[ST] ride report

["marc Ve" <daytona955.marc@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi All,

I did a 500 km run with the local Triumph RAT on Sunday. There were only 4
Triumphs this time, two ST1050's, the 1050 Speed Triple I borrowed and
Thruxton.

A bunch of other bikes came along, including an 06 ZX10 and a K1200s beemer,
both of which I got a chance to ride because the guys wanted to ride the
Speed Triple.

Here's my two cents worth :

1. Speed Triple: completly amazing bike. I had it for two days including the
run, and took it back through the traffic this morning to swap for my
Daytona. The more I rode it the more it grew on me- I would love to have one
parked next to my Daytona.

For commuting, blasting through tight, twisty stuff, or riding below 140km/h
its fantastic. It feels light and maneuverable on the roll, very smooth,
great brakes, huge torque and shortish gearing which means huge grin factor.
For those who like to wheelie this thing is the answer. Its very easy to
ride -no nasty characteristics at all.

The only real downside is zero wind protection. For long runs at speed its
just far too tiring.

2. ZX10 : Mind blowing power and evil handling when the power comes in at
full shout. It makes my Daytona 955 look like a scooter. I did over 100kms
on the bike, including two small bumpy high speed mountain passes, and a top
end run on the R318. This thing is very very scary: I whimped out at 270
with the bike still pulling like my Daytona does at 180/200 . The
acceleration is so intense your brain struggles to process what is
happening.

I found it impossible to corner with the revs up, and ended up short
shifting to keep it under control. Having a bike lift its front wheel
exiting a 150 km/h corner in third is not fun -its just stupid.

This bike is too light, has too much top end power and a riding position
that is useless anywhere outside a track. The instrumentation is diabolical
-you simply cant read the rev counter unless the sun is behind you. I hated
the bike and it scared the S#$t out of me!

3. BMW K1200S: I only did 40kms on this. Feels smooth, very powerful, very
comfortable. Pretty much what an ST wants to be when it grows up - without
the three cylinder character of the ST. Handles very sweet, and awesome
stopping power. It takes a while to get used to the odd indicator swiches. I
was very impressed- this thing is in a class of its own. I want one when I
grow up! (40 now, so dont know when that will be...............).

 Cheers

 Marc

Cape Town
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