Triumph Sprint ST

And on the seventh day He rested, before getting up again and having a bash at creating the Adelaide hills. What a place, mindblowing roads that just go on and on, with little traffic, and all of 30 minutes ride from the middle of Adelaide. Triumph Australia's Gary McDonald and Colleen Dooley (who incidentally has her own ideas about God, He's a She, and She rides a Triumph!) had laid on some amazing blacktop action for the small collection of journos present, and provided an ideal iron with which to attack it Triumph's no holds barred assault on the sportstourer market (and more specifically Honda's VFR800), the Sprint ST. The occasion was the Sprint ST's Australian launch, and it proved to be a memorable one.

PLENTY OF CHOICE

Prospective buyers of sportstourers certainly have no lack of quality machinery to choose from these days. Ducati's ST2 sold well last year at $18,495, attracting an entirely new type of Ducatisti to the Italian fold, while BMW threw its hat into the ring with the R1100 S Sport Boxer at $18,900.

Honda's VFR800 remains as popular as ever, with its do the lot status and attractive $14,990 price tag, a pricetag that enticed 362 Aussies to hand over their hard-earned in '98 for the injected V-four and perennial sales leader in the class.

Having just got off another category contender recently, Ducati's balls-out ST4 ($22,995), it was going to be interesting to see just how Triumph's initial go at the hard fast, and for a long distance sector was going to turn out. The ST4 (test in Vol 48 No 16) is a good thing, a 916 four-valve powerplant isn't hurting things here, but has a raw edge to it that you either love or hate. The Sprint seemingly matches the ST4, on paper at least, with a claimed maximum of 112ps (versus a measured 108ps at the rear wheel for the ST4) and 9.69kg-m of torque (versus the ST4's measured 8.86kg-m). The question was, would the Triumph be a raw and bad-assed firebreather or something more civil and amicable?

BAD-ASSED CIVILIAN?

I'd been aboard the Sprint for just two blocks from our Adelaide departure point, Peter Stevens Motorcycles, before I realised it really was neither, or more specifically a combination of the two. This was a motorcycle that was both civil and bad-assed, neatly rolled up into a wonderfully engineered package with the flexibility to give a multitude of riders exactly what they want.

The commute through the City of Churches' streets showed the Sprint ST to be a sweet machine around town, with smooth power delivery at the lowest of speeds allowing a lower level of concentration on throttle control than is required on the ST4, the latter being a little jerky should that concentration lapse. The Sprint ST's 207kg (claimed dry weight) hid itself remarkably well after things got moving, and together with nimble handling meant those last minute countersteers around potholes and oily patches were accomplished with ease. So it was a big thumbs up for tearing around town, but the Adelaide hills were looming... I'd heard stories about the quality of these roads over the years, but I wasn't expecting the motorcycle wonderland that was to unfold before me. These Adelaide blokes and blokesses with bikes have it good. The Chain of Ponds road to Gumeracha was a hoot, with a good opportunity to restore heart beats to a safer level taken at Bill Mitchell's Motorcycle and Heritage Museum at Lobethal. Home to over 100 bikes from days gone by, it's well worth the look.

MIDRANGE GRUNT

Around 60km of twisties had passed under the wheels by now, and the Sprint ST was revelling in it. The injected 955cc triple powerplant (taken from the 955i) in the Sprint has been retuned for a bit more midrange grunt, but isn't lacking anywhere in its new guise. Just wind it on and you're given a smooth, linear spread of power, with useable oomph available from tickover all the way to the bike's 9500rpm redline. The engine spins freely through the gears, the revs interspersed with slick, positive gearchanges. It takes no time before you've reached speeds your mother would frown upon. Equally twisty but somewhat bumpier roads were found between Lobethal and the historic hamlet of Hahndorf, providing ample time to examine the performance and suspenders the Sprint ST's equipped with. No gripes here either, in fact I'd go so far as to say that for a suspension package with minimal adjustment (the forks have adjustable preload only, the rear monoshock adjustable preload and rebound), it's one of the best I've sampled. The ride is quite firm, but bumps are soaked up well, with the only complaint from the bike being a very unscary nod of its head encountering bumps through corners at high speed. The all-new alloy beam chassis keeps the ST's weight low in the frame, as well as being stiff and rigid. A 25-degree rake seems spot-on for the Sprint ST, allowing the bike to remain nimble yet still retain the stability a sportstourer requires. A full technical rundown on the Sprint ST, including its development history, appeared in our story from the bike's world launch in Spain in Vol 48 No 14 (Jan 22-Feb 4).

RIPPER STOPPERS

The stoppers on the Sprint ST are absolute rippers. Four-piston calipers on 320mm discs up front have good initial bite when hauling the bike down from high speed (as I discovered on more than a couple of unposted corners in the South Australian countryside!), but combine that with plenty of power and feel. A few years ago this simply wasn't the sort of braking performance you'd expect on a bike in this class. The rear brake wasn't bad, but not in the same league as its mates up front, but who cares, apart from U-turns I never felt a need to use the rear pedal.

If doing long distances is your thing, the Sprint ST won't disappoint. A broad and comfy seat is complemented by a slightly forward riding position, with the footpegs giving good legroom and allowing knees and upper legs to slot into the tank cutouts perfectly. The instrumentation is well laid out, with the needle and clock style speedo, tacho, fuel and temperature gauges all angled towards the rider's head. Idiot lights were easy to read, and the digital clock, trip and odometer were appreciated too. The screen is a cracker, broad and angled well to give even those on the taller side adequate wind protection. At quick touring speeds it isn't even necessary to drop your head, even if it does entail dropping dosh into government coffers...

TOP-NOTCH QUALITY

The overall quality of the Sprint ST was top-notch. My Tornado Red testbike looked the business, but the bikeÕs also available in Jet Black. Other nice touches were the "slim-fit" pillion seat cowling (a factory option) and the broad pad on the bottom of the sidestand, eliminating the need to search for a crushed tinny on all but the mushiest of surfaces. Optional factory extras include attractive moulded panniers (including bracket kit to angle the pipe a bit lower), heated grips and rear hugger, among others.

After an overnight stay in Victor Harbour it was time to head back to the big smoke, back to familiar cities, familiar faces and a familiar routine. I was sad to see the Sprint ST, my constant companion for the previous couple of days, roll back into the showroom, it was a big part of why the past 48 hours had been so pleasurable. Comfort, adrenalin and value for money at $15,990 (plus ORC) they're all words which can be used to sum up the Sprint ST, but they give no idea of the satisfaction riding one of these bikes entails. If you're looking in the sportstourer market, one more model should make the final decision even harder. But who knows, with the advent of the Sprint ST, the choice could have just become a whole lot easier...