Triumph Moto2 Protoype
Will we see a new sportsbike from Triumph…?
Last week Triumph used the opportunity of the British GP to show off their new Moto2 prototype and invited some of the Moto2 riders to tour their Hinckley factory and check out the final engine prototype bike.
The bike was slated to be ridden by James Toseland ahead of the Moto2 race on the weekend, but the weather conditions put a halt to that, along with any chance of racing.
Development of the engine has been gathering pace of late in testing with three Moto2 chassic manufacturers, Kalex, KTM and NTS. The Triumph prototype however uses Triumphs own frame rolling on British suspension provided by K-Tech.
Will we see a new Triumph road going sportsbike…?
With all this development and expense surely Triumph might spin-off a new production sportsbike for the mass market…? What do you think? Tell us below in the comments section.
The engine was also recently matched up for development with the new Magneti Marelli ECUs which will offer more adjustments in regard to set-up that has traditionally been available to Moto2 riders.
Steve Sargent, Triumph’s Chief Product Officer
“We are very pleased with the progress to date and impressed with the level of passion and effort from the chassis teams, the riders, the ECU team Magneti Marelli, Exernpro, and Dorna in developing the new generation of Moto2 motorcycles.
“The ECU gives the teams a lot of choice to make changes with ignition, fuelling, engine braking, electronic throttle maps, quickshifter adjustments and pit lane speed limiters. Next year will be much closer to MotoGP levels of technology than Moto2 has ever been. The class is going to become even more interesting, with exciting racing and even more competition between team engineers to develop the best-performing package.”
2019 will mark the start of a three-year contract with Dorna for Triumph to produce the control engine for the Moto2 category.
They will use a race tuned 765cc Triumph Triple engine, based on the powerplant from the 2017 Triumph Street Triple, which in turn has its origins in the 675R powerplant that powered riders to race wins at the Isle of Man TT, the Daytona 200 and the British Supersport Championship in 2014 and 2015.
The current generation Street Triple RS makes 122 hp at 11,700rpm and 77 Nm of torque at 10,800rpm but for Moto2 use the engine has more than 80 new parts to allow the engine to breathe more freely and rev harder than the production bike and increase overall performance.
Other changes have been made specifically to adapt the engine for race use and while Triumph are yet to be forthcoming with the new power levels one would expect it to be somewhere approaching 150 horsepower. They sure are going to bring an all new wail to Moto2 next year, that’s for sure.
- Modified cylinder head with revised inlet and exhaust ports for optimised gas flow
- Titanium valves and stiffer valve springs for increased rpm
- Low output race kit alternator for reduced inertia
- Taller 1st gear ratio
- Race developed slipper clutch which will be tuneable
- Specific race ECU; which will be developed with Magneti Marelli
- Revised engine covers for reduced width
- Different sump to allow for improved header run
