Some of you followed along with my buying questions over
the summer. I've decided to post a review I wrote after a
day of test riding bikes. I've left the dealership names
in, but removed the names of the salesmen to protect the
innocent. Yeah, it's late, but I was out riding...
Background - my RZ needed a crankshaft, and I needed to
ride. The time was right for a new bike, so I blew off the
day at work, borrowed my wife's bike, and headed off to see
what was out there.
Here is what I found out:
---------
Daytona Motorycles
1998 VTR 1000. This is a pretty looking bike. It is in
pretty good condition for a 1998, with the only flaw I
noticed on my less than thorough inspection being a small
crack on the right side middle fairing - probably due to
over tightening a fairing bolt. It is red in colour, and
has the lower fairing as well. It is badged as a SuperHawk
996. There is a seat cowl over the rear seating position.
Sitting on this bike is a bit less comfortable than I had
hoped. It's a bit of a long reach down to the bars. The
seat is less padded than I was hoping for too. Firing it
up makes me forget much of that. Even with the stock
pipes, the sound is sweet. So, onto the ride. I took it
out onto King George, and twisted the throttle. Instant
response. When you say GO, it just goes. There is no
thinking about it, or easing into it. It's like a giant
takes a 5 wood, and tees off on your backside. And this
was just the warm up. I spent some time opening and
closing the throttle. The acceleration is almost like
running an IV of adrenaline directly into your veins. This
bike is downright scary on its power. Slowing down for the
light at the bottom of the hill is also an eye opener.
Shifting down to first and letting out the clutch results
in an unpleasant rear tire chirp, and an up close and
personal meeting of my nether region with the previously
unnoticed straight edge of the tank. Note to self - big v-
twins have a wee bit more compression braking than 350cc
twin two strokes.
So I take it through a few corners on some rough pavement.
It's a bit jarring. I almost feel like I have to wrestle
it through the bumps. It doesn't feel at home on the rough
stuff. I wonder if the suspension is dialed in right for
me. But wow, that motor sounds nice, and pulls with stump
pulling torque. I could have used this last week when my
neighbor was actually pulling stumps.
Oh, the bike is from out of country. It looks like an
Alaska bike, judging by the license plate light. The
speedometer is in MPH. It has 11,000 miles on it, and
needs tires both front and rear. Later, when asking how
much, I'm told their asking $8500 when I mention I saw it
in the Buy and Sell for $7200. The quick response was that
"My manager must have put it on sale." You'd expect that
he'd know that. I get the feeling that there's a little
more "used bike salesman" syndrome involved than I'd like.
2000 Sprint RS. This bike is an annoying colour of orange.
Why does Triumph make this colour? Anyhow, the bike fires
up nicely. Fuel injection means no choke. Again, the
passenger seat is under a cowl. I didn't look closely
enough to see whether or not it is scratched up, but it
looks pretty nice for 60,000km. I take this one out on the
same route. It doesn't have that same kick in the pants
acceleration, but the acceleration is brisk. It still is a
rush - if it weren't for the VTR, I'd be giddy with joy.
Heading into the rough pavement, the bike absorbs it all,
and does it with style and grace. This bike is refined.
Actually, refined does a very good job of describing the
whole way the bike handles. It leans, corners, absorbs
bumps and does it all composed. Seating position is
comfortable, and I could ride it for hours. The bike feels
almost like a part of me - not a beast to be tamed, but a
well thought out teammate.
Bringing it back, I notice that at an idle the bike
rattles. It sounds like a bit of a diesel, and this, in my
experience, is seldom a good thing. The salesman assures
me it's normal, but I'm not buying it - yet. (more on this
later) So we talk price on this one too. This
conversation actually takes place at the same time as the
VTR price discussion. The price he quotes is $7999 - vs.
the $6700 of the Buy and Sell. Hmmmm.
Burnaby Kawasaki
2002 ZX9R. This is the closest bike they had in stock to
what I was looking for. So off I went. This was a very
short ride. Within a block I could tell that this bike was
not for me. The bars were ok, but the pegs were too tall,
and the tank was too wide. I felt like a frog perched on a
rock. Acceleration started moderately, but built with a
whoosh that just kept growing. The front end got light,
and the race heritage of the line came through VERY
clearly. Turning the bike around for the return trip gave
me a brief glimpse of the suspension. Very smooth, very
well sorted. Still completely wrong for me. Probably the
world's shortest ZX-9R test ride NOT involving a crash.
Next please!
