Or did they?
At the end of the factory tour is the rolling road and the collection area for bikes to be crated up. I had a good look but couldn't see anything new. As I'm stood there chatting I notice a couple of bikes, not quite complete but in transport crates. One's a Tiger Explorer and the other is a Speed Triple S.
Hang on a second, I was told that Triumph had stopped making the 1050 S.
On closer inspection there's a flat screen, like the one you see on the 765 street. And the wheels are different. There are some subtle little changes as well.
So will Triumph follow in the footsteps of the 765 and give us an S, R and RS model or will they do what they did previously and give us the S and the R? I hope we see a fully blinged up 1050 with carbon bits and big arrow cans with a full power option or track option mode. One thing they must have done is improve the power otherwise you're too close to the 765. I've seen tuned 1050 lumps showing over 160bhp so it can't be too difficult for Triumph to produce a 150bhp reliable engine that's going to keep it apart from its little brother.
Anyway, the visitor centre is pretty decent and it's great to see the factory. We finished off with a go on the Isle of Man TT simulator.
Here's some photos:-
