Let me give you a picture of the middle weight segment. Let’s say you are a serious biker who has outgrown his KTM Duke 390, or Dominar 400 or Ninja 300 or…..you get it, the sports bike in this 300-400 cc segment, and you want to get into big bikes. You have decided, that from just a biker, you want to be a serious, passionate motorcyclist and this is what you want to do with your life, your life will be incomplete without the pleasure of riding your dream bike, the Ducati Panigale V4, or the BMW S1000RR, or the Busa, or whatever your dream big sports bike is. You have raised enough money, by getting the promotion from your boss, and saving and investing, to buy your first big bike. This is the entry point into the big bike life, this is from where the journey starts. You are clearly not used to big bike power, so you will look at the middleweight segment, where there are sports bikes in the 500-800 cc range, which have more than one cylinder. They fall in your budget and they have serious performance and serious looks to attract attention. But, they are easier to live with, more affordable, and you will be able to control the power without getting into trouble. You will get converted from just a biker to a serious motorcyclist through the experiences that you get from your middleweight motorcycle. So, today I am gonna talk about your journey from your KTM, Dominar, Ninja 300 etc. to your first big bike, which inevitably might be from the middleweight segment, and I am also gonna say that, should the Triumph Trident 660 be the ideal choice?
Well, so you have decided that there are 650 cc parallel twins like the interceptor 650 and the Kawasaki Z650, both of which are more affordable, but you don’t want a parallel twin. Two cylinders, aren’t just enough for you. You are ready to spend extra, but you want more than two cylinders. You have the option to get a Japanese Inline-4, the Inline-4 dream and that sound can be fulfilled by buying the Honda CB650R or the CBR650R, but those don’t fall in your budget and you are sick of waiting. Well, fret not! The Triumph Trident 660 can be the bike for you! If you appreciate the Inline-triple sound, the Inline-triple feel and the Inline-triple’s manic performance with the amazing low-end grunt of the Inline-triple of the Triumph Street Triple, then you can get it in a more affordable package in the form of the Triumph Trident 660. The Triumph Trident 660’s inline-3 engine is kind of like the…..you guessed it, the Street Triple, but it has been tuned differently and its smaller, 660cc to be precise. It makes 81 PS of power and 64 Nm of torque. The price might be really important to you, so the price is, well……7 lakh rupees. I know that it might be a bit on the costly side, specially if you compare it to the RE 650 twins and the Kawasaki Z650, but still, it is quite reasonable for what is offers, and it is cheaper than the Honda CB650R and it is also cheaper than the KTM 790 Duke and the Triumph Street triple R, it falls in your budget! But price aside, let us talk about the motorcycle. When we talk about engine performance, it does not have the manic top end like the street triple R or the Daytona, because Triumph had tuned the Street Triple R and the Daytona for more horsepower, for higher revs, but Triumph has tuned the Trident 660 for more torque. More torque is good because it makes it easy for you to cruise on the highway on the bike and the power is more accessible for riders who are new on big bikes, you will not have to rev it out, so it won’t scare you with the manic top end that most other big bikes come with. That doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it, because it is still fast enough to have fun and the unique soundtrack of the Triumph inline triple will put a smile on your face. It also handles in corners quite well, credit goes to the stiff suspension setup, the Michelin Road 5 tyres and the light weight and compactness because of which the grip is commendable. The basic highlight of this motorcycle is that this gives you a lot of confidence and its quite easy to ride considering the amount of power it has and its displacement, and also it is one of those motorcycles that is easy to live with. It will be in your garage and you will not have to worry about it. It might not have the big bike feel because of the compact nature of the bike but that compactness makes it so easy to ride and light and nimble, it is also much easier to manage in the city if compared to other big bikes. So basically, the thing is that if you will jump from a 300-400 cc bike to this, you will enjoy it and its an amazing package for your hard-earned money. It also has all the basic safety features like ABS and traction control. But, and there is a but, it does kind of lack the excitement and the thrill that you associate with a big bike, because of its easy-going nature. Also, it does not have that much road presence and hugeness that you associate with big bikes like the Z900. So unfortunately, people will not look at your bike that much.
So, to conclude it all, the Trident 660 is a great bike for those who are buying their first big bike, for those who want an easy bike and are scared of big bikes and want more confidence. But, if you want more presence and more performance and excitement and more sense of occasion, then you might want to go for another bike. It totally depends on you, go and test ride and then decide whether this easy big bike is enough or you want something bigger. Just remember that it will not feel like a big bike, but a big small bike. I suggest that if you are a Triumph fanboy and you like the inline-3 then you can look at the Street triple, or if you want that signature Japanese inline-4 then you can look at the Honda CB650R or the CBR650R or the Kawasaki Z900, it all depends on you. However, be prepared to pay more for those bikes.
