50.000 km on a Triumph Sprint ST

Well, I’m almost there…almost 50.000 km done on my Triumph Sprint ST. I bought this bike 3 years ago (February 2007) and it has never let me down since then. I’m a regular driver who uses his bike mainly (almost exclusively) for professional means. During the weekend I don’t have a lot of opportunities to go drive in the beautiful region of Huy and the Ardennes that are not so far from where I live. Just to tell you that I’m not the classic weekend warrior who is polishing his bike from morning till noon and then goes for long rides through senic landscapes (I wished).

I have chosen the Triumph Sprint ST for several reasons and I would like to share them with you so that it might help if you ever have to make a choice for a bike that will at the same time be used for professional home-work traffic but that can also be used for good leisure trips. My main criteria at the time where :

• Budget
• Test-Drive
• Reliability

 

Budget

I had a budget of around 14.000 € all in at the time. I was looking at the Suzuki V Strom 1000 if I recall correctly, the BMW  F800 GT and by accident also the Triumph Sprint ST 2007. Both Suzuki and the Triumph fitted without any problem within the budget, even with all the options I wanted (heathed handles, ABS and an alarm system). The BMW was another story, the R 1100 RT was more or less what I wanted but way out of budget and the F800 GT fitted just barely in my budget. But hey, it’s BMW so I kept him on the list for the test-drives. I liked all bikes for their looks but the BMW and the Triumph stood out there. The V-Strom is off course another type of bike (more like the BMW GS series or the Tiger from Triumph) and I felt that the Suziki would probably loose it when it came to looks but budgetwise it was good value so he stayed in the race. The Triumph Sprint ST 2007 was offered with an impressive extra pack of options and gear. Included in the price tag of 12.000 € I had ABS, a higher windscreen, heated handles, a full set of cases including a top case, a leather tankbag, a special gel seat and a complete all weather protection cover. Quite difficult to beat at the time…

 

Test-drive

I did a test-drive with the F800 GT (a trip from Brussels to Liège at -6 °C (it was january 2007 when I did the test-drives). I remember that the bike was nice to drive but to light to do a daily 160 km way and back trip from home to work and back. It was also noisy at high speeds and the last thing I remember was that I thought the handlebar looked very light. Something the V-Strom also had (it made me think of a bicycle). In short, I liked the looks but still thought that it was a bit expensive for what it had to offer.

The V-Strom was a very nice experience. It drove itself, was very easy to maneuver and it was a completely different experience than the BMW.  It was however not what I was looking for because I preferred the more sporty style of the BMW.

And then the Sprint ST…well…impossible to get a test-drive. There aren’t that many sold and none of the dealers was able to arrange a testdrive for me! Crapperdecrap…that was a major bummer and although I was able to see the bike in all it’s splendor on the annual car-show in Brussels I was amazed to find out that NOWHERE in Belgium a testdrive was possible. At TCMoto in Zaventem they were clearly annoyed with the situation but Triumph only provides test-bikes to the dealers of certain models and the Triumph Sprint ST wasn’t one of them. You can imagine that this didn’t really gave me a lot of confidence. Why buy a bike that apparently nobody wants (that’s how I interpreted the situation at that time)… The BMW came back as solid candidate…

Reliability

Well, ahem…I think here I made my final decision. In the 2007 Motorrad Endurance test that came out just at the time when I was making my choice the Sprint ST beat the BMW K1200 S and 12 other bikes in a test where all those bikes drove 50.000 km and then were disassembled to see how well the bike’s condition was. I mean…he had beaten the BMW k1200 S!!! A bike that costed almost twice as much!!. The V-Ström and the F800 GT were not tested (they were not considered as an equal to the set of bikes that were tested). At this point I lost interest in the BMW and decided to order the Sprint without ever having driven the thing. The test totally convinced me that Triumph would probably won’t let me down and this together with the budget-issue helped me to make the final decision. A lot of my friends told me I was crazy to order a bike without a test drive but I took the risk and never regretted it since.

3 years of bliss

During the three years I NEVER had any engine issue, Maintenance costs are there every 10.000 km and next to the usual wear-and-tear I can’t remember any unexpected cost. The biggest cost I had was the replacement of the chain at 30.000 km. The experienced driver might notice here that 30.000 km with 1 chain is a rather long distance but given my driving style this is quite normal. I do most of the time long monotonous drives over the highway and I accelerate when it is needed, not when my testosteron tells me (not always true :-). The Triumph’s 127 hp 3-cylinder engine is a pleasure for the ear and even now it still has the same special humming sound when I crank it up to 8000 t/min as when I bought it, without gliches and very smooth.

I have driven this bike in extremely harsh conditions such as very heavy rainfall, extreme cold (-10 °C must have been my record but I will gladly admin I will NEVER do that again, there are limits and my gear is not adapted to such Nordic conditions) but also when it was very hot. This brings me to one of the things that you might consider as a negative point. When it is hot the motor will start cooling the engine and if you are crazy enough to drive with bare legs (don’t ever do that!!!) you will probably get burned by the hot air that will come from the engine. This is not an issue anymore with the current Sprints but I remember that during the summer I sometimes wished that the hot air wouldn’t blow on my legs. Just remember it if you want to buy a Sprint 2007 model and like driving around naked.