Richmond Motorsports
No bikes here that fit the bill that are ridable. The
Ducatis look nice, but I'm not even going to open THAT can
of worms.
Carter Honda (Granville)
2001 VTR. This was the bike that made me ditch work for
the day to go for a ride. I finally made it out there, and
there sat a very dirty blue FireStorm. They're working on
the bridge above and a lot of crap is falling on the bikes
below. This one has about 16,000km on it and looks in
pristine condition. I met the salesman I talked to on the
phone, and he suggested a nice ride through Spanish Banks
and the University Endowment lands.
Getting on this version was a bit more pleasant ergonomics
wise. The bars felt a little higher, and the bike felt a
little less edgy. Of course, that might be me
rationalizing again. So off I went. That exhaust tone is
heavenly. Taking it through traffic was a bit of a workout
- there's still a lot of weight on my wrists. The
vibration isn't too bad, and there is torque everywhere -
shifting is completely optional. I could probably just put
this bike into 3rd gear and never ever shift. Heading
through the twisty sections of Spanish Banks showed me how
this bike just wants to go fast. I continually found
myself about 20-30 km/h faster than I thought I was going.
It felt confidence inspiring. It was less edgy suspension
wise than the other VTR, but still had all the get up and
go. Getting some open road, a ? twist of the throttle in
2nd (or was it 3rd) moved me from 80-120 faster than
should be legally allowed. Sitting in traffic getting back
brought some reality. The bike stalled 4 times while
idling at a light. The weight was back on my arms, and the
seat started feeling firm again.
Fortunately, Carter has 1 inch bar risers in stock for this
bike. I hope that is enough to make the difference. It
doesn't seem like much, but I've seen how small adjustments
can make unpleasant ergonomics pleasant. So we briefly
talked price. The bike is listed for $8500. But before
being told this, I was asked what I did for an occupation,
and if I was in sales. He felt compelled to tell me that
this was just the asking price, and that they never got
what they ask for, it's a starting place to negotiate from.
I was able to smile and inform him that Carter has a bit of
a reputation for having a rather high starting point. I
was asked if I wanted to put a deposit down, and declined.
Off to see a man about a Triumph?
British-Italian
Here I went in search of Triumphs. I was hoping to get a
ride on another RS for comparison, and maybe a Speed Triple
- just to see if it grabbed me. Although they are a bit
hard to come by, the 2005 Speed Triple is one of the most
appealing looking bikes I have ever laid eyes on. Ugly,
but with attitude.
Anyhow, there was only a Daytona and a Sprint ST in stock.
Well, they had new ones too, but these were the only ones
remotely close to my price range. I went for a ride on the
ST. It was traditional British Racing Green. Not the
worlds worst colour by any stretch of the imagination - but
not my first choice. This bike felt comfortable. It felt
like once on the highway I could roll off hundreds of miles
and still be comfortable. Good wind protection, and a
really nice engine. It was a 2003, and the engine was
quiet at idle, and had that distinct triple snarl under
acceleration. I took it for a spin through Hastings, over
the Second Narrows, and up past Cap College. If the RS was
refined, then this was the product of a finishing school.
There were no bad habits that I could detect. It swooped
and cornered with grace and ease - at least once over about
20km/h. Below that, it displayed a bit of excess girth. I
felt a bit like a pilot of a barge compared to the other
bikes I've been trying. This bike definitely targets the
touring end of sport touring.
It had a year of factory warranty left on it, and had
25,000km on the clock. At $8500 it certainly seems to be a
pretty good deal. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the
right bike for me right now. Maybe in another 5-10 years,
but not yet. I also took this opportunity to ask about the
rattle in the 2001 RS I had noticed. He seemed reluctant
to even talk about a bike someone else had, but eventually
begrudged that it was a normal engine sound for that year,
but the 2003 was a different engine design, and I really
wanted that one more. He also hinted that he "knew that
bike", but no other details were forthcoming.
Carter Motorsports - Coquitlam
There was nothing new here for me to try. They had a 2005
VFR that was used in the Honda demo days across Canada, but
I had already ridden that exact bike. I declined the
offer.
Western Powersports
My final stop of the day was at my "home" dealership. I've
spent a lot of time (and money) here over the years. I
know a few of the guys there, and I know that I'll get a
straight deal.
