2026 Triumph Trident 800 Review – First Ride

The Trident moniker has been found on many important models from Triumph Motorcycles over the years. The first Trident was ushered in alongside (some might say before) the venerable Honda CB750, which shaped the modern superbike category as we know it today. Next up, after the aforementioned Japanese machine (among others) dominated the global market, Triumph took a little siesta before being woken up and brought back to market in the way we know it today by British billionaire, Mr. John Bloor. In that resurgence, the Trident namesake was revived as well with the Triple-powered Trident 900 alongside five other models marking Triumph Motorcycle’s return. Approximately 30 years later, the Trident 660 hit the scene and accolades were lauded — most important of all, MO’s own Best Value Motorcycle of 2021.

The Trident 660 has been an immensely popular model for the Hinckley-based brand as a well-priced machine with a broad audience, from newer riders to experienced throttle jockeys. But you know what we always say: more is more, and the modern Trident is now getting a beefed up variant, housing a 798cc Triple in a sharper chassis, poised to fill a gap in Triumph’s lineup between everyday horned-mono hoisters and Hinckley’s sport-focused Street Triple RS. Before we get any further, let us take a moment to watch the fiery remains of the discontinued Street Triple R drift out to sea. You were one of the real ones, ol’ chap.

Triumph Trident 800 — a recap

As previously mentioned, Triumph has expanded its Trident lineup for 2026 with a larger-displacement model powered by the brand’s latest 798cc inline-Triple which first debuted in the Tiger Sport 800. Set to arrive in dealerships this March with a $9,995 price tag, the Trident 800 slots in neatly above the Trident 660 while stopping well short of the sharper, more track-focused Speed and Street Triple models.

Visually, the Trident 800 continues Triumph’s effort to carve out a distinct “modern roadster” lineup. The single round headlight gives it a retro-leaning face that recalls early post-revival Triples from the 1990s, while updated bodywork brings a more contemporary feel. A painted fuel tank with black side panels links it to the 660, but features like the flyscreen, belly pan, chunkier tail section, and side-mounted exhaust give the 800 a more substantial, big-bike presence – even if its overall dimensions aren’t dramatically larger. The Ash Grey color is particularly reminiscent of the 2020 Street Triple RS’ colorway.

At the heart of the Trident 800 is the 798cc Triple, producing a claimed 113.4 horsepower at 10,750 rpm and 61.9 lb-ft of torque at 8,500 rpm. Triumph has gone to great lengths to give the engine both performance and sonic resonance, using a twist-forged crankshaft, forged connecting rods, and a revised airbox and intake setup. The result should be a familiar Triumph soundtrack: a deep growl at low revs that builds into a signature triple howl when pushed – and the sound emanating from both ends is a thing of aural beauty.

Electronics are a strong point for the Trident 800, especially at this price. Ride-by-wire throttle enables three ride modes — Road, Sport, and Rain — each adjusting throttle response and traction control. An IMU provides lean-sensitive traction control and ABS, while a bi-directional quickshifter and cruise control come standard. Everything is displayed on a round 3.5-inch TFT, which also offers Bluetooth connectivity for navigation and audio.

The chassis closely mirrors the Trident 660, with the engine mounted in a tubular steel perimeter frame. Up front, the 800 uses the same 41mm Showa SFF-BP inverted fork with 4.7 inches of travel. Out back, however, the Showa monoshock gets an upgrade, adding adjustable rebound damping in addition to preload – a welcome improvement for riders who want to fine-tune suspension feel. Braking hardware consists of dual four-piston radial-mount calipers squeezing 310mm discs up front and a single-piston rear caliper on a 220mm disc.

On paper, the Trident 800 looks like the motorcycle many riders have been asking Triumph to build: more power and presence than the 660, modern electronics as standard, and styling that avoids the hyper-aggressive edge of the Street Triple. But, as you know, paper doesn’t mean much to us here at this digital pub, so we jetted off to the island of Cyprus for what would be a proper British dust-up in the wet with Triumph’s latest bruiser.

Putting tires to tarmac

Hopping on the Trident 800, one is met with the expectedly neutral ergonomics akin to the 660 that came before it. While I wasn’t able to hop from the 660 to the 800, if memory serves, the 800 feels much the same in this department as the 660. The wide handlebar provides ample leverage, space between the knees is slim, and bend at said joints are none too acute. What did become quickly apparent was just how long the “tank” or fuel tank/airbox cover is from front to back. This means you have very little room to scoot away from the tank before butting up against the passenger seat, which is its own piece and raised enough to stop you from scooting back further. In addition, the slope of the rider’s seat angles you toward said tank cover as well. This lack of room to move around was even more evident once the pace ramped up on our dry blast down the mountain.

Rolling out of town with the bike in Road mode, the linear smooth throttle response was appreciated in our wet environment. Clutch pull is light and shifts are smooth with the quickshifter handling strokes in both directions with aplomb. During our dry rip through the mountains, I switched to Sport mode for a bit, but ended up preferring Road mode’s more subdued throttle map to spoon on the power, which comes on smoothly from below 2,000 rpm before ramping up in the best way after 5,000 rpm. Being heavy-handed in the wet will have you reliant on the aforementioned lean-sensitive TC in the north portion of the revs. After 5k, the engine pulls hard to redline, but does so linearly after the initial ramp up. Power wheelies are effortless in this portion of the powerband.

I found the front brake to offer plenty of power when the anchors were tossed down, but the initial bite at the lever doesn’t offer much feedback. The rear brake is also easy to modulate thanks to the neutral ergos. Since the nice folks from Triumph imported some of their classic British weather for us to sample during our ride, I was happy to see the Tridents shod in Michelin Road 6 rubber which managed traction nicely during the changing conditions.

Not long at all into our ride, the effects of too little preload became painfully obvious as the choppered out feeling caused the bike to try to run wide in our first few corners. Thankfully, cranking in a couple of steps on the shock’s preload got the Trident right as rain and ready to be exploited once we had gotten out of it. At this point the bike felt much more balanced and ready to attack the curves once the sun had come out. I didn’t feel the need to touch the fork’s settings.

Although we only had half a day to push the bike’s limits, it’s easy to see this being a competitive machine in the upper stretches of the middleweight segment. Triumph itself mentioned it had machines the likes of the BMW F900R, Kawasaki Z900, and the venerated Yamaha MT-09 in its crosshairs when developing the Trident 800. I’d agree, the Trident 800 does deserve to be given a look alongside those machines. Perhaps we’re just the publication to do so.

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