Triumph Sprint 900 (1996)

Look at Triumph for instance! Less than a decade ago, the rebirth of the marque, kicked into life by Ariel's owner Jack Sangster when in 1936 he purchased it from its parent car and bicycle-producing Triumph Engineering Company company - was as likely as.... well, as likely as ol' Jack and his general manager Edward Turner waltzing up to John Bloor next week and yelling: "Nah, you're doin-tit wrong way, suun...Now after just five model years Bloor's firm is looking at ways of supplying the burgeoning worldwide demand. Indeed, Triumph circa-1996 is a thoroughly modern company employing the best technologies from around the world and achieving what many apologists had unsuccessfully attempted in the '70s, '80s and '90s - the rebirth of the world-class English motorcycle. Though about to debut its first non-modular machine, the T509 sportsbike, there's no escaping that it's the company's modular engineering on which the success of the (re)introductory period of the marque must rest. Not only did it allow the company to concentrate on getting the engineering right (and thus bury the Old English reliability hoodoo) but it also let Triumph concentrate on the focus and marketing of its all-new product. Sure, the work that's gone into the new machines is very sound. But, how clever was the somebody who identified the market out there in retail land for Japanese-style multi-cylinder technology wrapped up in a non-Japanese package. Come to think of it, can you imagine anybody else but a Pom taking on the might of the Rising Sun with a marque based on two engines and one 1980-tech frame!?!

PARTS BIN SPECIAL

Nevertheless, the marque is going from strength to strength. Today the line-up,and by definition, its modular concept, has stretched to include machines at quite different corners of the motorcycling plane. From the Adventurer cruiser through to the Super III sportster and the latest pannier-equipped E-type on two wheels, the Trophy, there's a Triumph bike for just about every role. Perhaps it's fitting then that one of the most versatile is, in fact, a parts bin special. Enter the Sprint 900, one of the two models within Hinckley's range that had until recently escaped the attentions of the Horror HQ crew Down Under. Alan Cathcart tested the original Sprint back in his own backyard in Vol 42 No 21, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that we'd planted ourselves on a Sprint in Oz. In fact, it was actually our long term Bandit that focussed attention back on the John Mockett-designed twin-headlight Sprint. Given that the Sprint is a half-faired monoshock-equipped nakedbike, it came up as perhaps the only direct competitor when we discussed possible rivals for the versatile Bandit. Indeed, the two bikes are quite similar, save for a cylinder and about 300cc...

TRIDENT BITS

The Sprint's origins stem from the Trident line, that's where the parts bin business comes into play. When first released back in 1993, the Sprint took the basic running gear of the Trident, narrow wheels, twin-piston front brakes, etc, and added a frame-mounted half fairing. By 1994 the machine had become one of the marque's bestsellers, in both the UK and key Euro markets - and it got a little more attention. While Tridents to this day still make do with the six-spoke 17/18-inch wheels with which the marque rose from the dead back in 1991, wider three-spoke wheels were deemed more suited to the Daytonas and Trophys. Triumph watchers will know that this was a 1993 update, and corresponded with the adoption of new semi-floating 310mm front discs, Triumph-branded four-piston calipers and an underslung rear caliper for the sportsters. For 1994 the Sprint scored the big brakes, but not the Daytona's adjustable front suspension or racey rear brake set-up. And to this day the Sprint makes do with non-adjustable front forks...The most recent change for the Sprint was for the 1995 model year, with a change to 17/17-inch three-spoke wheels and the appearance of the bike's unique tailpiece, grabrails and sidecovers. (Well, the pieces were unique until the latest Trophy came along!)

