Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1999 Triumph Sprint ST First Ride (Left) The Sprint's twin-spar frame is stiffer than, the 955i's, and allows the use of two fewer engine mounts, helping to isolate engine vibes. Fuel injection, is reworked for better low-rpm fuel delivery. (Above) The cockpit features a whitefaced tach in Ii wraparou'nd das'h. The analog speedo incorporates digital odometer a!,d clock. 24 noise or emissions tests, even though the Sprint ST meets the tough new European exhaust-emissions laws due to.be intr}Jduced in 1999. Only a couple of extra' rushes of revs around 5000 rpm and again, at 6800 rpm, when engine speed picks up even faster and the exhaust note hardens slightly, punctuate the effortless flow of torque and power. Not that you're really aware of this in standard guise, for the Sprint is noticeably quieter than the 955i, thanks to a .new exhaust header and silencer system, a revised airbox with curved intakes, a supression block at the back of the crankcase to deaden gear and spragdrive noise, and the shrouding effect of the twin-spar frame itself. But, sorry - if you buy a Sprint ST and don't spend the extra bucks on the muted but musical aftermarket pipe Triumph offers "for track use only," you ain't got no soul: Quite apart from the extra 6 bhp it delivers, which gives a crisper edge to . engine. pickup, this has to be the twowheeled equivalent of Alfa's V6 car motor - the best-sounding mass-market motorcycle engine money can buy. For the haunting hymn of the louder exhaust is not only untiring, even on a long ride, but you'll also catch yourself changing gear a little more often, blipping the throttle a little louder on downshifts, than is strictly necessary - just to play that glorious-sounding pipe a little harder and remind yourself that nowadays, when V-twin sportbikes are practically commonplace, only a V-4's engine note is as individual as a triple's. Hallelujah! When you do work the shift lever, you may find the change a little stiff in the bottom three gears, as on one of the bikes I rode. Still, this had barely 600 miles under its wheels, so I'll reserve judgement on that; the others were all fine. Ratios in the six-speed gearbox are the same as on the 955i, with the top three relatively close together and none of them an overdrive, which is not only good engineering practice but also ideal for high-speed cruising with sportbike potential held in reserve. In fact, it does pay to rev the Triumph motor out to somewhere approaching the redline if you're' in a hurry, because you can. feel the extra punch of power. above the 70OD-rev mark, and Sprinting past lines of traffic on the way back to Seville in the gathering dusk through a Sunday evening snarl-up, underlined the Sprint's outstanding midrange pickup and good acceleration, in spite of a higher 455-pound dry weight than its 955i stablemate. You .don't notice the extra poundage in real-world road riding, though, for the Sprint ST has a balanced, sorted feel to the handling which makes easy work of tackling a series of fast sweepers. It's not as nimble as the Daytona - oops, 955i - but by sport-touring standards, it's relatively agile in slower turns - it just needs you to work a little harder in sportbike mode. Best to relax and go with the flow, when the quite sporting steering geometry (25-degree head angle, just 92mm of trail) will allow you to swing the Sprint through turns with effortless aplomb. This is a deceptively fast point-topoint bike which you may suddenly realize you've been riding harder than you thought you were or had intended, and a prime ingredient in this is the Bridgestone BT57 tires around which ·the.Sprint was designed, the profiles of which are well-suited to the demands of the chassis and style of riding. It's especially wise to have opted for a ISO-section rear, which avoids making the steering too heavy without sacrificing grip to the level required by a sport-touring bike. Start sera tching moderately hard when riding alone, though, and you'll soon ground the hero tabs at the end of the footpegs, which are longer than they need to be for when the exhausts are lowered to fit some luggage. Sorry, but they'd be a prime candidate for some . attention with an angle-grinder if and when I became a Sprint owner - in which case the next thing to touch down (and only if you try really hard) is the fairing lower on the exhaust side. Treat it as an honor mark. Because, make no mistake, the Sprint ST is endowed with all-around realworld