[ST] Reservoir Dawg rides again

["ksmith955" <ksmith955@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello there again ST listers.  Some of you may remember me ; I'm the bloke
in London who got threatened at gunpoint last year and avoided getting shot
because the guy's grandad used to ride Triumph.  Had lots of very supportive
comments from some of you at the time, so thanks again.  Been out of action
since then due to ex-spouse (briefly) going missing in NYC on 11/9 and
father dying on 18/11.  However, period of agonised introspection now over,
I'm stronger, wiser etc, and the roads are drying out nicely here in UK.

Black 99 ST needed new battery after prolonged lay-off over the winter (yes,
I should have used an Optimate, but for above reasons couldn't be arsed),
but fired up with no problems once that was sorted out.  I went out for a
400 mile ride the weekend before Easter.  Not far by the standards of you US
listers, but a lot when you start and finish in London.  For the Brit
riders, here's the route: A21 out of London, then B2089 to Rye.  Over Romney
Marsh to Dungeness, which is bonkers (flat, good visibility, great bends,
mainly good surface). Back to Hastings, A2100 to Battle, B2096 to
Heathfield, then B2021 to Uckfield.  Then, A272 all the way to Winchester,
which is a storming, old fashioned A road, great scenery, quite technical in
parts, very well surfaced.  Gets pretty fast as countryside opens up to
downland towards Winchester. Then seeing as I was on the edge of the West
Country and it was only lunchtime, a quick blast to Dorchester to see a mate
for a cup of tea and a sarnie on M3 (sadly),  A31 (nice string of
roundabouts around Ringwood) and A35.  Rerturn to London took A31 from
Winchester to Guildford, then A3 home (always more pleasant than motorway).
Overall fuel consumption 48 mpg.

Which leads me onto a query.  When I got the Sprint at 1600 miles with the
standard can, fuel consumption was astounding, regularly over 60 mpg.  After
fitting the carbon can , consumption seems to have dropped at lot - about
15%.  End of the can looks sooty, which suggests rich running.  Certainly a
lot dirtier than with the old can, and downright filthy compared to my Saab,
the end of the pipe of which is totally clean.  Anyone else had this
expreience with the can?  I had it fitted by my local dealer, who has
Triumph awards, so assume that the right software was downloaded.  Comments
please.

Also, the handlebars feel skewed.  Bike tracks OK when hands taken of bars,
but it feels weird in an odd way.  My dealer rode it and said it was fine,
but commented that the ST was odd in that the assymetrical instrument
console tended to make it difficult to check visually create whether the
bars were at the 90 degrees God and Mr. Triumph intended. Maybe I've been
out of the saddle too long. Anyone else share this affliction?

Clothing:  weary of boil-in-the-bag-chicken impressions last summer in
leathers, I have followed the advice of some of you US listers and invested
in a pair of Draggin jeans for summer riding. Well, not jeans but cargos,
because my 11 year old son tells me jeans aren't cool and I'm still
sufficiently young at 46 to have the odd vanity attack. The feel very
comfortable to ride in, even with the Knox armour velcroed in at hip and
knee.  I intend trying them out in Spain this summer, so I'll let you all
know how I'm getting on.

Nice to be back on the list.

Kevin Smith (London)
Reservoir Dawg
99 Sprint ST


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