WORDS: DANGEROUS IMAGES:ALEXJAMES PHOTOGAPHY/CHAPPO
There’s no such thing as the Pied Piper of motorcycling, but that didn’t stop me from being drawn unapologetically to the Triumph 765RS in Cadwell’s upper holding area. It was emitting a palpable boom, rhythmically rising and falling in revs all by itself. Now, I know what you’re thinking, and coming from Lincolnshire I will admit that strange things do happen around these parts, but on this occasion it was not a case of witchcraft; the bike’s HM M3 dash was auto-warming the Trumpet ready for an unholy assault on the triple’s collective of valves. The practice was mesmerising, encapsulating the rock-star Moto2 persona of this equivalently powered Street Triple 765RS-based machine, that was being loaned to me for the day by Smallboy Trackbikes. My excitement was on another level as its owner and all-round good guy Matt Waldron talked me through the spec. It had started life like every other Street before being stripped of its road gear, straight ‘bars and abundance of unnecessary items. Daytona 675 race fairings were added to the mix, along with clip-ons, rearsets and an MTC exhaust system that helped raise the stock 114bhp at the rear wheel to a much more impressive 128 ponies. It’s pretty prudent to mention that with all the added power came a whole load more torque too, peaking at 60.6ft-lbs at just over 10,500rpm, in a truly relaxed triple style. The stock suspension had also been bettered, with new springs in the 50mm front forks and a fully adjustable K-Tech Lite rear shock bringing up the rear. It looked every bit the proper race bike, and having tried its saddle out for size, nestling behind its Daytona 675 screen and staring at the race-bred M3 dash, I couldn’t help but appreciate the huge void between what this was now and how it had started its life. It was like meeting up with your ex after she’s had a boob job, lost a few stone and quit smoking. I liked what I saw and was gagging to see how drastically different this make-over translated to the track.