Because I do long distances every day the driving-comfort is quite important. My version of the Sprint has still the low handlebar so my position is quite “hunched” over and I often looked with envy at the BMW R1100 RT drivers who look like they are sitting in an easy chair. Also the windshield I have is quite low and although it offers good protection I wished it offered more shielding from the wind. The handlebar is replaced with a higher version on the new models and there is a bigger windshield as an option but I’m afraid it will kill the looks of the bike. I realize that the Sprint is a Sports-Tourer and pushing it in the direction of the more midlife-crisis like bike that the 1100 RT is might kill the beautiful bike it is. This being said I have to admit that I considered  selling the Sprint and replace it with an 1100 RT (now the R 1200 RT btw). So I organised a test-drive with the local BMW-dealer. Feeling slightly like a traitor I left my Sprint at the BMW-dealership and took of for my classic test-drive (a boring 80 km drive from Brussels to Liège over the E40). For those laughing their socks of now : if you want to use a bike like I do every day : try driving in a straight line for 45 minutes at constant speed and see how you feel after the drive, if suicidal impulses created by absolute boredom are not present : you have a winner. Anyhow, there I was, king of the hill with the stereo at full volume (perfect sound even at 120 km/h, amazing), cruise control activated, comfort suspension activated, windshield completely in top position…not bad, not bad. The engine didn’t really charm me…accelaration is OK but not amazing, but hey… I felt like a 55 year old geezer who thinks he is 25 but who is actually 35… BMW does that to you you know. So far so good and the next day I drove the bike back to Brussels for the same thrilling drive (80 km of numbness).  I was thrilled to see that the temperature was again sub zero (-2°) so I could test the heated handlebars and the heated seat. This is something the Sprint doesn’t have… a hot behind is however guaranteed because the exhaust passes right under the seat :-)). Anyhow, there I was driving with 110 decibels comming out of stereo, warm hands and extremely warm behind. Reving the engine up to 150 km/h I was getting really exited about the 1100 RT. The lack of sportive driving sensations was compensated by the sheer luxury of a cruise controlled, heated, audio-filled drive. I was slowly falling into a nice slumber when suddenly…the radio went dead ans stayed dead until I arrived at the dealership. Aparently the fuses can’t handle combined heating and stereo…when this happens the build-in  radio and CD-player shuts down. Ahum, then why pay 20.000 €?? Back to the Sprint ST and byebye BMW.

I already mentioned a few negative points of the bike, most of them are solved in the new versions of the Sprint ST but one of the elements I really have mixed feelings about are the panniers included with the Sprint ST. The panniers are standard now and you have the possibility to add a top-case but I have always found them a bit odd. They just don’t blend in with the whole bike. I think this is a personal issue because I met a couple of people who liked them. Anyhow, the quality of the cases is OK although the straps from the top case to hold the lid almost immediately broke and I never cared to replace them. The panniers look huge but they can’t contain a lot of luggage. Because I drive a lot through traffic-jams they are pretty useless to me but with just the top-case the Sprint looks a bit ridiculous (side note : My wife loves the top case because it gives her a sense of extra protection when she is a passenger).

Another issue I had were the rear view mirrors. I have the optional painted mirrors (not the standard black ones) and I always found that they wiggled a lot during rides (a bit shaky, as if they weren’t fixed well enough). At this stage my left-mirror has come so loose that I have to add a small piece of metal in the joint where the mirror tilts sideways (comes in handy when driving through very narrow spots).

You already have heard some of the strong points (endurance, price, reliability, standard equipment) but there is more and they make me happily forget the minor negative issues I had with the bike. The performance of the bike is stunning, not in terms of top speed (although 270 km/h is not really slow) but more in terms of the torque Triumphs gets out of the 1050 cc inline Triple. The same engine is also used on the Tiger and the Speed Triple if I’m not misatken and I can understand why, it’s a perfect all-rounder. If you want to know more about the performance and caracteristics I advise to read this article : http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/257/743/Motorcycle-Article/2007-Triumph-Sprint-ST-Bike-Test.aspx, I think it’s pretty complete.

Another thing is the sound…Triple cylinders produce a rare sound, very calm and humming untill 4000 rpm but it roars at 7500 rpm without reaching those girlish screaming sounds the Japanese bikes often have at high rpm’s. “Adult”, that’s how I would describe it… The mature, calm but if needed amazing triple cylinder sound of Triumph.

And now I’m wondering…3 years of bliss, 50.000 km…what will be next? I heard rumors of a Sprint GT that will come out in the near future (some pictures already leaked) and it seems they addressed some of the issues (side cases – exhaust under the seat). If the pictures are correct then I might add some extra k’s on my Sprint and wait for the new model. I’m a bit afraid for the pricing. My model was really well priced but I saw that the 2010 model is now priced at 13490 € (ABS-version). Anyhow, big thanks to Triumph for making this bike and many thanks to Dirk and his crew from TCMoto in Zaventem because they took great care of the bike during the last three years.