What's the first bike you ever saw yourself on?
Not whatever you ended up actually getting, necessarily. I mean the first bike you saw yourself riding in your brain, whether it ever actually materialized or not. The kind of bike where it didn't matter whether it was even practical for you; the one where the heart wants what it wants, and damn the consequences. Have you got it in your head?
For me, my first moto-crush was a mid-2000s Triumph Scrambler. The styling absolutely spoke to me; those high-mount pipes, the saddle, and everything else were just perfect. It was a time period before there were scramblers and retro-styled bikes everywhere, so it stood out a little more than it would later on. To my eyes, the styling was everything I wanted. Eventually, new-rider me would go to a Triumph demo truck event and ride a whole bunch of bikes. That's also when I'd come to realize that my short little corgi-esque legs and the Scrambler were absolutely not a match made in heaven.
But at that demo truck ride, I also found that parallel twin and those standard ergos to be pretty darn agreeable and accommodating, even when I was a relative newbie. Isn't that what you want? Well, even though I may not have wanted to admit it, the real-world experience of throwing a leg over a Scrambler back in the day made me quickly realize it wasn't the right bike for me. But it's hard to deny the supremely agreeable nature of a Triumph parallel twin, particularly in the Bonneville family. Some might even say it's too agreeable. Too safe. Too friendly, if such a thing is possible. Not exciting enough.
In the intervening years, I've ridden plenty of other bikes, both from Triumph and other manufacturers. My 2024 moto-BFF, as I've previously gone on at length about, is a Street Triple. And at first glance, apart from both bikes being made by the same manufacturer, you wouldn't think the riding experience would be that similar between the two.
You'd, however, be wrong.
In terms of the engines, they're nothing alike, of course. There's something incredibly appealing about the Street Triple's power delivery, not to mention all those delicious triple noises it makes while it's giving you all that perfectly applied power and torque. Meanwhile, bikes in the Bonnie family might make some great noises, depending on the tuning and what exhaust is installed. But it's decidedly not a triple noise, you know?
And for good reason. The 900cc liquid-cooled parallel twin in the 2025 Speed Twin 900 has a completely different character and feel. It makes a claimed 64 brake horsepower at 7,500 rpm, along with 59 pound-feet of torque at 3,800 rpm. And it's just...smooth. Goes where you want, when you want. No fuss.
Riding a bike I haven't ridden before is always an interesting experience, because both my brain and my body need to acclimate to the newness of any given machine. And that's where the 2025 Speed Twin 900 differed. When I threw a leg over, the only new piece of information I had to take in on this bike was where the optional heated grip controller was, and how it worked.
It's rare for me to slip into a motorcycle cockpit anymore and not really have to acclimate myself to a set of new quirks. I'm not talking about the usual things, like adjusting the mirrors or the levers; I'm talking about the entire operational experience. Not so with this bike, though; everything just immediately felt like I've been riding this bike for years. Like we've known each other forever, and we're just going out for yet another bit of fun on some new roads. Supremely chill.
And there's that word again: Agreeable.
Granted, as we've also discussed in the past, I am admittedly and unabashedly a naked bike fan. I love 'em, even if I have to hop on an occasional highway and get buffeted mercilessly since I stupidly forgot to ride a bike with fairings. But I've ridden other naked bikes, even, and not had them immediately feel as familiar and comfortable as the 2025 Triumph Speed Twin 900. So, you can make of that what you will.
It's at this point that I must call out two key options that were both installed on the 2025 Triumph Speed Twin 900 that I rode. One was the heated grips; a factory Triumph accessory, and one that everyone in my group was grateful for. We were riding in some gorgeous Spanish mountains, during what's normally considered to be winter months back home. Yet, even though it was quite a bit milder than the weather in the northern half of North America, the wind in the mountains was still considerably chillier than it was at lower elevations.
When we started out, I wondered if I'd made the correct choice of gloves for our day of riding. Thanks to the three levels of heat available from the heated grips, though, I needn't have worried. While I do have thick winter gloves, I didn't bring them because I don't love the way the controls feel through the thick Thinsulate padding. But with heated grips that work this well, it's possible to have warm fingers and still have good control feel.
The other key option installed on my Speed Twin 900 was the low seat. The stock 2025 Speed Twin 900 has a reasonably approachable seat height of 780mm (about 30.8 inches), but the low seat option reduces it to 29.92 inches, or about 760mm. The bike already has a narrow standover, but for the extremely vertically challenged, every little bit counts in building confidence.
There are plenty of shorter riders who find ways to make bikes work for them. On the extreme end, you even have next-level badasses like Jocelin Snow, who can bend giant GS bikes to her will and successfully compete in the International GS Trophy even though she's about my height.