handling that's fully in the supersport class, a· bIg factor in which is the compliant response of the Showa suspension package. This featUres 43mm conventional forks filled with twin-rate ~prings but adjustable only for preload, and a rear shock with a different link < than 'the 955i (even though they share the same single-sided cast-alloy swingargl) which delivers 120mm of travel on stock settings, is adjustable for rebound damping, and also has hydraulic spring-preload adjustment (so ideal for touring mode, with variable passenger and/or luggage weight on board). Ride quality is not only by some way the best yet on any Triumph, it also beats all its rivals in the sport-touring class for plushness - even the Honda yet it doesn't sacrifice compliance in doing so. Hit a bump or a dip En the road surface cranked over on the Sprint, and it shrugs it off with maybe a single lazy wave of the bars if you're trying really hard. No weaves, no shakes and eSpecially no wallowing around on toosoft settings tha t are the .bane of some other pseudo-all-arounders with delusions of grandeur, handlingwise. Yet an extended run over the few Andalusian roads that haven't yet benefited from either a handout from Brussels or a former Spanish prime. minister's pork-barrel generosity to his Andalusian homeland will have you marveling at the Triumph's composure over rough surfaces and its rock-solid feel - even if some rebound adjustment could usefully be provided up front: It bounces back a little too strongly over the worst of the bumps, on standard settings. Best of all, the Sprint is supremely stable at high speeds, tracking better than the VFR, even - say Triumph testers - loaded up with luggage. Stopping from terminal velocity loaded up with bags and bodies would be the supreme test of the Sprint's braking potential, but in solo guise, unloaded, the 955i package represented by the four-pot Nissin calipers mated to Thaimade 320mm Suns tar stainless discs does the same great job as on the sport triple, with lots of initial bite yet a progressive feel which allows you to stroke the lever with lots of feedback, to knock off a little speed if you go too deep into a turn. But panic stops - like when a security guard turns out of the Rio Tinto high sierra mine complex straight in front of"you, just as you're making the most of the fact that it's a Sunday - are no problem. This is an effective brake setup. from an unexpected source -Highlighted by the fact that Brembo's one contribution to the Sprint ST's build is, er, the cast-alloy wheels! What Triumph has concocted here is a motorcycle that comes very close to delivering the best of both worlds - even more so that the VFR Honda, which in its various forms has worn the mantle of champion aiI-arounder for. most of this decade. So often, trying to be all n:'otorcycles to all men merely means being ac!equate at ev.erything but exceptional at nothing - whereas on the Sprint ST, it's almost the other way around. Which leaves one possible chink in its armor: How much? Well; Triumph has pitched the Sprint ST very competitively pricewise at $10,495, with the VFRSOO Honda listing for $9499, the BMW R1100S for $13,900, and the Ducati ST4 desmoquattro coming in at $14,495 - all of them heavier, and slower, than the Sprint ST claims to be. The jury's out until a long-distance compMative test pitches them against each other, but at $10,495, Triumph's contender is right in the ballpark pricewise, and dynamically, too, on the basis of my Spanish day trip. Flat-twin, V-twin, V-4 or triple: Can Jess be more, in terms of the number of cylinders - or is the middle ground the. best bet? Is British best? Could be. eN Triumph Sprint ST SpecilIcaIions Engine. . . . . . . ... Uquid·cooled in-line DOHC three-cylinder 79 x 65mm Bore lit stroke Di.,a'pc nt , Compreuion ratio ....1IIon Fuel ~ Tra ml8slon Clutch Frame . . . . . . . Rab/traH W 8 955cc 11.2: 1 Digital Sagem multipoint sequentlal EFI 6-speed Multlplate wet . .Twin·spar aluminum 2So/92mm 57.91n. 1_ 43mm Showa telescopic fork .w/spring preload Rear. .sIngle Shows shock w/spring preload and rebounddamping adjustment Wh..../tI.... Front .Front . . .... 120170ZR 17 Bridgestone BT57 on 3.SQ-In.·wlde alloy rim Rear 180/55ZR17 Bridgestone BT57 on 6.'oo-in.-wide alloy rim Bra.... Fmnt .... Dual320mm floating Sunstar discs wi four-pl~ton NIssin calipers .single 220mm disc w/twin-piston caliper SMt height ' 31.5 In. Fuel cap. city , .5.6 gal. Dry ~ 455 Ibs. Rear

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