, in fact i looked at them and am like, well they look pretty much the same as mine lol
also love the gear indicator and i think it has hazards but i can't remember for sure?

The triumphs have stainless steel brake lines from the factory, makes a huge difference. A lot of SS's bikes tend to have the gear indicator too. Most bikes have hazards and should! Dunno why the FZ doesnt.

 

[buzzbomb]

Buzz, if it is any consolation
I still love my beat to death '81 CB250RS -she was MY first moto
I still love my herbie XJR400 -MY 1st taste of grunt
I regret taking myself & my XJ6S out -she was my first MY BIKE, I modded her, broke her in, I learnt how to ride different techniques on her

I still miss my Nifty50 scooter that started it all for me in 2000

I look forward to sharing my love of bikes with you all in another 14, 20, 30 years.

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2

Yeah, you get it. My '82 CB750c? Man, she never stopped giving. You couldn't lay her over like the 6R and she really needed a sixth gear. Overall she just does not compare to the 6R. But holy cow what a great ride it was.

The 'Zuki SV650? Crappy bike compared to the 6R, but so much torque! All it's other flaws aside, just twitch the throttle and she jumped like a startled deer.

Like you I have fond memories of all my other bikes, memories built over many years. Kudo's brother.

EDIT: Or there would be, if I could give Kudos. I still get the message I have to spread some around. Sigh.

 

[buzzbomb]

The triumphs have stainless steel brake lines from the factory, makes a huge difference. A lot of SS's bikes tend to have the gear indicator too. Most bikes have hazards and should! Dunno why the FZ doesnt.

The 6R does have hazard lights - in other countries where it's mandated. I'm afraid it's a cost-saving issue, here in the U.S. It's the mystery button on your left handlebar control.

As for a gear indicator? Cost-saving again, though I do sorely wish the bike had one.

 

[buzzbomb]

Question for RooKie on this review (or any other generous Street Triple riders). I have been idly looking at the Street Triple for years. Looks like a great bike. I am curious on how you find the wind at extended highway speeds say 60-70 mph and above? and have you added a screen?

For context I have done a few multi-day trips on the FZ6R, have a lot of highway time on it, and about 25000 km in total. My impression is the fairing doesn't cut all that much wind blast, but I don't have much naked bike comparison. Unlike some of the folks on this site I don't have strong views pro or con fairings though.

Finally, related question - do you find the cross winds any different, since the Street Triple is a lighter bike?

Thanks!

It's not hard to experience. Just take all the plastics off and go for a ride. You'll not be strictly legal, since you'll be losing the front turn signals, but you'll be able to experience what a naked bike is like.

I don't mind a naked if the ergonomics are good. It's simply a whole lot of very fast wind pushing at you.

I have found that I prefer the very minimal wind protection the 6R has to offer, though.

Strip her down, run her about and find out for yourself.