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RE: [ST] Sprint ST Trip Report



Rick:

So what do you really think about the stock seat on the ST?

Eric

'00 ST Blue (the babe magnet color) with only a 500+ mile day.

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Rich
Hartwick
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2001 4:16 AM
To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ST] Sprint ST Trip Report


Fellow Digesters, Lend me Your Ears:

I traded in my 96 Trophy 900 in the beginning of March for a
00 Sprint ST (Thanks
Lisa and Rich White for the encouragement), but with the
snow had little chance to
ride.  We live in Upstate New York, about an hour south of
Syracuse.   A week ago
last Sat my son got an acceptance at Florida State in
Tallahassee Florida, and
wanted to visit, so being a good father, I said why don't I
ride you down on the new
ST to visit, and he being a good Son said, "Cool".  I had
only managed 400 miles of
break - in on the new bike, but since the timing didn't work
out, I could not
arrange a stop at Howell's on the way down for the 500 mile
service.  Instead, I
called them, and told them I would change the oil and filter
myself to the Triumph
4T oil and filter, then proceed on the trip, which I did.
Howell's, by the way, is
one great shop, and I bought my bike nearly 250 miles away
with them due mainly to
their excellent service and reputation.

I installed the luggage rack I had ordered, (moderate pain)
late Sat night, then we
left, 2 up, with a 50L Givi top box and panniers fully
loaded, Sunday morning, once
the temps got to nearly 34 deg F, with a light (miserable)
rain.  We made the 1300
mile trip down in 2 days, stopping at Knoxville Tenn (to
visit another possible
college prospect), proceeding through western Tenn then
Atlanta, averaging a about
650 miles per day.  We spent the afternoon at Tallahassee
(where we both loved the
University - he decided to enroll), then left the next
morning at 10 after sleeping
in, making only 400 miles that day through Georgia
backroads, and staying near
Columbia South Carolina.  The next morning, we got in a full
ride, managing about 70
miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, then finally making it home
at 3:30 AM, with 807
miles for the days ride.

The overall trip was wonderfully, and brutal at times.  The
last day's ride of 800+
miles (and the whole trip home) was one of intense pain on
the stock seat.  However,
the bike's performance was flawless.  On the interstates, we
always settled in at
80-85 mph (indicated - probably 70-75 real) with rock stable
riding.  I had a
nightmare ride the first 50 miles out, being forced all over
the road in gusting
winds, until I realized I had not increased the rear preload
for 2 up riding.  A
rest-stop and screwdriver increased both the rear preload
and rebound, and after
that, absolute handling bliss for the next 2600 miles.  The
engine is a work of art,
and the  handling is absolutely stable under all conditions,
including crosswinds
and roaring semi - trucks.  We averaged well over 45 mpg,
with highs of 51 and 54
miles per gallon (this is with 2 up, fully loaded - both
panniers and topbox, at
close to 80 mph).  The engine ran perfectly at all times,
from the cold, to 100 deg
F in Florida near sea level, to 34 deg in the Pa mountains
at night.  Amazing.  The
handling was better than the Trophy in crosswinds and
passing trucks, although with
the huge extra weight, in-town maneuvering was a handfull.
I didn't even think
about bothering running Deal's Gap with such a load.  I
enjoyed being "in the wind"
with the shorter screen.  After the trip, I would not  trade
the stock screen for a
higher one.  I was never uncomfortable in my wrists, and
except for my butt, was in
nearly total comfort.  Did I mention that my butt hurt a
lot?

My compliments on the bike are pervasive.  This is one
awesome machine.  Period.

On the complaint side, I have 2.  First, I lost my rear
brake somewhere down by
Virginia after I over-lubed the chain with junk lube.  It
flew all over, including
the rear disk, which should have a shield, being so close to
the chain.  Nothing
lost though, as I only used the rear brake for in-town work
at stoplights, and
managed to glide through most of them.  We stopped in
Georgia to buy some brake
cleaner, which helped.  We hit some pretty bad fog in the
Pennsylvania mountains -
at one point it was a total whiteout with an accident and
fire in the other lane,
but our time wasn't up yet, and nobody decided to stop in
front of us.

The seat however, is another matter.  I believe the
"engineer (masochist)" who
designed the windscreen on the Trophy was relegated to
designing the seat on the
ST.  I was in agony within 1000 miles in the front, and my
son was in agony at 100
miles on the rear.  We both contemplated putting boards with
nails on top of the
seat to relieve the pain, since stopping at rest areas
convinced us raw boards were
better than the stock seat.   However, that said, we did
manage over 800 miles on
the last day, although I fear I may have damaged the
sensitivity of my butt, perhaps
permanently.  What consequences it will have in Life, I will
never know.

Anyways, the ST was superior to the Trophy in reduced wind
noise, in body comfort
(but for the seating - my wrists or back never hurt), and
the heated grips should be
standard equipment on all bikes.  The gas mileage was
phenomenal, and except for
sounding like a Massey-Furgeson tractor at idle, the motor
is flawless.  After
break-in, the motor did not burn a drop of oil in the 2,600
mile trip.  The
transmission was tight at first, but within a 1,000 miles or
so, became like
butter.  The stock Bridgestones, despite being the tire we
all love to hate, did not
square off significantly over the entire trip, and gave good
grip on the
backroads.   However, I have to admit, one reason I took the
trip was I couldn't
care less about the stock tires being worn out on the
Interstate riding, and kind of
wanted them gone so I could get new tires afterwards.

I absolutely love this machine.  The Trophy was wonderfull,
except for the
top-heaviness and the wind noise.  The ST is nearly perfect,
except for the seat.
OTOH, both my son and I felt, when we finally got home that
last night, that our
butts were slowly becoming numb and perhaps the stock seat
was actually comfortable,
or perhaps we were just entering Nirvana, and had much
better riding in front of
us.  I am not sure.  I kidded my son though though, that if
we wanted to bother
riding a few more hours, we could get some kind of Iron Butt
award or something,
although he should get a 500+ mile credit for managing the
pillion seat.  Did I
mention yet that the stock seat was uncomfortable on long
trips?


I would not trade the ST back for the Trophy, or any other
machine I could thing of,
although the Trophy might have been a better machine for the
ride in some respects.
The differences are not huge, and both are fully competent
machines.  I have to
admit I am not quite as emotionally drawn to the Sprint as I
was to the Trophy, but
then again, I don't have to wear earplugs with the ST.  Kind
of like a second
marriage.  Triumph should be congratulated for building such
a competent machine.
This bike is a sleeper, which fully merits any "Bike of the
Year" awards.  I would
not trade this machine for anything, except perhaps a
feather pillow.


Rick Hartwick
South New Berlin, NY
2000 Sprint ST
(Red, Red and More Red - Tornado Red)

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