On the 2009 Triumph Street Triple.
Photos © Jan-Erik Nilsson, Cheryl M. Cordeiro-Nilsson, Adrian Cordeiro for CMC, 2009
I grew up with having bikes around me, where as far as I could remember, I was hopping on and off a bike, to and from school mostly, with my dad in the rider’s seat.
The pictures below were taken in the early 1980s, in the East of Singapore. They show my brother and I on my dad’s Suzuki GP 100A, taking turns to be in the front seat of the bike. It wasn’t a big bike at all, but it was a stretch for the both of us, to reach its front handles!
And when I turned 18, encouraged by my dad, I went out and acquired both my car and bike licenses. I took the lessons simultaneously and the bike license came to me just two week after I received my driver license for cars.
On darling little turquoise tanked Suzuki GP 100A. Small, fast and fun to ride, this bike’s an absolute classic in today’s auto world. Both my brother and I grew up to love bikes as more than a means of transportation. My brother has had several Hondas in the 750 cc range, both to himself and shared with my dad.
My dad owned mainly Suzukis and Hondas, and in the past thirty years or so, I’ve had my encounters with 13 bikes that were:
Honda
Honda Cub (50cc), Honda 125, Honda CB175 (175 cc), Honda CB750 K2 (two such 750ccs), Honda Hurricane 750 cc, Honda Fireblade 400 cc, Honda CBRR 929R cc
Suzuki
GP 100A, GT 185, GT750 (two such), RF900
So I was absolutely thrilled when a friend of mine, Michael, came over with his Triumph Street Triple R, because I’ve read quite abit about its highly acclaimed fuel injected 675 cc three-cylinder unit, with its brakes being derived from the award winning 2008 Daytona 675.
Michael, giving me the specs on the bike.
Here is a Youtube snippet on what a Triple R is all about. It’s kind of long but interesting.
I tend to think of vehicles, whether bikes or cars, as extensions of the individual self and what it enables one to do. Bikes can be everything from a speed and adrenaline inducing machine to a magnet for the opposite sex. Not to mention that part of the fun of having a bike is to get all the accessories and clothing get-up, and simply take the bike for a morning cruise, in no particular rush at all to get anywhere at all, but to spend time with yourself, on the road.
Triumph Street Triple R, front.
Triumph Street Triple R, view of tank and the clothing gear.
The Street Trimple R is indeed a powerful bike that’s made for the racetrack, but my dad’s love for larger cced bikes has had its influences my absolute favourite bike is the 1130 cc Harley Davidson Vrod Night Special (in matt black). Here’s a video on the Vrod Night from 2007.
Enjoy this video!