First mission was to find out for sure what the deal is
with the rattle on that RS. I went to the service
department to ask. Sure enough, it's normal. While out
there, I realize that it's closing in on 4pm and I've had
nothing to eat or drink all day, and have had my riding
pants and leather jacket on the whole time. It's close to
30 degrees outside. I decide to have "lunch". While
drinking the Dr. Pepper (aka: lunch) I talked to the parts
guy I know. Yet another confirmation that the '00s rattled
something fierce even right out of the crate. I can put
that worry behind me. We shot the breeze for a bit, and
then he introduced me to the sales guy he likes best. I
got the feeling that this guy cared about getting me onto
the right bike, rather than just selling what was sitting
closest to his desk. We talked about what I had ridden,
and what my impressions were of each.
Having said that, he shepherded me out to a Speed 4. An
'03 with virtually no miles on it. Now the S4 isn't in my
mind the best looking bike, but Triumph managed to outdo
themselves by painting it orange. No wonder the Brits
aren't a superpower anymore. Anyhow, off I went for a
ride. I was given no hints of how to ride it to get the
best feel, just told to go off and discover it for myself.
The bike, ergonomically, fit well. The bars were about
right, and the seat wasn't too soft, wasn't too hard.
Accelerating away from the dealer, I noticed that the
power, while not excessive, was certainly adequate. For
the first little while, I shifted at about 5000rpm. This
allowed the bike to move briskly, but without a feeling of
being in control of irresponsible power. This was no
litrebike. I was pleasantly surprised by the job that the
little wind deflector over the headlights was doing. Once
comfortable with the bike, I wound it up a bit more a
couple times. Crossing 7000rpm it felt like some little
guy with bad teeth kicked an angry bucket of hornets under
the seat. An angry buzz started that prodded the bike into
fairly spirited acceleration. The get up and go was
certainly there, you just have to work a little harder at
it. In good conscience I kept these forays into the upper
RPM brief and infrequent. The break-in sticker on the tank
still said to limit things to 5000rpm after all. I found
the fuel injection to be pretty smooth, with the
interesting exception of when the bike is brought down to
idle. It "hunts" for the proper rpm for about 2 seconds
before deciding on the appropriate speed. I brought the
bike back with 44 km on the clock. Being a 600, and a
standard, it qualifies for cheaper insurance. This could
save hundreds a year in running costs.
Time was becoming a factor, so the discussion on price was
low key and brief. This one has a sticker of $8999 plus
freight and pdi. There is a 2 year warranty, but the price
of a new bike over a used is pretty steep.
So where do I go now? My heart leans towards the VTR. The
pure excess of it all. Adrenalin on tap. But will bar
risers be enough to ease the ergonomics? The RS wins the
head. Excess power, but delivered in a less edgy, more
refined package. After all, I AM a responsible adult now.
Or do I look for a bike like the Speed 4 where more of my
budget goes to warranty and less to bike?
----------
Note: Negotiations on 2 different VTRs fell through without
resolution. The one at Carter just didn't come down to a
reasonable price, and the private one I called about (not
listed) was a good price - but the ICBC report on it
indicated it was a theft recovery - with no info on how
much damage was done in the middle. I ended up with the
Sprint, and am now a happy Triple owner.
Anyone interested in an RZ?
--
Cam
'89 RZ 350
'00 Sprint RS
On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:36:57 GMT, Cam Penner
>Some of you followed along with my buying questions over
>the summer. I've decided to post a review I wrote after a
>day of test riding bikes. I've left the dealership names
>in, but removed the names of the salesmen to protect the
>innocent. Yeah, it's late, but I was out riding...
>Background - my RZ needed a crankshaft, and I needed to
>ride. The time was right for a new bike, so I blew off the
>day at work, borrowed my wife's bike, and headed off to see
>what was out there.
>Here is what I found out:
>---------
>Daytona Motorycles
>1998 VTR 1000. This is a pretty looking bike. It is in
>pretty good condition for a 1998, with the only flaw I
>noticed on my less than thorough inspection being a small
>crack on the right side middle fairing - probably due to
>over tightening a fairing bolt. It is red in colour, and
>has the lower fairing as well. It is badged as a SuperHawk
>996. There is a seat cowl over the rear seating position.
>Sitting on this bike is a bit less comfortable than I had
>hoped. It's a bit of a long reach down to the bars. The
>seat is less padded than I was hoping for too. Firing it
>up makes me forget much of that. Even with the stock
>pipes, the sound is sweet. So, onto the ride. I took it
>out onto King George, and twisted the throttle. Instant
>response. When you say GO, it just goes. There is no
>thinking about it, or easing into it. It's like a giant
>takes a 5 wood, and tees off on your backside. And this
>was just the warm up. I spent some time opening and
>closing the throttle. The acceleration is almost like
>running an IV of adrenaline directly into your veins. This
>bike is downright scary on its power. Slowing down for the
>light at the bottom of the hill is also an eye opener.