Those riders are unbelievably amazing, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish I was even half that much of a badass. But at the same time, I'll also maintain that I don't think you should have to be if you want to ride a bike that isn't an ultra-low-seat-height cruiser. After all, a lot of riders of multiple heights and levels of riding experience will never, ever compete in a single off-road rally. And that's OK.
That shouldn't stop you from being able to throw a leg over a bike and instantly feel at home. And if people (and motorcycle manufacturers) mean what they say when they say they want to grow motorcycling and invite more new riders in, we need more bikes that are so instantly comfortable and encouraging. Not fewer.
Once you seat yourself on the 2025 Triumph Speed Twin 900, the entire motorcycling experience feels like it's second nature. If you want to feel like you're one with your motorcycle, it's a bike that makes you feel like this that's going to do it; not something that wants to bite your face off. One that feels like an extension of your own body, only moving with more ease and grace than you might manage at such speeds.
The key to updating modern classics isn't only new paint and graphics, though of course the 2025 Speed Twin 900 gets some of those, too. Instead, what it's really about is tiny refinements. When you get the rough shape hewn out of a block of wood, it's then up to you and your discerning eye to go back in and carefully carve out all those tiny details you see in your mind's eye.
That's why, for 2025, Triumph added a six-axis IMU to the Speed Twin 900. Did it have to? Probably not. And it's not like the OEM has suddenly gone out of its mind and added a whole bunch of electronic rider aids that no one needed or asked for on their Speed Twin 900. Instead, you get the benefits of carefully dialed-in optimized cornering ABS (OCABS) and traction control. You also get two ride modes: Road and Rain.
They're useful, and most of all, they're unobtrusive. On our test ride, we didn't encounter any mega-slippery conditions. There was one bit going past a quarry, though, where there was quite a bit of dust and sand on a decent stretch of road. The weather, which we were told had been rainy in recent days, was dry while we were out—and so were the roads. While I can't give you an experiential stamp of approval, as a former commuter who used to ride in almost all weather, I can say every little bit of unobtrusive help is nice to have.
Suspension-wise, the 2025 Speed Twin 900 gets a Marzocchi upside-down fork unit (nonadjustable), twin rear suspension with preload adjustability, and a larger 320mm front brake disc with a radial front brake caliper. The new cast aluminum wheels shave around 100 grams off the weight of the units used on previous years, and come shod in perfectly confidence-inspiring Michelin Road 5 rubber.
Looks-wise, there are three paint schemes to choose from: Aluminium Silver/Carnival Red/Jet Black, Pure White/Maui Blue/Tangerine Orange (which is what I rode), and Phantom Black/Aurum Gold. The Aluminium Silver/Carnival Red/Jet Black starts at US $9,995, while the other two colorways come at a $500 premium above that, starting at US $10,495.
For those keeping track at home, the 2025 Speed Twin 900 price only rises by $100 above the previous version. And for that price, you get the updated IMU, suspension, front brake, and a host of styling tweaks. This includes clutch, alternator, and sprocket covers, not to mention throttle body covers, reshaped fuel tank, fuel filler cap, footpegs, and more. Oh, and you also get a shiny new LED headlight and bracket. That seems like more than good value for your $100 extra.
In the current Triumph lineup, the Speed Twin 900 sits between the Speed 400 and Speed Twin 1200 in the family. While it's undeniably more powerful than the diminutive 400, it's still a friendly, chill ride. Only, it has enough power that you could hop on highways if you needed to and not have to worry about whether you have enough power.
This is a bike for anyone who just wants a chill vibe on their ride, likes looking good while doing it, and also appreciates the admittedly rather nice purr emanating from that engine and exhaust setup. The sound is quite nice, but the thrum also isn't excessively or uncomfortably vibey through the bars or the rest of the bike.
Overall, the 2025 Speed Twin 900 is your chill moto friend who's up for anything, ready for a good time everywhere. It's an everyday companion; refined and eminently accessible for a wide cross-section of riders. To make it even more accessible to as many different riders as possible, there are a slew of OEM Triumph accessories that can be pre-installed on the Speed Twin 900, as well.
The bike I rode had the accessory low seat installed, which adds $250 to the cost. The heated grips we got to experience add another $300 to the stock price of your chosen colorway. You can also add options like cruise control, ribbed bench seats in black or brown, Fox adjustable RSUs, aluminum sump plates, windscreens, luggage, and more.
If you have any questions about the 2025 Triumph Speed Twin 900, feel free to leave 'em in the comments and I'll try my best to answer.
