Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS (2025) – Technical Review

Upgrades for the 2025 model year mean Triumph’s Speed Triple 1200 RS has reestablished itself as Triumph’s most powerful production bike – edging the Rocket 3 out of that spot.

With 180.5bhp (183PS/134.6kW), the new Speed Triple 1200 RS has 3hp more than the bike it replaces. Along with more torque and uprated technology including Öhlins SmartEC3 suspension, the changes promise to make the Speed Triple an even more accomplished all-rounder, even if developments from other brands mean it can no longer vie to be among the most powerful of all the naked streetfighters on the market.

Pros & Cons

2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Price & PCP

The higher-spec suspension of the 2025 Speed Triple 1200 RS is clearly kit that doesn’t come cheap so it’s no surprise that the new model is more expensive than the machine it replaces – coming in at £17,495 compared to £15,795 for its predecessor.

But that’s still less than the previous model to get Öhlins smart suspension, the £17,950 Speed Triple 1200 RR, even though the new RS has the latest third-generation version of the kit instead of the 2024 RR’s second-gen variant. Will there be a new Speed Triple 1200 RR as well? That’s yet to be revealed.

The new 1200 RS is due in dealers from April 2025 in three colour schemes: Granite (grey and silver) with red trimmings, Granite with yellow graphics, or a plain Jet Black with red decals.

2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Engine & Performance

Triumph’s 1160cc three-cylinder engine doesn’t need much introduction – it’s essentially the same motor used on the previous Speed Triple 1200 RS – but it’s tweaked for 2025 with revisions including a new exhaust system, claimed to be freer-flowing than the old one, and revised crankshaft balancing to make it more refined.

The three additional horsepower gained from the changes, taking it from 177.5hp to 180.5hp, have an important side-effect of leapfrogging the 180hp Rocket 3, albeit by a fraction, to reclaim the position as Triumph’s most powerful production bike, at least for the moment.

That peak power arrives at 10,750rpm, the same as the previous model, but the new version’s extra torque – 94.4lb-ft instead of 92.2lbft – arrives 250rpm lower than the 2024 model at 8,750rpm, promising a slightly broader, more accessible spread of performance.

An optional Akrapovič silencer, finished in titanium and carbon fibre, is also available, although there’s no word whether it adds to the bike’s performance as well as its appearance.

2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

Öhlins’ third-generation SmartEC electronic suspension is already to be found on some of the Speed Triple 1200 RS’s rivals, notably the significantly more expensive, £25k Ducati Streetfighter V4 S, and evolves from the second-generation version of the kit that’s fitted to the existing Speed Triple 1200 RR.

As on other bikes featuring the same kit, the SmartEC3 semi-active suspension uses Öhlins’ ‘Objective Based Tuning Interface’ (OBTi) system that monitors the bike and constantly alters the compression and rebound damping to suit the road conditions, the situation and the way the bike is being ridden. The setup can be altered from the TFT dash, allowing riders to adjust seven aspects of the suspension and the system’s responses to different situations: front firmness, rear firmness, braking support, acceleration support, initial acceleration support, cornering support and cruising support. Behind the electronics lie 43mm USD forks a rear monoshock, each with 120mm of travel.

Öhlins also supplies the Speed Triple 1200 RS’s new, adjustable steering damper, and the big name-brand kit continues onto the brakes with Brembo Stylema front calipers and a Brembo MCS radial master cylinder.

The wheels are also new, with slanted spokes – five at the front, seven at the rear – instead of the previous Y-shaped spoke design. Triumph claims they’re lighter, reducing gyroscopic forces for sharper handling and perhaps prompting the addition of that steering damper as a result.

Weight, complete with fuel, is 199kg, which is a scant 1kg more than the 2024 version of the bike – whatever weight savings made by the new wheels are clearly more than offset by the additional electronics of the SmartEC suspension.

