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F_skinner
| | Posted on Sunday, October 10, 2010 - 12:23 pm: | 
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Thanks FMJ, your opinion means much. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Sunday, October 10, 2010 - 08:12 pm: |
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The Sporty is gone as of this morning! As soon as it was gone I had two more people call about it. It's for sale for two months and the only response I got was from scammers. All of a sudden everyone wants a Sportster on the same weekend???
My Triumph shop is closed on Monday, so I will talk to them Tuesday about and extended ride, hopefully on Wednesday. |
Dynasport
| | Posted on Monday, October 11, 2010 - 08:22 am: |
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This is a little off topic, but I wanted to comment on Triumph. I really wish HD would take a page from their book. Like F_Skinner said, they have a really diverse lineup of bikes. If you want something styled like a classic bike they have the Bonneville and variant lineup. If you want a cruiser they have that. If you want a huge power cruiser, they have that. If you want a naked bike, they have that, if you want a sport tourer, they have that, if you want a sport bike, they have that.
Harley only seems to be able to succeed at selling baggers and Sportsters right now. They can't or won't diversify their lineup to include other types of bikes. If it doesn't look like something HD made years ago, it doesn't sell. Their marketing and mentality was not compatible with Buell at all. Yet Triumph seems to have vastly different bikes coexisting just fine, as do several other manufacturers for that matter. With HD's size and clout, they could be so much more. It is so disappointing.
I am so glad I have my XT. Right now it is about the perfect bike for me. I only worry about dealer support and parts availability. But I put more miles on my XT this year than I have ever put on a bike before and I hope to ride even more next year.
(Message edited by DynaSport on October 11, 2010) |
Sifo
| | Posted on Monday, October 11, 2010 - 08:54 pm: |
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Dan I think your comments are right in line with what this thread was about. I have to say that I agree with your assessment of the situation.
As for the 2011 Sprint ST/GT my wife actually got a mailing from Triumph that showed both bikes being available for 2011. I'm not really sure what to make of all of this. I'll try to remember to ask at the dealer tomorrow. |
F_skinner
| | Posted on Monday, October 11, 2010 - 10:55 pm: |
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Here is a good review of the GT.
http://krnewsroom.blogspot.com/2010/05/2011-triump h-sprint-gt.html |
Firebolt020283
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 01:33 pm: |
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just curious but what is the difference between the gt and the st. The only thing I can figure is the size of the bags. |
F_skinner
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 01:58 pm: |
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It is in the link I posted. |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 02:59 pm: |
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I'm liking the Spring GT even more as I read more about it. The only concern I have is the suspension seems a little lack luster. Many reviews describe the steering as "heavy". It seems to be improved by increasing the rear preload, but then you're near the top of the range, bottom the shock out more because of it and have to deal with not having adjustable rebound.
Time (and a test ride) will tell. |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 03:33 pm: |
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On another note, worth mentioning...
Kawasaki has come out with a Ninja 1000 - essentially a Z1000 with a fairing. Relaxed riding position and hard bags and a trunk as optional equippment. Something to keep an eye on. |
F_skinner
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 03:41 pm: |
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You have to admit, the selection is getting better. The Sport Touring market, in my opinion, has always been a tough one but it seems the big bike companies are responding to an bigger desire. Not as big as the other markets yet.
Mark, I will be real curious to hear your and Sifo's opinion of the test rides. Maybe I do not ride it too the limit so I cannot tell the differences in bad or good suspension. I did stop on my test ride and tried to dial it in better. It felt better but if it actually increased or changed the handling characteristics I do not know. It never felt as fast as my S2 but that is due to many things. I was never that good at getting suspensions dialed in.
Frank |
Danger_dave
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 05:02 pm: |
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Early models has Kayaba suspension and were under-sprung.
Late model units have Showa suspension and are sweet-as. |
Xl1200r
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 06:04 pm: |
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Nice. I'm looking forward to a test ride. Can't buy anything now, but I'm interested in how it compares to my S3T. |
Sifo
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 06:11 pm: |
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Stopped at the dealer this afternoon. Extended test ride is set for tomorrow, weather permitting. They are calling for a chance of AM showers.
I did ask about the ST. I guess the small print in the brochures says "not available in all markets". The US is one of the markets where the ST will no longer be available. 
Here's hoping for dry roads tomorrow. |
Spectrum
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 11:49 pm: |
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Here's my 08 ST. Not nearly as much fun as my 1125R, but much more comfortable for long hauls.
 |
Sifo
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - 06:53 pm: |
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Took about a 50 mile ride on the GT today. Some expressway, lots of surface streets, played some in an empty parking lot.
