RE: 99 ST questions...

["Rick Damiani" <rickd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-st@xxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Ian
> Hallihan
> Sent: Monday, March 22, 1999 7:54 PM
> To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Cc: IAN J HALLIHAN
> Subject: 99 ST questions...
>
>
> Sprint owners...
>
> I just bought the  99 ST..
> Big leap of faith for me..
>
> So far I love it.....only 138 miles..
>
> Questions for the new owners...
>
> I haven't purchased a new bike in over 20 years
> and the dealer/manufacturer suggests following the
> break-in recommendations... If I listen to my friends,
> they tell me that "NEW" engines are bullet proof and I
> should drive it from "day one" like I would normally drive
> it, I'm not so sure this is the way to break in the ST
> and am torturing myself now by not going over 5krpm.
> Any input would be appreciated....

Always follow the break in schedule. During break-in you are trying to seat
the rings and get them to mate well with the cylinder walls. Until that
mating is done, you will get excess oil past the rings and into the
combustion chamber. If you deviate from the schedule, you run the risk of
glazing the cylinder walls and preventing that seal from forming. This will
lead to increased oil consumption as the bike gets more miles on it.
Break-in recommendations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and
(sometimes) from model to model based on how the cylinders are treated at
assembly time. The only constant it that you need to vary the speed, and
occasionally accelerate hard (not WFO though) to whatever the current RPM
limit is.

Tell yourself the same thing I have been telling myself for the past month
while I wait for my black Sprint to arrive - I'll have the bike for a long
time. A few hours/days/weeks waiting won't matter too much.

Use the time getting familiar with the way the bike handles at the low
speeds you are most likely to drop it at.

> I purchased the black ST with the exhaust option and the
> tank bag. The dealer tells me that the bike is 108bhp stock
> but Cycle World says 100 bhp. If I've added the pipe, how
> much bhp have I REALLY added and has anyone put the ST
> on the dyno to prove that measurement??...

Triumph measures the HP at the crankshaft. Cycle World measures the HP at
the rear wheel. A difference of 7-10 HP is common. I have seen claims of
6-10 HP gain from the add-on pipe and tune, so the total might come to as
much as 110 at the rear wheel, although 105 or 106 might be more likely.
There is lots more to how powerful an engine feels than the max HP though.
One lister claimed that the pipe added top-end power at the expense of some
mid-range grunt. YMMV, but I don't think the few HP difference is really
noticeable anyway. I like the pipe 'cause it looks better than the original
and it sounds lots better. With the original, the exhaust is so quiet that
it is almost drowned out by gear whine form the transmission.

> Also, please give me good/rave or bad/recall input on this
> bike. I am SO impressed with the torque and power of the
> ST...BUT I'm also concerned with the quality in general of
> the bike..

The best testimony of Triumph reliability that I know of is the 300+ HP
turbocharged T595 that South Bay Triumph built - without doing anything to
the engine except blueprinting it. Being able to stand up to that abuse
without exploding says good things about the strength of the engine.


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