2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Comfort & Economy

While the main chassis, seat and tank of the Speed Triple 1200 RS are carried-over from the previous generation, with no change to the footpegs, the riding position is tweaked for 2025 with a new set of bars.

Mounted slightly higher than the previous design, they’re also wider to add more leverage, and the result should be a small but significant improvement in comfort.

The yokes are new, too, thanks to the addition of a steering damper under the bottom yoke, and get a black finish instead of the previous bare aluminium.

At the back a redesigned cowl covers the pillion seat, and there’s a redesigned exhaust cowl as well as that stubby new silencer and new wheels to help distinguish the 2025 model from the 2024 version.

A surprising side-effect of the retuned 2025 engine is a big improvement in terms of the bike’s EU-tested fuel consumption. Where the old model managed 44.8mpg, the new version hits 51.4mpg. With an unchanged, 15.5-litre fuel tank, that equates to a 175-mile range instead of 152 miles from brimmed to empty, and even if you’re never going to achieve quite that distance (after all, you don’t really want to run the tank completely dry) it still means the new model should be able to achieve something in the region of 20 more miles between fill-ups than the old one did if you’re riding economically.

As with most of Triumph’s latest bikes, there’s a focus on keeping servicing work to a minimum, too, with intervals of 10,000 miles or 12 months between dealer visits.

2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Equipment

Rider assistance tech abounds in modern bikes and the Speed Triple 1200 RS is no exception, with the latest version getting a new front wheel lift control system that uses inputs from the inertial measurement unit to monitor not only whether the wheel is off the ground, but how high it’s risen.

The adjustability matches the existing engine brake control, which can also be set up to suit the rider’s whims, and a selection of throttle maps. These are all integrated into five riding modes – Rain, Road, Sport, Track and a rider-configurable one – as well as being individually-adjustable. Other aids include brake slide assist, only in the Track mode, which lets the front wheel slide and the rear wheel lift more than in the road-biased settings.

As before, there’s cornering traction control and cornering ABS, as well as an up/down quickshifter, and all the functions are accessed via a 5-inch TFT dash and a five-way, bar-mounted joystick. The MyTriumph connectivity pack is standard, allowing Bluetooth phone connection for calls, music and turn-by-turn navigation.

Other features include cruise control and, new for 2025, an emergency deceleration warning system that flashes the brake lights when you’re hard on the anchors, alerting drivers behind.

There’s keyless ignition as well as keyless operation of the steering lock and fuel cap, with a one-button system to disable the wireless function for added security.

2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Rivals

While £17,495 is significantly more than the 2024 version of the Speed Triple, it’s still something of a bargain when compared to other bikes with similar performance and equipment levels. KTM’s 1390 Super Duke R EVO, for example, also has semi-active suspension and roughly matches the Speed Triple for power and weight, but it’s more than £2000 pricier. Meanwhile the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S, while a higher-tech, higher-performance bike, is only a fraction under £25 grand.

Aprilia’s Tuono V4 might be the closest equivalent to the Speed Triple 1200 RS, coming in at £17,200 for the 2024 version, but it’s down on power at 175hp and only gets the second-gen version of Öhlins’ SmartEC suspension against Triumph’s third-gen setup.

Ducati Streetfighter V4 S | Price: £24,995

Read more

Power/Torque

214bhp / 88.5lb-ft

Weight

189kg

Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory | Price: £17,200

Read more

Power/Torque

175bhp / 89lb-ft

Weight

209kg

KTM 1390 Super Duke R EVO | Price: £19,599

Read more

Power/Torque

188bhp / 110lb-ft

Weight

200kg

2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Verdict

We adored the beautiful engine, chassis and electronics package that Triumph put together with the outgoing RS and its stablemate, the RR, both of which offered everyday style, comfort on top of outrageous performance. A few more horses at the top end won’t make a any difference but the smarter suspension might. We’ll let you know once we’ve had a ride.

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2025 Triumph Speed Triple 1200RS - Technical Specification

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