Long-Term Triumph Street Twin: Lever and Mirror Mods

I've been a fan of café racers from the very start of my motorcycling years—simple, elegant design and torquey engines always got me—and I can't help but lean that way now with the Street Twin. Bar-end mirrors seem to go hand in hand with that design ethos, and a pair of Rizoma Class Retro mirrors ($232; rizoma.com) was delivered among many other items from the Italian company. I opted for black brushed aluminum, picking up on the Twin's silver paint and blacked-out engine cases.

The mirrors are mostly an aesthetic upgrade from the stock antennae-like appendages but—with about the same glass size—provide comparable rearward visibility. Two things strike me as odd: the blue-tinted glass and the limited lateral adjustability of the mirrors on their stems. Turns out Rizoma uses the same anti-glare glass as Audi, which gives it that blue hue. The tint takes a little getting used to but otherwise isn’t a problem. Sometimes the mirrors are difficult to adjust, but I’d rather they were a little challenging to move than loosey-goosey. Aside from that, I’m enjoying the upgrade, both on and off the bike.

The folks at Rizoma were eager to share a smattering of accessories for the Street Twin, and a pair of "3D" Brake and Clutch Levers ($322) also made it into the mix. These machined-aluminum pieces fold up or down, reducing the risk of it snapping off in a crash. A black-machined billet Front Brake Fluid Tank ($62) further helps clean up the cockpit view; I don't know anyone who likes stock clear plastic fluid reservoirs. The Rizoma additions certainly class up the bike, but they come at a steep cost. Oof.

To round out the upgrades, I threw on a pair of Triumph’s Brown Barrel Grips ($35; triumphmotorcycles.com). My original intention with the Street Twin was to turn it into more of a scrambler, and while certain parts have proved elusive to achieving that goal (ahem, exhaust) these grips are a gentle nod to that original aspiration. The ribs offer more grip and comfort than the stockers, and the brown is a nice change from black.

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