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New ST Day 2 (long)



Day 2 for the new Sprint ST was much more enjoyable than Day 1 mainly because I
passed the 100 mile/160 km mark and was able to rev the engine up to 5000 rpm.
I left for my ride early in the morning.  It was unusually cool (57 F/13 C) and
this was a good test of how much protection the Sprint offers.  At 5'10" (177
cm) my head, shoulders, chest and upper arms are in the wind and on such a cool
summer morning I was getting a chill and needed to zip up the vents in my
leather jacket.  However, the engine heat that was annoying during my maiden
voyage was quite welcome!  Hand protection from the wind is good and my hands
were not cold with summer weight gloves.  Still, I will probably investigate
Triumph's optional tall wind screen (and heated grips) for cool and cold weather
riding.

With 250 miles/400 km on the clock, the transmission continues to get smoother
though it's still a little notchy.  The engine's torque is amazing and is
exactly what I wanted my motorcyle to have.  The Sprint has the two main
qualities that I liked about my '88 BMW R100RS -- torque and the fact that it
felt "alive".  The Sprint's triple has far more torque than the BMW and also
feels "alive".  The engine is smooth but you can feel the low amplitude
vibrations while cruising.  I like that!!  Honda's VFR is really fine
motorcycle, but it just feels? sterile, by comparison.

I haven't been able to fully assess the Sprint's handling capabilities since
here on the Great Plains of Kansas, twisty roads are non-existent. But there are
some rural 2-lane roads with some nice sweepers and here the Sprint exhibited
rock solid tracking and was really confidence inspiring.  I'm sure I'll get many
opportunities to see how the bike performs next week on the twisty roads of the
Ozark Mountains in Eureka Springs.  I won't bore anyone with further updates
until after the ST rally, but so far, I'm really pleased with the bike.  Now if
I can just get my body to fully acclimate to the new machine (my wrists and
shoulders are sore!).

A couple of notes:  during my first fuel up, I saw the plastic fuel tank expand
as I heard the tell tale sucking vacuum that indicated that the tank was not
venting properly.  I checked the vent lines as per Eric's excellent FAQ and sure
enough the valve must have been installed backwards.  The wiring harness from
the ignition switch is secured to the ignition assembly with a nylon cable tie,
but there's a lot slack in the harness which seems to be adequate to prevent
chafing from excessive pulling as the bars are moved from lock to lock..
Nevertheless, I'll keep an eye on it and snip the tie if I have any concerns.
The vinyl seat covering is soft, thin and easily scuffed by a boot whilst
throwing a leg over.  I also got stuck behind a hay wagon (it's Kansas!) in a
tiny town.  This required me to ride it first gear between 1500 and 2000 rpm.
The engine surged terribly, but I'm not overly concerned since I will rarely be
riding under those conditions.  Still, I have to wonder why the EFI mapping
isn't as accurate in that part of the rev range.

Question:  are there supposed to be three hole drilled in the rear fender.  My
Sprint has a hole on each side and the rear of the fender towards the edge.  Is
this factory???  If not, I'll need an damn good explanation from my dealer?. and
a new fender!  Thanks in advance!

GG
http://home.att.net/~gggjaguar/GGGJAG.HTM


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