IT'S MINE!

[Rich Weyand <weyand@xxxxxxx>]

The following is for those of you considering a Sprint ST for purchase,
or those waiting and wondering if they did the right thing when they
plunked their deposit down.  (The short answer is yes.  Or maybe more 
like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally:  Yes, yes, *yes*, YES, *Y*E*S*!!)

************************************************************************

So I went and picked up the new Sprint ST today.  I haven't ridden in
a while, and my equipment is old, so I got a new helmet and gloves, 
and we ordered a bunch of leather stuff and better boots to try on.
Went to a full coverage Shoei from a 3/4 Bell, and I like the full
coverage more than I thought I would.

The bike came in OK, and started right off and all, what the dealer
calls a clean delivery.  I got on in the large parking lot and tooled
around a bit, then tooled around the neighborhood a bit before I set
out for home.  My wife thought I looked very hesitant in the parking
lot and she got a bit worried, but I just wanted to make sure I didn't
do anything stupid before I got the feel of it a bit.  It took a 
couple miles to feel at home in the saddle again after several years
away, but the Sprint is very much like the old Nortons and Bonnies
in many respscts (torque, handling, weight, CG, riding position) and
I was soon very much at home on it.

The 3500 rev limit for the first 100 miles is tough, because she wants
to *GO*, right _now_, WHEEEEE!!!  The dealer said 3500 is almost impos-
sible, so maybe 4000 max for the first 100 and then follow the schedule.
I have tried to keep the 3500 for the most part.

The bike came with 1 mile on it, between the factory and the dealer
running it down the block for more gas.  The transmission was tight, 
and getting neutral was a bugger for the first 5-10 miles, especially
at a stop, until everything loosened up a bit.

On the way home I missed 1st to 2nd once, and shot the tach up in 
neutral.  She revs up nice, with no hesitation whatsoever.  I also
caught a neutral between 5 and 6 once on a downshift on an off-ramp.
I had to upshift, then try it again, as no way was it gonna catch 5
with all the gears and spindles in rotation.

As for handling, very like the Norton at speed, which is to say, an
absolute dream, liquid steel on the pour.  You don't steer the Sprint,
you just sort of look where you want to go, and there you are.  At 
slower speeds, the Norton was a bit clumsy compared to the Sprint, which 
just doesn't seem to have any limits at all to me yet.  The Sprint also 
has the Norton's torque: it really doesn't matter very much what gear 
you are in coming out of the corner, it pulls like a locomotive.

Throttle response is unbelievable in any gear at any speed.  It's sorta
like the handgrip is connected to the speedo needle.  And while the
stock pipe isn't very loud, the basso note on revving down toward a 
corner or a stop is very addictive.  I can't wait to hear what happens
when I can get up over 5000 RPM and hear her when she hits her torque 
curve.  But I can also sneak in to my neighborhood late at night and
not give the neighbors any fits.

Brakes are just as responsive, with very very good stopping capability.
The Norton is much less capable here, and can be scary.  The Sprint
has a very good set of hooks, and I hope I don't overdo it the first
time I really jump on them.  Stoppies over the bars don't sound like fun,
but if you ask for it, I'm sure she can deliver.

It was a beautiful nice day here, very sunny and clear, but a bit chill 
and very gusty on the freeway.  I was getting wind gusts up inside the
Shoei (which is a trick, cause it's a pretty closed fit around the bottom)
but the bike was rock solid.  Of course, 4000 RPM limit means 70 mph in
6th, so I wasn't going very fast.

Got home 20 miles later, cold but very happy.  Was sitting around this
evening at dusk looking out the window, and the missus comes over and
looks out the window, and at my face, and says what's the matter.  And
I said "C'mon, dammit.  Set!  Rise!  Warm!  Let's go!"  Finally, I
couldn't take it anymore and went out for another 10 miles tonight.
Cold as hell, but what the heck.

So, anyway, if you were wondering if this was the right thing to do,
well, yeah, it is.

Rich Weyand
1999 Sprint ST "Black Magic" 

Rich Weyand      |  _______   ___,---. ---+_______:_   |Rich Weyand
Weyand Associates| |_N_&_W_| |_N_&_W_| |__|________|_  |TracTronics
Comm Consultants |  ooo ooo ~ ooo ooo ~ oOOOO- OOOO=o\ |Model RR Electronics
weyand@xxxxxxx   |     http://www.mcs.net/~weyand/     |weyand@xxxxxxx

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End of st-digest V1999 #13
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