Hoots Mon - it's a Triumph of engineering!

["Ritchie, Norman W." <Norman.Ritchie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As I boldly venture forth for the first time onto this ST digest forum, I
can only request that you be gentle and patient with me as I place forth my
Triumph ramblings! I do go on a bit, so if you have the attention span of a
small child then use the page down key now!

Originally from Aberdeen, Scotland and now living in Tulsa, OK for the past
two years I can state that I do not miss the Scottish motorcycling scene.
Sleet/rain/hail/rain/freezing fog/rain/snow/rain - yuk! I do not envy the ST
rider that contributes from Aberdeen! Occasionally it does get nice weather,
but did I tell you it rains?!!

Anyway, since the weather in OK is excellent and allows nearly all year
round riding, I will never complain about the weather being too hot. I kinda
like sweating a wee bit and the wind causing a cooling effect. Unlike the
idiots around here wearing no helmet, shorts, flip-flops and a vest/tank top
on a nutter sports bike at 90 mph. Oh, but they do look soooo cool - I think
not! 

Anyway, onto my motorcycling bitty. I bought a Yamaha Royal Star in 1997
(please, no sniggering!) and rode it occasionally for the next two years. I
refer to the monstrosity as the Snooze-Star (SS); looked nice and shiny but
slow, uncomfortable, handled like my ex-wife and was incredibly boring. A
real bitch to clean as well! Since my "ex" never "allowed" me to buy a
sports bike (too fast, you'll kill yourself, etc..) I left the court-house
with the divorce papers in my sweaty little palms and headed directly to the
Triumph dealer. 

	I want that (ST) and want to get rid of this (SS), I cried! 
	Certainly Sir, he replied, would you like luggage with that? 
	Well, why not indeed! 

Took out the demo-ST for a spin and instantly fell in love with it. Why on
earth did I waste 7 years of motorcycling on cruiser bikes (Virago's, Royal
Star - please, I said no sniggering) when there were such gorgeous creatures
as the ST lurking around.

Well, luckily the lobotomy was reversible and I am now a proud owner of  a
99 Red ST (the only colo(u)r to have - all the other colors must be black
and blue by having the Red ones constantly whip there behinds so often -
chortle, chortle!!)

I have some interesting ramblings/stories about my 3000 miles on the ST, but
will only go into detail if people are really interested (near death
experience in the Ozarks due to a false neutral, overtaking an unmarked
Sheriff on double yellows, etc..) 

My comments below are on some things that have been cropping up on the
digest recently and wanted to put in my US$0.02, or ha-penny's worth!

Luggage - hard luggage is excellent and so is the tank bag. I think I had
the tank bag on backwards based on other people's comments. I have the rain
cover (narrow part) to the rear as I can rest on while I am riding, but the
bag does inflate with the wind entering the zips! I'll reverse it and see
what happens. Have noticed the luggage does cause a wee bit of instability
at 120 mph. Did I say that out loud? Not that I have ever gone this fast of
course, er.. It was a friend of mine, er.. it was next door neighbor's dog,
er.. .never mind. Was fully loaded on a recent trip (tank bag, two hard bags
& tent) and the bike handled brilliantly at speeds up to 110.

False neutral - I experience a false neutral occasionally between 5 & 6
gears (up and down). Has anyone else experienced this and if so, what is the
problem or remedy?

Wiring harness - My wiring harness melted after it was returned from the
first service and fitting of the alarm. I thought it was the fault of the
mechanic and was not impressed, but I have heard a vague mention of a melted
harness in the digest. Has anyone else had this problem? It was the rear
brake/turn signal/horn circuit that melted into oblivion and chewed through
10A fuses like Tic-tacs! I wonder if this a virus which can be traced back
to the wonderful British Lucas (Lord of Darkness) car electrical systems of
the 70's?

Fuel gauge - mine works very well, thank you very much! (famous last words!)

Engine noise - I started to hear the tappets clicking away like a bevy of
knitting circle women at their Reader's Digest annual meeting, even at 60-70
with a full helmet! I'm not sure if this was the infamous valve clearance
issue rearing its ugly head or just to combination of whispery stock can and
the thinner synthetic oil. Any comments anyone? (I am having the race can
fitted to give me a bit more oomph and roar and to blow away a friend who
has a 99 Buell which is surprisingly fast. A sports Harley? Isn't that an
oxymoron?!)

Looks - I think it looks gorgeous and have orgasms just thinking about it.
(No wonder I'm single!!)

Colour/Color - Of course Red for such a gorgeous creature as the ST. Just
ask Ferrari!!

Wobbly mirrors - why would I want to watch Harley's and Black/Blue ST's in
my mirrors anyway?

Fairing - not had mine melted, as far as I know. Even after a 12 hour ride
through Missouri in 90-100 degree heat.

Rideability - I did 1300 miles in 3 days and was amazed at how comfortable
the beast was. Only problems were numb hands and stiff knees, but that is to
be expected from a high revving machine, easily prevented by stretching
during riding. I could only go 100 miles in the SS before I had to stop for
fuel & cramp, but the ST can get me to 200-250 before I need to stop. What a
machine! I lurve it!

Dealer - My Triumph dealer is very helpful and knowledgeable - he is a small
concern run by enthusiasts. The only problem I have is that he is short
staffed on the mechanic side and the jobs take ages to be completed,
sometimes slipping by several days/weeks/months/decades/eons. If you know of
any Triumph mechanics who would like to work in good ole Tulsa, OK, call
Atlas cycles!!

Brakes - After coming from the SS, I find the brakes phenomenal! I even have
difficulty keeping my arms locked when applying full front brakes - maybe
that's because I'm a big girl's blouse and have arm muscles reminiscent of
Pee Wee Herman?

Two-up riding - I have had female passengers on the SS and the ST and both
preferred the ST for comfort and riding pleasure. This I found amazing as
the SS was the cruiser with a back-rest, etc.. and the ST is more a sports
thang! Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for this as my arms and legs don't
reach the controls when I sit on the back! But as most females say: Hear me
now, believe me later!

I think that's most of my rambling out of my system for the moment, I hope I
didn't bore too many folks out there. To sum-up, I think the ST is a
wonderful creation which has had a few niggles, but my love of the bike and
the Triumph name overcomes these!! 

I wish I had been to the rally, but the ST was in the shop (boo hoo) for
bolt recall, new harness & race can fitting. Hopefully get it back this
week.

If anyone in the OK area fancies getting together for some trips, let me
know as I got this bike for touring and it is a pleasure to go riding on it
for long distances through the scenic US country! (Eureka Springs is very
reminiscent of home!)

Until next time, Triumph fanz....

Norm. 
Scotsman in OK (not quite the same ring as Englishman in NY, but there ye
go!)
99 Sprint ST 
Devil Red (as in eeevil!)
Haven't got a really cool name for it yet - any suggestions?


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