Let's start with what I didn't really like... At above about 70 mph the wind noise was terrible. I think this was a combination of the bike, my dimensions and my helmet. The bottom of the helmet was riding right in the boundary of clean air and turbulent air behind the fairing. Stretching up a bit cured it. Tucking just a bit made it worse. The suspension is just a bit soft for sport riding IMO. Felt great for comfort though. Aggressive riders may well find themselves looking for upgrade options. I found my foot position a bit awkward on the peg. If I tried to get my foot to the inside of the peg my heal was hard against the heal guard. I was wearing work boots and this may be better wearing a MC touring boot. It felt fine with my foot just a bit outboard, and this would only be an issue in pretty extreme cornering. A gear indicator would be nice, especially considering I wasn't used to the bike, I never seemed to know what gear I was in after a few gear changes. Basically wearing earplugs when running at extended expressway speeds should fix all but my pettiest nit-pics.
Compared to my XB12Ss this thing is a big bike. The instrument cluster is much farther forward than I'm used to. I could flat foot the bike just about exactly like my XB. Reach to the pegs felt much like my XB also. The bars are much farther forward and much narrower though. It was about all the forward lean my whiplash abused neck will tolerate for any length of time. Overall the position was quite comfortable though. The saddle was terrific. After an hour and a half I had no hints of pressure spots that would cause problems, and there's nothing to heat the saddle up. There is a whole lot of room to move forward and aft, and I expect a passenger should find plenty of room too. The fairing provides great wind protection. Other than the noise issue I mentioned, I had zero issues with wind buffeting. The mirrors give a very good view, with just a little bit of vibration spoiling the view.
At high speeds it felt quite a bit heavier on the steering inputs than my XB. That's not surprising given that it has narrower bars and it is heavier. Still it was plenty nimble to slice your way through traffic if that's your style. I rode the Sprint ST a bit a couple years ago and seem to remember some buzzyness in the bars. The GT had less buzzyness than I remember from the ST. My top speed for the ride was 94.1 mph and got to that speed with no problems at all. Cruising at 75 mph was just an easy cruise speed for this bike. You could gear it down for better off the line performance and still be fine on the expressways. I didn't try any hole shots, but it gets into the power quickly in 1st gear and is happy to rev. It actually accelerated like a very refined XB, but kept right on going way past the XB's redline. This engine really has range. The transmission felt top notch, just as I've come to expect from Triumph.
Braking took a bit more effort than my XB, but was still a two finger job. I tried locking up the rear and could really feel the feedback from the ABS unit, while the bike felt as stable as could be. I just didn't have what it takes to purposefully lock up the front on a $13K+ bike. It just goes against all my instincts.
I hit a big empty parking lot to try some figure eights for side to side transitions. This is where I felt the size of the bike compared to my XB. I've actually done some of this in this very parking lot on my XB lately playing with body positions. Hanging off in a turn felt very natural to me on this bike. I pushed just enough to get feed back from the tires that slippage was starting. The long wheelbase made it feel more stable than my XB at that point. Transitions to the opposite direction was not as snappy though.
Bottom line is that I really enjoyed my test ride. I think that if I had to sum it up in one word it would be "pleasant". If I had to hammer my way across Iowa and Nebraska on my way to the Colorado mountains, this bike would be a great choice. I expect riding 2 up would be very good too. If I lived right in an area like Deal's Gap and seldom took a passenger it wouldn't be my first choice though. Overall I think they hit the mark quite well without breaking the bank too badly. |
F_skinner
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 - 07:18 pm: |
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Good right up Sifo, I found the bike actually handled better than a tuber but it cannot touch a XB in that department. The brakes where better for me as well but like you I think they are better on the XB. I could feel the longer wheel base but not to the point that it bothered me.
Count me in for NOT testing the ABS brakes. I was just scared to do that to someone else's bike. (even if it was the dealers).
If I had to hammer my way across Iowa and Nebraska on my way to the Colorado mountains, this bike would be a great choice.Yes, that was exactly what I was thinking.
I did not find the wind or noise like you did. I know there is a higher windshield in the works or at least on the web site.
I am really glad they did not load the bike with a lot of unnecessary stuff like some of the others. There is a lot to be said for "less is more."
I am still debating on getting this bike. There are many things I like about it.
I am sitting in a campground in Amarillo Texas heading to BTF so I have a little time to think about it.
Thanks |
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