Triumph Trademarks ‘Speed Twin’ Name, Rumors Swirl of 2017 Bike

Triumph Trademarks ‘Speed Twin’ Name, Rumors Swirl of 2017 Bike

British motorcycle brand Triumph has reportedly trademarked the “Speed Twin” name for use in its 2017 line-up.

The original Triumph Speed Twin was a 500cc parallel twin produced from 1947 to 1966. A popular model, the bike is credited with helping Triumph recover from the financial challenges created by World War II.

What form the new Speed Twin would take is up for debate. Most observers (including the team here at RideApart) are assuming it will be a sportier version of the 900cc Street Twin, which was released earlier this year – perhaps a mini Thruxton of sorts.

Though, to fuel speculation we’ll point out that Triumph’s present naming convention may suggest something else.

Looking at the Street Triple and Speed Triple, those two bikes are of different engine size. The Street Triple has a 675cc inline triple, whereas the Speed Triple is powered by a 1050cc engine. If Triumph followed the same line of thinking with its Twin series, that would suggest a bike with an engine larger than the one used in the Street Twin.

The most obvious candidate in such a scenario would be the 1200cc parallel twin used in the new Bonneville T120 and Thruxton models. But, of course, the presence of those two models – and their respective Black and R variants – creates a question of how a 1200cc Speed Twin could stand out as dramatically different from the other two.

As such, use of the Street Twin’s liquid-cooled 900cc twin seems more likely. Certainly it the engine could be retuned to deliver more than the 54 hp currently offered by the Street Twin.

Whatever form the Speed Twin takes, if it is a retro-styled model (as we assume it would be because of the heritage name) it will enter a crowded field. Spy shots in recent months have suggested Triumph also has a 900cc Bonneville in the works, as well as a Bonneville-esque bobber.