>Shifting down to first and letting out the clutch results
>in an unpleasant rear tire chirp, and an up close and
>personal meeting of my nether region with the previously
>unnoticed straight edge of the tank. Note to self - big v-
>twins have a wee bit more compression braking than 350cc
>twin two strokes.
>So I take it through a few corners on some rough pavement.
>It's a bit jarring. I almost feel like I have to wrestle
>it through the bumps. It doesn't feel at home on the rough
>stuff. I wonder if the suspension is dialed in right for
>me. But wow, that motor sounds nice, and pulls with stump
>pulling torque. I could have used this last week when my
>neighbor was actually pulling stumps.
>Oh, the bike is from out of country. It looks like an
>Alaska bike, judging by the license plate light. The
>speedometer is in MPH. It has 11,000 miles on it, and
>needs tires both front and rear. Later, when asking how
>much, I'm told their asking $8500 when I mention I saw it
>in the Buy and Sell for $7200. The quick response was that
>"My manager must have put it on sale." You'd expect that
>he'd know that. I get the feeling that there's a little
>more "used bike salesman" syndrome involved than I'd like.
>2000 Sprint RS. This bike is an annoying colour of orange.
>Why does Triumph make this colour? Anyhow, the bike fires
>up nicely. Fuel injection means no choke. Again, the
>passenger seat is under a cowl. I didn't look closely
>enough to see whether or not it is scratched up, but it
>looks pretty nice for 60,000km. I take this one out on the
>same route. It doesn't have that same kick in the pants
>acceleration, but the acceleration is brisk. It still is a
>rush - if it weren't for the VTR, I'd be giddy with joy.
>Heading into the rough pavement, the bike absorbs it all,
>and does it with style and grace. This bike is refined.
>Actually, refined does a very good job of describing the
>whole way the bike handles. It leans, corners, absorbs
>bumps and does it all composed. Seating position is
>comfortable, and I could ride it for hours. The bike feels
>almost like a part of me - not a beast to be tamed, but a
>well thought out teammate.
>Bringing it back, I notice that at an idle the bike
>rattles. It sounds like a bit of a diesel, and this, in my
>experience, is seldom a good thing. The salesman assures
>me it's normal, but I'm not buying it - yet. (more on this
>later) So we talk price on this one too. This
>conversation actually takes place at the same time as the
>VTR price discussion. The price he quotes is $7999 - vs.
>the $6700 of the Buy and Sell. Hmmmm.
>Burnaby Kawasaki
>2002 ZX9R. This is the closest bike they had in stock to
>what I was looking for. So off I went. This was a very
>short ride. Within a block I could tell that this bike was
>not for me. The bars were ok, but the pegs were too tall,
>and the tank was too wide. I felt like a frog perched on a
>rock. Acceleration started moderately, but built with a
>whoosh that just kept growing. The front end got light,
>and the race heritage of the line came through VERY
>clearly. Turning the bike around for the return trip gave
>me a brief glimpse of the suspension. Very smooth, very
>well sorted. Still completely wrong for me. Probably the
>world's shortest ZX-9R test ride NOT involving a crash.
>Next please!
>Richmond Motorsports
>No bikes here that fit the bill that are ridable. The
>Ducatis look nice, but I'm not even going to open THAT can
>of worms.
>Carter Honda (Granville)
>2001 VTR. This was the bike that made me ditch work for
>the day to go for a ride. I finally made it out there, and
>there sat a very dirty blue FireStorm. They're working on
>the bridge above and a lot of crap is falling on the bikes
>below. This one has about 16,000km on it and looks in
>pristine condition. I met the salesman I talked to on the
>phone, and he suggested a nice ride through Spanish Banks
>and the University Endowment lands.
>Getting on this version was a bit more pleasant ergonomics
>wise. The bars felt a little higher, and the bike felt a
>little less edgy. Of course, that might be me
>rationalizing again. So off I went. That exhaust tone is
>heavenly. Taking it through traffic was a bit of a workout
>- there's still a lot of weight on my wrists. The
>vibration isn't too bad, and there is torque everywhere -
>shifting is completely optional. I could probably just put
>this bike into 3rd gear and never ever shift. Heading
>through the twisty sections of Spanish Banks showed me how
>this bike just wants to go fast. I continually found
>myself about 20-30 km/h faster than I thought I was going.
