New Triumph Motorcyle: Beauty & Beast’s Baby

Triumph Motorcycles introduces their newest streetfighter, the Street Triple ($7,999 www.triumphstreettriple.com).

Looking like Kermit the frog—if he were a Transformer instead of a muppet—the Street Triple is a genetics experiment gone oh-so-right. This beastie boasts the DNA of the race-bred Daytona 675 melded with the more aggressive skin of the naked Speed Triple. Extracting the award-winning engine, aluminum frame and swingarm from the sport bike, the Street benefits from the Daytona’s braking system as well. The front two Nissin calipers come in extremely handy considering those 675 cubic centimeters churn out 107 bhp and 51 foot-pounds of torque. Not to be outdone, the Speed Triple’s genes contribute strikingly to the overall look and more importantly, the feel, of the Street. A low dual-seat, new foot pegs and handlebars have sired an exceptionally comfortable riding position.

Available this September, the Street Triple seems poised to become the market leader in naked middleweights. Knowing how much fun the Daytona 675 and Speed Triple are to ride leads me to believe living organisms aren’t the only things to benefit from Darwin’s theory of evolution. -MotoMatt Cokeley