When Triumph announced the 2023 updated Street Triple 765 range last month, as well as a few tweaks here and there to the chassis and the addition of a new bling Moto2 tribute bike, the main talking point was the not-insignificant 7bhp increase from the 765cc three-cylinder motor. The hike in power to 130bhp makes the mid-sized engine - positioned right in the middle of Triumph’s 80bhp 660cc and 177bhp 1200cc engines the most powerful engine per cc Triumph makes. It’s hard to believe that, in one form or another, this engine has been around for 18 years already. It debuted in the Daytona 675 in 2006, in a stroke establishing Triumph as an equal among giants, completing the company’s transformation from quirky upstart to cutting-edge innovator. It wasn’t and still isn’t just the engine that punches well above its weight.
It is impossible to overstate how significant the Daytona was with the little 675cc three-cylinder engine at its heart, so when the chance came up to catch up with one of the senior members of the R&D team at the time of the Daytona’s gestation period, we just had to get the low-down on what it was like to be part of that project.
Nick Wilson was the development supervisor for Triumph from 1990 - which basically means the very beginning of Triumph as we know it. His role covered all the workshop activity, test riders, testing overseas, all the dyno work, bike builds, and engine builds. Recently retired, you’d think Nick would be kicking back and relaxing, but like all good engineers, he just can’t leave it
