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[St] Maritime 06 ST Ride Review - Part One



Hi folks,
 
(Editorial Note: I had to break this into two sections since the first post attempt was relegated to the “too long” discard pile.)
 
Well, I have recovered enough for the abuse of my week-long dash to the Maritimes (about a 3000 km round trip from my home in Ottawa, Ontario) to give you a more in-depth ride impression of my 06 ST.
 
To put my commentary in perspective, I am a long-legged 5’ 10”rider and this is the 12th motorcycle I have owned in the past 30 yrs.  I briefly road-raced in my younger years so I appreciate a bike with sporty intentions, however, for my last few bikes I have been looking for a bike I can ride all day since I no longer “tour” the tracks regularly.
 
With the criteria of “semi-retiring” my high mileage 93 Yamaha GTS to the back of the garage for only the occasional ride, I bought my current ‘06 Sprint ST with the intent of making it my main ride.  It was purchased from a local dealer who was offering a deep factory discount purchase incentive, part of which was the “free” saddlebags.
 
Over an eight day period, I rode the first two days east-bound with an old GTSer friend of mine (who was riding his FJR1300), partied for the next four days in Halifax and Saint John, then spent the last two days riding home.  Eastbound, we split the ride distance into two equal segments staying off the interstates.  On the return run, I flew solo with the first day being an easy 350 km jaunt from Halifax , Nova Scotia to Saint John , New Brunswick on a four lane highway.  Still scenic but rather low key.  The second day was an 1100 km (~700 mi) butt burner wherein I left Saint John just before 7 AM and pulled into my driveway just shy of 9:30 PM – 15 ½ hrs of riding with the only stops being for gas and bathroom breaks plus one lunch stop.  All of the last day’s riding was done on two lane backroads through Maine , New Hampshire and Vermont (basically retracing my steps eastward). The old Airline highway in Maine and the White Mountains in Vermont
 are lovely rides, but for my ride, they necessitate going through endless small towns and 30 mph speed zones so the average speed was somewhat subdued.  The best part was that the weather was very cooperative. Both down and back the skies were clear and the temps were in the low 20’s all day making for a very comfortable ride. The only piece of rain I met up with was last 45 mins of riding through the Akwasasne Reserve in New York State as I approached the US-Cda border.  My trusty bright yellow Aerostich Roadcrafter kept me warm and dry throughout.
 
What I like about the Sprint first and foremost is the nice combo of power and torque of the big triple motor. I have always had a fond spot for three cylinder machines as my first new bike was a ‘78 Yamaha XS750.  There is a load of torque from around 3 grand on the tach (below 3K results in what I call the “marbles in the coffee can” sensation) and the power builds nicely all the way to red line.  There is some vibration throughout the chassis but I do not find it objectionable. Steering is pleasantly light and predictable in the corners (I hope to get out for a track day next summer to really check out the ST’s high speed handling).
 
One small feature that pleasantly surprised me when I was riding my friend’s FJR with him behind me on my ST was that the high mirror-mounted turn signals were very visible to oncoming traffic when the turn signal is flashing.  The separation distance out and up from the headlights and the body of the fairing is what makes this work so well (being a part-time ride instructor at a local school gives me a greater appreciation of safety elements).  This is a nice touch!
 
While on the topic of lights, I also like the symmetrical nature of the headlights with the two outside lens being the running and low beam lights while the centre lamp is the high beam.  Even as a motorcyclist, I am always scratching my head at the numerous other supersport machinery that have two headlights and only one is illuminated on low beam.  No wonder so many cage drivers tell these riders at the first stoplight that one of their headlights is “burnt out!”
 
Moving into the cockpit, I finally had the chance to ride my ST at night (three evenings out of the four days on the road!).  It is always interesting to see what one’s dash looks like at night for the first time.  I was mildly delighted to see the LCD display go from the daytime green-gray to a pleasant medium blue tone.  Even more trick was that in the other two dials, the lighted orange dial hands somehow reflect onto the inner edge of the light gray bezel rings and turn them a muted orange as well.  Nothing functional, but neat to look at for a change of pace to daytime running!
 
One very nice, simple and functional feature is the L-shaped tire valve stems.  
This makes checking tire pressures soooo much easier to perform! 
 
End of Part One
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