>It felt confidence inspiring. It was less edgy suspension
>wise than the other VTR, but still had all the get up and
>go. Getting some open road, a ? twist of the throttle in
>2nd (or was it 3rd) moved me from 80-120 faster than
>should be legally allowed. Sitting in traffic getting back
>brought some reality. The bike stalled 4 times while
>idling at a light. The weight was back on my arms, and the
>seat started feeling firm again.
>Fortunately, Carter has 1 inch bar risers in stock for this
>bike. I hope that is enough to make the difference. It
>doesn't seem like much, but I've seen how small adjustments
>can make unpleasant ergonomics pleasant. So we briefly
>talked price. The bike is listed for $8500. But before
>being told this, I was asked what I did for an occupation,
>and if I was in sales. He felt compelled to tell me that
>this was just the asking price, and that they never got
>what they ask for, it's a starting place to negotiate from.
>I was able to smile and inform him that Carter has a bit of
>a reputation for having a rather high starting point. I
>was asked if I wanted to put a deposit down, and declined.
>Off to see a man about a Triumph?
>British-Italian
>Here I went in search of Triumphs. I was hoping to get a
>ride on another RS for comparison, and maybe a Speed Triple
>- just to see if it grabbed me. Although they are a bit
>hard to come by, the 2005 Speed Triple is one of the most
>appealing looking bikes I have ever laid eyes on. Ugly,
>but with attitude.
>Anyhow, there was only a Daytona and a Sprint ST in stock.
>Well, they had new ones too, but these were the only ones
>remotely close to my price range. I went for a ride on the
>ST. It was traditional British Racing Green. Not the
>worlds worst colour by any stretch of the imagination - but
>not my first choice. This bike felt comfortable. It felt
>like once on the highway I could roll off hundreds of miles
>and still be comfortable. Good wind protection, and a
>really nice engine. It was a 2003, and the engine was
>quiet at idle, and had that distinct triple snarl under
>acceleration. I took it for a spin through Hastings, over
>the Second Narrows, and up past Cap College. If the RS was
>refined, then this was the product of a finishing school.
>There were no bad habits that I could detect. It swooped
>and cornered with grace and ease - at least once over about
>20km/h. Below that, it displayed a bit of excess girth. I
>felt a bit like a pilot of a barge compared to the other
>bikes I've been trying. This bike definitely targets the
>touring end of sport touring.
>It had a year of factory warranty left on it, and had
>25,000km on the clock. At $8500 it certainly seems to be a
>pretty good deal. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the
>right bike for me right now. Maybe in another 5-10 years,
>but not yet. I also took this opportunity to ask about the
>rattle in the 2001 RS I had noticed. He seemed reluctant
>to even talk about a bike someone else had, but eventually
>begrudged that it was a normal engine sound for that year,
>but the 2003 was a different engine design, and I really
>wanted that one more. He also hinted that he "knew that
>bike", but no other details were forthcoming.
>Carter Motorsports - Coquitlam
>There was nothing new here for me to try. They had a 2005
>VFR that was used in the Honda demo days across Canada, but
>I had already ridden that exact bike. I declined the
>offer.
>Western Powersports
>My final stop of the day was at my "home" dealership. I've
>spent a lot of time (and money) here over the years. I
>know a few of the guys there, and I know that I'll get a
>straight deal.
>First mission was to find out for sure what the deal is
>with the rattle on that RS. I went to the service
>department to ask. Sure enough, it's normal. While out
>there, I realize that it's closing in on 4pm and I've had
>nothing to eat or drink all day, and have had my riding
>pants and leather jacket on the whole time. It's close to
>30 degrees outside. I decide to have "lunch". While
>drinking the Dr. Pepper (aka: lunch) I talked to the parts
>guy I know. Yet another confirmation that the '00s rattled
>something fierce even right out of the crate. I can put
>that worry behind me. We shot the breeze for a bit, and
>then he introduced me to the sales guy he likes best. I
>got the feeling that this guy cared about getting me onto
>the right bike, rather than just selling what was sitting
>closest to his desk. We talked about what I had ridden,
>and what my impressions were of each.
>Having said that, he shepherded me out to a Speed 4. An
>'03 with virtually no miles on it. Now the S4 isn't in my
>mind the best looking bike, but Triumph managed to outdo
>themselves by painting it orange. No wonder the Brits
>aren't a superpower anymore. Anyhow, off I went for a
>ride. I was given no hints of how to ride it to get the
>best feel, just told to go off and discover it for myself.
