Triumph Street Cup (2017 - 2020): Review & Buying Guide

Price: £4500-£7000 | Power: 54bhp | Weight: 200kg | Overall BikeSocial Rating: 3/5

With the beautiful, and surprisingly impressive to ride, Thruxton 1200 models creating headlines, a year after the launch of their big-capacity bike Triumph decided to offer fans of café racers a middleweight option – the Street Cup. Taking the Street Twin platform as a base, Triumph tweaked a few areas to give their new ‘contemporary urban sports custom street racer’ (their words...) a bit of a sporty attitude, a fresh look and slightly sharper handling. Boasting a bullet seat complete with pillion seat cowl, fly screen, lower ‘Ace’ bars and other neat styling details such as Thruxton-style pegs, headlight and clock surrounds, the Street Cup initially seemed a tempting prospect then reality struck and sales never took off. The Cup’s more stretched-out riding position didn’t appeal to potential owners as much as the more relaxed stance in other variants and also the Cup’s relative lack of performance didn’t make it feel like it lived up to its sporty billing. Only on sale for two years, the Cup wasn’t updated alongside the rest of the Street Twin range in 2019 and instead was left to see out its remaining days unchanged. Did potential owners miss out? Not really, if you are after a Street Twin that is a bit exclusive and a touch sportier the Cup is worth checking out but for most riders, the Bonnie T100, Street Scrambler or even just the standard Street Twin make for better, and more practical, used buys.

Triumph Street Cup (2017-2020) Price

When new the Street Cup was priced a touch higher than the Bonnie T100 and a bit less than the Street Scrambler, the two other variants based on the Street Twin platform, and £1000 more than the Twin itself. However this price difference didn’t last long as the buying public didn’t warm to the Cup and where the Scrambler was on trend and the Bonnie’s look never out of fashion, appetite for café racers was on the decline in 2017 and that resulted in discounts. Nowadays you can pick up a Cup for £5000 in a dealer if you don’t mind it showing a mid-teens mileage or pay £6000 for a bike with under 10,000 miles on its clocks. Minters go for £7000 but there is no need to pay the extra £1000, buy a sub-10k model and you will be very happy. Interestingly, despite their being far less Cups for sale (roughly a quarter of the numbers), a similar age Street Twin is about the same price where the Scrambler and T100 are noticeably more expensive to buy. It seems the changing trends have had an impact on the residual value of the Cup far more than the more timeless T100 or still quite fashionable Scrambler, bringing the café racer into line with the more budget-conscious base Street Twin model, making it seem good value for money...

Engine and Performance

The Cup runs the same ‘High Torque’ (its performance was boosted by 18% extra peak torque and 22% more horsepower over the previous Street Twin engine in 2016) 900cc parallel twin as the rest of the Street Twin model range – which is no bad thing at all. Smooth on the throttle and with a lovely easy-going nature and healthy mid-range, the fact it comes with a ride-by-wire throttle means that you also get traction control (which is switchable) as standard, a handy feature on a bike designed with newer riders in mind. Speaking of which, it is worth noting the Cup can also be restricted down to A2-legal performance if required.

For gentle cruising around there is little to find fault with when it comes to the motor and despite only having a five-speed gearbox, this is seldom an issue. In town it is impressively light on the clutch and yet nippy to get away and on the open roads it will happily pull 70mph with minimal vibes. But does the HT twin suit a café racer? That’s the problem...

As the twin is so easy-going, it does lack that bit of a spark you want on a sporty bike and this sensation can make the Cup feel a bit uninspiring. The problem is the engine’s attitude makes you want to ease back and relax, which is bang on character for the Bonnie, Street or even Scrambler, but the Cup is a café racer and after a quick ride you can’t help but be left wishing it had a bit more zing about it. There again, if you like to ride in a relaxed fashion and prefer your retro racers with their aggression dialled down, the Cup will appeal.

When it comes to buying used there is very little to be worried about, especially considering the Cup is relatively new. Annual servicing (oil and filters) is only about £150 - £200 while the minor is every 10,000 miles and valve-clearance service at 20,000 miles (about £350-£400). It is worth keeping on top of the annual service as things like the Autoscan, fuel filter and ECU updates etc are checked during this service as well as the oil changed. A few owners fit a slightly more aggressive cam (it’s a SOHC motor so you only need one!) in the Cup to give it a bit more character, which isn’t a bad thing to do and owners report it does inject a bit of welcome spice. Cams cost from £350 and should give about 5bhp extra peak power with a noticeable boost in mid-range performance, although you will also need to update the fuelling to suit (some companies claim this isn’t necessary but it is best to) and also ideally fit a free-breathing exhaust, so the costs can quite quickly escalate! If the seller claims the bike has a ‘hot’ cam in it, ask to see proof of the work and who made the cam to see if there are any reports of unreliability online.

