Why’s this called the “10 mile shootout”? Because that’s about how far I’ve ridden both!
It’s been tough prying Stacey’s butt out of the saddle of her new Street Triple, that’s for sure. And while the folks at Bend Euro Moto were wonderful hosts, I doubt they’d be happy if I absconded with their demo Monster for a joyride to Lolo Pass and back. One has to take what one can get.
Ten miles may not be much, but it’s plenty enough to make a nice gut reaction, and guess what: snap judgments just happen to be my forté!
Engines
1st Place: Street Triple
2nd Place: Monster 696
Both of these bikes have fantastic engines. Despite being shackled to its break in period, the Street Triple is remarkably fast. By the (claimed) numbers, the Street Triple should blow the Monster out of the water (107hp vs 80hp), but the good ol’ butt dyno feels they’re pretty close: the Monster is plenty fast and pulls strong. However, the Street Triple is definitely a rocket and it always has power in a very linear manner.
Transmission and Clutch
1st Place: Street Triple
2nd Place: Monster 696
The Triumph wins hands down. Shifts are smooth and low effort. The clutch is also easy to use with a nice friction zone and an easy to reach engagement point. The Monster, on the other hand, had a clunky shifter that didn’t feel too great. Upshift, clunk! Downshift, clunk! The end result was quite a few missed shifts. Plus, the engagement point at the clutch was so far out to be at the very end of my fingertips. Good for track day shifting, but not so good for finessing those tight u-turns.
(Super secret 0th place: the SV650 has a sweet, sweet gearbox, and I think it’s the best out of the three.)
Suspension
Let’s call it a tie.
I’m not the best one to judge a bike’s suspension. Neither of these bikes are set up for someone of my weight (let’s call it 120 lbs even). Out of the box, the Street Triple felt better to me. It’s definitely not as stiff as the Monster I tested. On the Monster, rough pavement felt jarring and the bike felt stiff. Is that a good thing? Perhaps one of you can illuminate.
In terms of adjustability, the Monster 696 wins. The Street Triple has non-adjustable front forks and a rear shock that only allows for basic adjustments. (The R edition has better suspension components, however.)
Brakes
1st Place: Monster 696
2nd Place: Street Triple
The Brembo brakes on the Monster 696 are awesome. They didn’t feel too grabby, and provided good feedback when applied. The Street Triple’s Nissin brakes are also quite good, but didn’t have the feel of the Monster’s brakes. Stopping power on both bikes was more than adequate, though I didn’t perform any emergency braking tests.
Handling
Let’s call it a tie.
Another tie, again due to my inexperience in evaluating a bike’s suspension. As I mentioned earlier, the Monster 696 felt stiff and somewhat harsh going over rough pavement. On the upside, it held its line well during the bumpy patches. Both the Monster and the Street Triple are extremely easy to lean and turn. Just look where you want to go and they obey. It’s the joy of riding a middleweight bike!
Ergonomics
1st Place: Street Triple
2nd Place: Monster 696
Ergos are mostly a matter of taste. The Street Triple felt most comfortable to me. The riding position is strictly standard: upright with feet down below. This allows for very relaxed riding. The Monster’s riding position is slightly more aggressive; still upright, but with a little more forward lean. When riding the Monster, you feel like you’re hanging forward in front of the bike. I had visions of looking down and seeing the ground instead of the instrument display. The Monster’s seat tilts forward enough to press one’s unmentionables into the gas tank.
Riding Impressions
1st Place: Street Triple
2nd Place: Monster 696
What can I say, I liked riding the Street Triple better. Perhaps it’s because it’s very similar to my SV650. I hopped on and felt immediately comfortable. The Monster was a harder sell. Maybe my expectations were a little too high, and I struggled getting over the idiosyncratic shifter and clutch. I did, however, feel like a total badass while riding it.
Instruments and Controls
Tie.
Both sets of instruments were easy to read with pretty blue LED lighting. An electronics geek’s dream.
Attention to Detail
Another tie.
Style is another matter of taste, so I’m not going talk about that as much as the subtle details. Both the Triumph and the Ducati get the details right. The controls look trick and feel like quality hardware. All the components ooze class. The Street Triple and Monster 696 are priced at a premium for a reason, and I’m happy to say that both are worth it.
Overall
It may look like the Street Triple has beaten the mighty Monster in direct competition, but not so fast. They’re both great bikes. They’re also very different bikes, despite inhabiting the same general category of “middleweight naked standard.” I would say that the Street Triple is the more refined bike. It’s pretty, it’s very fast, and it does everything well. The Monster is a beast. It feels fast and powerful. One could be muscled into thinking of the chunky shifting as a quirk instead of a drawback. It’s a bike that lives up to its name.
The Street Triple may be the bike for you if… you prefer the rapier to a claymore.
The Monster 696 may be the bike for you if… any problem can be solved with the application of direct force.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic post. I am in the same boat. I own a SV and would like to get a Monster or a Street Triple. I have ridden the Street Triple R for about an hour and a 2007 and 2009 Ducat 695/696 for about 30 minutes each. I have similar comments. To me the Street Triple just felt so much faster than the Ducati. The Duc is a great bike, great components but didn’t feel significantly better than the SV. I think if you ran the Duc hard, it would really shine. The only negative I had with the Striple was the suspension. It was really bouncing me around. But it wasn’t adjusted for my weight. The clear winner was the Street Triple for me.
Mike, you summed up my feelings exactly regarding the Monster. It’s fun to ride, but it didn’t blow me away. It’s purely an image bike, and folks will dig up the extra $3000 if they find that kind of thing appealing.
I’d go straight to the R edition of the Striple if I weighed anything more than 140 pounds or so.
I was a disappointed in the 696. Especially since I am a big fan of Ducati. I think it came down to the smaller engine size. I need to ride a non R version of the Striple. Good write up!
The Ducati needs a fiddly major tune up every 7500 miles. The Triumph every 12,000. If you do more than ride on weekends that’s a big difference.
Great post. I’d love to take the STriple out for a spin. I got a chance to take a 30 min demo ride on the Ducati Hypermotard and would own that bike now had it not cost double what my SV did OTD. I’d be curious to know how the Triple and the Motard would do against each other since they seem to be more evenly matched in some regards. For the money though…SV all the way!
I rode the Street Triple last week for over 200 miles and I agree that it is fast, smooth shifting and well made. I’ll get on the Monster sometime soon but it is hard to imagine that it could be better than the Triple.
Both bikes have cache. Can’t go wrong with either in my opinion. There is no perfect bike despite what I tell myself…
Great review and post!
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
I’ve had a Blackbird for the last 8 years and consider it the best all-round bike I’ve ever owned. However, I’ve just bought a Street Triple and for the area I now live (Coromandel Peninsula, NZ – 300 km of twisties by the sea and over a mountain range), the Triple is much more fun and encourages bad behaviour! Errr… I’m 62 by the way!
I’ve just entered the Triple for the 2010 Grand Challenge – 1000 miles/1600 km of back-roads in under 24 hours. That ought to be a good test of the bike – and me come to that as I haven’t done one since 2003!
Cheers,
Geoff
Have now covered 2500 km on the Striple and adore it. If you’re interested in the comparison between the Triumph and Blackbird which I previously owned, it’s here: http://geoffjames.blogspot.com/.
Cheers,
Geoff