I have a late 2021 STR LRH and looking at the mods on the latest 2023 models, particularly the enhancement of traction control now incorporating lean angle sensing I thought I would look at possibly moving on to the latest version despite the loss of the beautiful tacho.
So I went and had a look at the new machine. LRH is no longer available but options quoted in the configurator mention a different (thinner?) seat giving a 28mm drop and a further 10mm drop being achieved by a rear suspension linkage adaptation.
Having sat on the bike briefly I reckoned that 10mm was all I needed but the guys in the showroom could not find cost details for the suspension mod. Today I emailed Triumph after sales bods to be told that the suspension mod is only applicable to the RS and not the R.
Frankly, I find this hard to understand and if so they will probably have just lost a new bike sale.
That is useful to know as a fellow less - than - tall person. I suppose it pushes RS sales if someone wanting a lower height really has their heart set on a Street Triple - but as you say also risks someone not buying one at all. Is the lower seat height available on the R did they say or were you after standard seat and a 10mm drop so the total drop was 10mm?
On my Sprint St 1050 as I changed the rear suspension, I ordered a made to measure shock, with an adjustable shock length option. Cost me 450 eur. Just perfect.
I bought it from shock-factory.co.uk
Moreover I could collect it from the fabrication workshop and talk with the boss Mike Cappon (an englishman living in France).
If they do a shock compatible with your bike, I can only say good things about them and the quality of the product.
I had the shock rebuilt on my first superduke to lower it by 10mm (about 2mm in the shock). But only because it was directly conected to the swing arm wit no linkage so that was the only option.
@MrsVisor i was hoping to go with a standard seat and just the 10mm drop from the”suspension linkage adjustment” as I was only just not flat footing both sides. Whereas you will be aware of how our current LRH models give even more flat foot space.
I sought further explanation from the after sales team at Triumph and was advised “ Its not actually a linkage change. The RS and Moto2 edition have a 10mm spacer at the top of the shock to increase the rear ride height and steepen the steering angle for quicker handling on track. The R model being more road focused doesn’t have this spacer to start with so it’s not possible to remove it. This is also why the seat height as standard is lower on the R than it is on the RS.”
Which now makes perfect sense of the misnomer, “suspension linkage adjustment”
I may see if the dealer will get the alternative seat in for me to try but will it be as comfortable, will it give adequate flat foot area, is the IMU (I think that’s what it’s called) really worth spending a couple of grand on? Can I put up with that crappy TFT screen. At the moment I think it’s a NO, unless something else crops up to sway the balance.
I know there are possibilities in modifying the length of the “dog bones” or a bespoke rear shock but I have yet to properly investigate those options.
It’s a bit of a dilemma - I am 5ft4 and flat foot the LRH pretty easily, whereas my Honda is about 45mm taller and I do have to shift across when I stop for any length of time to get a foot down flat or hop off it and push it to park where I could paddle the Street Triple so do see where just 10mm off might be ideal on the new Street Triple to give that bit more leeway to get your feet down flatter. Like you I also prefer my analogue / LCD set up to the TFT.
I guess all the new “things” like lean - sensitive traction control / ABS are quite clever marketing tools really in that you can quickly start to wonder whether you might “need” them when you had been perfectly content with your bike beforehand and (in your case) are a rider with considerable experience who has always been safe without.
It would be interesting to see what you make of the lower seat - or maybe you could get 10mm shaved off the standard seat (although they’re certainly not plush to start with, are they? At least on the 2021 bikes that we have). I also wonder how much a bespoke rear shock and other after - market alterations you might choose to make to gain the bike you desire from the R would save you against then going for the RS with the lowering option.
It’s mostly bollocks, they won’t let you have enough control to mess with it enough to the point where you throw it down the road and start a massive law suit.
“ who has always been safe without.” I managed the throw two of Ron Haslam’s bikes down the road in the ten years I organised our annual trackday with him.
I intend to ask the bods at Triumph how the R LRH model that we have differed from the R model of that gen.
I think you may have misunderstood what the “ dedicated rear suspension linkage adaption” is. The RS and the Moto 2 bikes are taller than the R because on the top of the rear suspension unit they have a 10mm spacer. That is why removing it brings these two bikes back down to the same height as the R.
At the moment I’m on the verge of binning the idea of a new machine but will seek further info which should make the decision more straightforward.
I understand the suspension spacer issue, I was thinking about it in conjunction with the low seat option as a whole ie all of the RS lowering options. I think what I was getting at is whether having to tweak an R to your satisfaction with potentially bespoke solutions to get that 10mm that you would like off the height would end up saving you much vs going for the RS with the lowering options anyway. I don’t think I am articulating myself very well (sorry).
If the R is 826mm and RS 839mm with your ideal being 816mm I suppose I would see options as:
Buy the R and have 10mm shaved from the standard seat after you have bought it giving you 816mm or drop it 10mm with bespoke linkages as you have said. I think my preference would be a lower seat, but I quite like a plank - like seat…how possible it would be given they’re not plush seats anyway is something clearly way beyond my knowledge (most things are!!).
Buy the RS and have the lower seat giving 811mm (lower than your ideal, but still 26mm higher than the LRH 2021 model).
RS plus seat and suspension spacer removal would give 801mm - again lower than your ideal but 16mm higher than the LRH bike.
No point as you say buying RS and going for just the suspension spacer removal as that gives you the height of the standard R, pretty much.
Hopefully Triumph will be able to help you and I will stop my inane ramblings .
I managed the throw two of Ron Haslam’s bikes down the road in the ten years I organised our annual trackday with him.
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