Triumph Street Cup (2017-2020) Handling & Suspension

Compared to the Street Twin, the Street Cup seats the rider slightly higher (20mm) and further back with the bars lower and more forward. Add to this altered riding position longer shocks that tip the Cup on its nose and steepen the head angle and the result is a bike that responds in a slightly sportier fashion than the Street Twin. Not by much, but there is definitely a bit more eagerness to turn displayed by the Cup when compared to the Twin. And it is done without overstepping the mark...

It would have been easy for Triumph to wind up the Cup’s suspension setting and create an overly firm ride but they have resisted this and the KYB suspension does a decent job of soaking up the jolts. On a bumpy B-road the Cup feels perfectly at home and while certainly not as plush as the Twin due to the more aggressive riding position, is far from being unpleasantly demanding to ride. And it also stops a bit better too thanks to a floating front brake disc (just the one...) and uprated Nissin caliper. But should it do more? Again we are down to perception and if you demand your café racers to be sporty, the Cup is more assured than nimble and its single brake is best described at ‘adequate’ rather than ‘impressive.’ A few owners try to up its agility through aftermarket shocks (you only get preload adjustability as standard) and fork upgrades (non-adjustable as standard) and also add high friction brake pads (braided lines are standard) but the issue is more down to the Cup’s chassis, which is long, low and (much like its engine...) designed for ease of use and stability rather than serious corner-carving.

In the used market the Cup’s chassis doesn’t hold much to be wary of aside from general wear and tear and consumable items (tyres, pads, chain, sprockets etc) nearing the end of their life. Overall the level of finish is excellent (helped by the fact few have done big mileages and most are reserved for summer riding) and details such as the hand-painted coach lining and gold badges add a real air of elegance and quality to the bike. The Cup comes in two paint options – yellow and silver with black coach lining or black and silver with gold coach lining.

Comfort & Economy

With a more stretched-out riding position and lower bars, the Cup isn’t the most comfortable of Street Twin models. Yes, you get a bit of extra weather protection from its screen and the stance does help you brace against any windblast better than the more upright Street-based options, saving your neck muscles, but it still isn’t that good for distance work. A few owners add a taller screen or even update the seat but that seems like a bit of a waste of money – if you want a more relaxed Street model, buy the Scrambler or Bonnie, not the Cup.

In terms of economy it is much better news. Triumph claim the parallel twin motor can record between 62mpg and 88mpg with an average of 76mpg in mixed riding conditions. Owners report this isn’t actually too far from the mark and between 65mpg and 70mpg seems pretty normal, which isn’t bad at all – especially considering it only has a five-speed gearbox!

Triumph Street Cup (2017-2020) Equipment

The Cup comes with a fairly decent spec with ABS, switchable traction control and an immobiliser as standard fitment but no power modes, not that it needs them. Dig a bit deeper and you will discover a handy USB charging point beneath the seat while the clocks feature a gear position indicator and fuel gauge alongside the usual trips, average fuel consumption, clock etc.

Triumph’s official accessories list was also pretty good for the Cup, mainly as parts are often interchangeable with the rest of the Twin models, and you could get heated grips and even cruise control as well as luggage options, bolt-on parts and upgraded fully-adjustable Fox suspension. Not to mention a Vance and Hines pipe...

It’s not that common to find a heavily-upgraded Cup but tail tidies and loud pipes are noticeably more prevalent than on the likes of the Scrambler, Bonnie or Twin. Well, it is a café racer... Ideally, go fairly standard but suspension upgrades and a fruitier can certainly enhance the bike’s appeal and if you want to give it a bit more attitude, maybe even consider a new camshaft....

Triumph Street Cup (2017-2020) Rivals

The Cup has quite limited appeal as it is a fairly niche product. This is a middleweight bike sold on its style and that means it goes up against similar-sized café racers. The fact it can be made A2-legal isn’t much of an appeal as in reality few are sold to younger riders holding A2 licences.

Ducati Scrambler Café Racer (2019-2020) | Approx Price: £5500-£7500

Power/Torque: 75bhp/50lb-ft | Weight: 188kg

Kawasaki Z650RS (2022-current) | Approx Price: £5500-£8000

Power/Torque: 67bhp/47lb-ft | Weight: 187kg

Yamaha XSR700 (2015-2021) | Approx Price: £3500-£8000

Power/Torque: 74bhp/50lb-ft | Weight: 186kg

Triumph Street Cup (2017-2020) Verdict

While it is true the Street Cup was a rather lazy knee-jerk reaction by Triumph to the café racer culture and is effectively just a tarted-up Street Twin, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Cup retains the easy-going nature of the Twin (and can be made A2-legal if required) yet its bolder styling and altered riding position gives it a welcome touch more attitude that the classically retro-styled Twin can arguably lack. It won’t appeal to everyone as the Twin is undeniably more relaxed to ride but the relative rarity of the Cup (mainly due to its unpopularity it has to be said...), its classy high-end finish and its sportier look do make it stand out in a carpark.

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Triumph Street Cup (2017-2020) – Technical Specification

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