Most manufacturers have at least a couple of retro-styled motorcycles on sale. But Triumph has more skin in that game than anyone else: Hinckley’s modern classics outnumber their other models by a significant margin.
The new Speed Twin adds yet another name to the roster. So is the range too crowded now, or is the Speed Twin different enough to be significant" I headed to the usually sunny Mediterranean island of Mallorca to find out.

The Speed Twin gets its name from the groundbreaking parallel twin that Edward Turner designed [above] back in 1938. But it has far more in common with its current siblings. Think of it as a beefed-up Street Twin; or as a Bonneville with the Thruxton’s performance mindset, sans the café racer styling and ergonomics. I’ll admit to initially dismissing the Speed Twin as a pointless in-betweener. But as a performance roadster, it actually has a lot going for it.

It’s powered by the ‘High Power’ version of Triumph’s 1,200 cc Bonneville parallel twin motor, with the same tune and compression ratio (11.0:1) as the Thruxton. But Triumph did more than just transplant the Thruxton mill.
There?s a new low-inertia crank and high-compression head. Plus a magnesium cam cover, a new clutch assembly, and ‘mass optimized’ engine covers (basically, they’re lighter). Combined, it makes for a 2.5 kilo (5.5 lbs) weight saving on the motor alone.

Output is the same as the Thruxton R?96 hp an...