Triumph announces updated 2019 Bonneville Street Twin and Street Scrambler

It was a gamble for Triumph, as the older engine had a legion of fans, most of whom were skeptical of complicating a tried-and-true design. Doubts were further amplified when the initial power numbers were released. The bike was down on overall horsepower when compared to the previous engine. Triumph made a bigger, liquid-cooled engine, and decreased its top-end power. Not usually a recipe for success.

But motorcycles are meant to be evaluated on the street, not on the spec sheet. So, I flew down to Triumph’s American headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia to take a Street Twin for a ride. And ride I did. That little red motorcycle and I embarked on one of my all-time favorite road trips, working my way through the deep south to the Gulf Coast.

I saw the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, lived out my favorite Jimmy Buffett song in Pascagoula, Mississippi, ate beignets in the French Quarter, and rolled into Texas in time to catch MotoGP in Austin. The little Street Twin and I got along just fine.

Top-end horsepower may have decreased but torque was way up, fueling was perfect, and the bike handled lighter than any stock Bonnie I had ever ridden. The 1,700-mile, two-day ride back to Philly was a bit rough, but the bike was perfectly balanced for back-to-back, 300-mile, meandering days.  

I apparently wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Over the past two and a half years, the Street Twin has become Triumph’s best selling Modern Classic model. It’s the bike of choice for 38 percent of riders who are new to the brand. Thus, when Triumph closed out this year’s Intermot motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany with an announcement that they were going to alter their successful recipe, I felt a pang of skepticism not dissimilar to the one I felt when the Street Twin was originally announced.

Unlike Ducati, which opened the show by announcing changes to the Scrambler line that were mostly cosmetic, Triumph took an opposite approach. They introduced the audience to the 2019 Street Twin and Street Scrambler and for a moment I thought they were playing a joke on us. From 15 feet away, the bikes looked nearly identical to their predecessors.

Upon closer inspection and you might notice the wheels have a different style, the front brake caliper is now made by Brembo, and the dash has been updated, but overall the most significant changes are internal.

For 2019, the most notable change is the increase in overall power. For both bikes, Triumph claims an 18 percent increase in peak horsepower over the old engine, up 10 ponies over the previous models to 64 horsepower at 7,500 rpm. That redline is up from 7,000 rpm. Triumph claims both bikes will make 59 foot-pounds of torque, but the Scrambler’s torque still comes on sooner, peaking at 3,200 rpm. The Street Twin climaxes at 3,800 rpm.

On both models you’ll now have two Ride Modes to choose from, Road and Rain. Neither mode cuts overall power. Instead, they alter the character of the throttle response as well as the engagement of traction control.  

I am not sure how I feel about this particular change. On the previous Street Twin and Scrambler, I felt the throttle response was perfectly paired with the bike’s fueling. On the larger models that received multiple rider modes, (such as the T-120 and Thruxton R) the throttle response had a bit of an on/off nature. I always preferred the throttle response that came with the lack of options on the smaller Street models.

Both bikes feature an upgraded cartridge fork with 4.7 inches of travel. There are still no adjustment options, but Triumph is claiming improved comfort, most likely as a result of revised damping. Keep in mind that the previous forks found on the Street Twin and Street Scrambler featured different internal damping rates. While we know that both bikes will feature a cartridge kit, we’re not quite sure just yet how the spring rate and damping differs between the two models.

There was no mention of improvements to the rear suspension aside from a call out to the accessory Fox Racing Shocks that are available as an upgrade. I am guessing rear suspension mods will still be high on the list for these new motorcycles.

As I mentioned earlier, both bikes get new four-piston Brembo calipers at the front wheel. The old Nissin twin-pot calipers weren’t bad, but they weren’t great either. This upgrade should help slow the bikes down better than ever. There is still just one caliper at the front and ABS can be disabled on the Scrambler but not on the Street Twin (traction control can be turned off on both models). 

As a final note, there was no mention of the Street Cup. I am guessing we're going to see it dropped from Triumph's 2019 lineup. Or, they'll sell leftover inventory in limited numbers as a 2019 model until it's gone.

I am interested to see how these changes alter the approachable nature of these bikes. The bump in power moves them further away from being an entry-level option in Triumph’s lineup. As the British manufacturer doesn’t have any smaller options to capture riders who are new to the sport, it seems interesting that they would take the Street lineup in this particular direction.

At the time of the press release, there was no confirmed price but I would expect to see a price bump of at least a few dollars. And any increase is also going to move these bikes further away from the reach of beginners.

That being said, I’ll give Triumph the benefit of the doubt for the time being. I was really impressed with the Street Twin and Street Scrambler. I’ll reserve final judgement until I can get my ass in the saddle of one of these new bikes. I hear Pascagoula is lovely this time of year.