[ST] Mountain Trip - 01 ST vs. 02 Interceptor (long)

[Scott.Fehr@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

It was me on my 01 BRG and my buddy on his 02 VFR.  He just bought the
highly anticipated (read looong delayed) hard bags for the VFR and we set
out from Seattle on Thursday afternoon. 

The official stats according to my BC800 computer:

Total trip distance: 1006.1 miles
Avg.  Speed: 53.5 mph
Total saddle time: 18:44
Top speed: 129 mph (actually 140mph indicated on my speedo)


A few of my observations on my bike vs. the Interceptor:

Performance, as the mags all say seems to be nearly identical.
The big difference is on the VFR you have to constantly be aware of RPM and
be willing to downshift twice at highway speed in order to get into the meat
- - the VFR doesn't really do much unless you're in the 7000-11000 rpm range.

This means that in a lot of the 70+mph sweepers I was able to think a lot
less about gearing and just enjoy rolling on through....
The pegs on the ST seem to be slightly higher, the bars on the VFR seem to
be slightly lower, IMO
The VFR hard bag setup and mounting system appears to be superior to the ST
Mileage and range on the ST is superior to the VFR - it was always my buddy
needing to fill up first
Acceleration on the Interceptor as I said above, is downright weak compared
to the ST - until you get into the VTEC zone (some like it, some find it
annoying) and then it growls and pulls nicely.  Despite the acceleration
stats being very close between the two, it really is an apples/oranges
comparison.  One gets there through grunt and torque, the other by high revs
- - no right or wrong here, it's all about preference.  IMO, in everyday
riding the Triumph "feels" much faster than the VFR, probably because the
power is much easier to grab.
The VFR feels a little more planted around corners and seems slightly
tighter than the ST
The ST seat and riding position, IMO, is much more comfortable on extended
rides 

The ST feels rock solid and absolutely comfortable cruising at 100mph for
extended periods - with the hard cases on.  I was somewhat surprised how
pleasant things felt at  100+mph.  My respect for the ST as a high speed
cruiser has greatly increased.

The 18T front sprocket probably lost me about 5-10mph in the top end.
Highest indicated was about 140mph (129, according to BC800 computer) and
that was about 9000rpm in sixth (anyone get more rpm than this in 6th?).


Lessons learned:  
never go on a trip over mountain passes without winter gloves
if it starts to rain, assume it won't stop soon and get into your rain gear
NOW
the Triumph hard bags should be silicon caulked BEFORE you leave
don't park on the sidewalks in Kelowna, BC

I will post a few pictures shortly.....

Scott

     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info

=-=-=-= Next Message =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=