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

Only available in three-cylinder 885cc 98ps guise since its introduction, the six-speed Sprint still uses the handlebars, adjustable brake and clutch levers, footpeg position, seat, etc straight from the Trident spares bin. When the wheels were upgraded so too were the gauges, this time white on black (as opposed to black on white) Daytona-type 320kmh speedo and 9500rpm redlined tacho. There's also a temp gauge and early Trophy-sourced digital clock. The good news is that once you've stopped trying to figure out which bit has come from where, the Sprint works very well in its role as a jack of all trades motorcycle. Is this 76mm x 65mm 885cc DOHC triple the finest multi-cylinder powerplant to ever grace a two-wheeler? There's no doubting it's a powerplant that offers both usable urge right across the revrange and character aplenty. With the Sprint's upright riding position, the powerplant actually feels torquier than, say, the racier, crouched Speed Triple. However, I'm sure previous triples we've sampled have had more 'snap' then this particular unit. Maybe the low mileage of our test machine is at fault here, owners report that you need around 5000km before the engine gives its best. Ours had less than half that. The gearbox too could perhaps do with a few more miles. By the end of our, albeit short, test period the shift action had improved markedly.

STAND OUT FEATURES

Given that we've already written reams on the Triumph range, I'm not about to rehash half a dozen road tests by covering every aspect of the Sprint. What I will comment on are a couple of aspects that stood out with this particular model. Number one's the riding position. If you can cope with the 780mm seat height (it feels higher!) and the top-heavy (especially if the fuel tank's more than half-full) feel at rest, then the Sprint's upright yet comfortable riding position does nothing wrong. It's the sort of comfortable, all-day position that in conjunction with the surprisingly effective fairing just eats miles, especially with the large 25lt tank. Over the last few weeks it's been particularly chilly, hang on, I'll rephrase that, it's been f%$#ing freezing! Riding the Sprint through the worst of it, I've come to the conclusion that there's not a lot to separate the bike's overall comfort level from its fully-faired Trophy sibling. For the touring hounds the Trophy's $1500 higher pricetag includes integrated panniers and in really heavy weather there's no escaping the fact that the big fairing will come up trumps. With its wide Trident-style bars, the Sprint is quite manageable, more so than the Trophy. There's no need for Sprint owners to shy away from sporty going even on the bike's OEM Bridgestone BT54 rubber.

BRAKING WITH TRADITION

My main criticism relates to our testbike's braking performance. The last few four-piston Triumphs I've ridden seem to have exhibited a little too much lever travel for my liking. Sure, the braking power's there, but even when the four-way adjustable lever's adjusted all the way out, full retardation is not present until the lever's uncomfortably close to the bar. Triumph has a $1450 six-piston caliper option available, but before I shelled out on the overkill option I'd be experimenting with a set of braided lines. A special thumbs-up needs to go to the Sprint's pillion facilities. The new grabrails are shared with the Trophy and are an example to other makers. Not only can heavily gloved hands fit under them, but the grips are at the right angle. Top marks. Negatives? Well, I found that the Daytona-spec speedo was simply too cluttered to be read easily at a glance. Do we really need a clock reading all the way to 320kmh(!) on an all-rounder Mr Bloor? The other niggling fault that almost upset the applecart whilst the Sprint has at Horror HQ was a dodgy sidestand. Every time we placed the bike on its hefty cast sidestand it seemed to lean over more and more. It seems that while the stand itself was unyielding the bracket on which it is bolted had started to get the jitters. It's probably an isolated fault, and at least in the case of the Sprint there was always the centrestand to, err...fall back on.

CHARACTER APLENTY

There's no doubt the new Triumphs have a character all their own, especially the triples, and the Sprint is no exception. If I had to sum up the overall feeling of the bike, I'd mention almost oriental efficiency mixed in with a fair dollop of larrikin Brit. Sort of like Soichiro Honda meets Barry Sheene...The Sprint is close to the top of my Hinckley wish list. While I'm still a sucker for the muscular looks of the Speed Triple, in practical terms, the $500 cheaper Sprint's hard to beat. 'At $15,450 it's a hefty $1500 cheaper than the Daytona and Trophy 900s, machines it gives little away to. Of course when compared to bikes like the Bandit 1200 at $11,899, the premium you're paying is considerable. What you get for your extra hard-earneds depends on which side of the Japan versus Euro fence you sit...