>The bike, ergonomically, fit well. The bars were about
>right, and the seat wasn't too soft, wasn't too hard.
>Accelerating away from the dealer, I noticed that the
>power, while not excessive, was certainly adequate. For
>the first little while, I shifted at about 5000rpm. This
>allowed the bike to move briskly, but without a feeling of
>being in control of irresponsible power. This was no
>litrebike. I was pleasantly surprised by the job that the
>little wind deflector over the headlights was doing. Once
>comfortable with the bike, I wound it up a bit more a
>couple times. Crossing 7000rpm it felt like some little
>guy with bad teeth kicked an angry bucket of hornets under
>the seat. An angry buzz started that prodded the bike into
>fairly spirited acceleration. The get up and go was
>certainly there, you just have to work a little harder at
>it. In good conscience I kept these forays into the upper
>RPM brief and infrequent. The break-in sticker on the tank
>still said to limit things to 5000rpm after all. I found
>the fuel injection to be pretty smooth, with the
>interesting exception of when the bike is brought down to
>idle. It "hunts" for the proper rpm for about 2 seconds
>before deciding on the appropriate speed. I brought the
>bike back with 44 km on the clock. Being a 600, and a
>standard, it qualifies for cheaper insurance. This could
>save hundreds a year in running costs.
>Time was becoming a factor, so the discussion on price was
>low key and brief. This one has a sticker of $8999 plus
>freight and pdi. There is a 2 year warranty, but the price
>of a new bike over a used is pretty steep.
>So where do I go now? My heart leans towards the VTR. The
>pure excess of it all. Adrenalin on tap. But will bar
>risers be enough to ease the ergonomics? The RS wins the
>head. Excess power, but delivered in a less edgy, more
>refined package. After all, I AM a responsible adult now.
>Or do I look for a bike like the Speed 4 where more of my
>budget goes to warranty and less to bike?
>----------
>Note: Negotiations on 2 different VTRs fell through without
>resolution. The one at Carter just didn't come down to a
>reasonable price, and the private one I called about (not
>listed) was a good price - but the ICBC report on it
>indicated it was a theft recovery - with no info on how
>much damage was done in the middle. I ended up with the
>Sprint, and am now a happy Triple owner.
Thanks for the detail Cam. I too rode two VTR's before buying my
Sprint ST. I didn't like the lumpy (paint shaker) VTR's. Both just
seemed rough edged, tall geared and unrefined. That bike was design
before 1997, so judging from my then present SV-650, the Super-Chicken
just didn't "cut-it" when consideing it was a similar to SV-650 design
but more expensive for an olded used motorcycle. Another bike I tried
back then were the Honda VFR but it flankly they felt emimic compared
to the 174 cc larger Triple (Sprint St). Otherwise both seemed very
similar. Also, the low speed heaviness you felt on the ST was likely
as much tire related as actually weight as without bags the ST is
within 20 lbs of the RS.
Wet weights below:
Sprint RS 510lbs full tank
Sprint ST 547lbs fill tank + paniers (hard bags & tail top box)
Honda VTR1000F full tank 480lbs
Honda VFR 781 02-VTEC 557lbs full tank
OBTW, if you'd ridden a Daytona 955 (post 01) they have a higher
redline (12.5K) and 130+RWHP. The Speed triple has the Sprint's engine
in a slightly different state of tune. The S3 and Daytona share a sort
of intoxicating intake growl (same airbox) that resembles a V-12
engine.
As you may see I'm a big Triumph triple fan and have been for some
time. That Diesel idle sound on all pre-02 955's is due to the weird
alternator drive chain. Post 02 the sound goes away but it never
effected the reliability anyway, rather more an anoyance.
BTW Cam, my friends dad ( friend has two 02 Daytona's) has an 01
Sprint with a turbo-charger installed. It has two boost dump settings
of 6-9lbs and 160 RWHP on the upper boost setting. He let me ride the
beast but I was surprised how civilized it still was. Below 5K RPM it
felt like a stock Sprint ST, then between 5-7K RPM the midrange was a
little stronger than stock but held WOT more than 2 second above 6,500
RPM and all hell broke loose until I hit the 10K rev limiter.
See Turbo Sprint photo below, you can't really tell, can you?
http://www.thekeithfamilysite.net/images/52204-2.jpg
Tom Keith's Turbo-Sprint ST.
http://www.thekeithfamilysite.net/images/TTF-13104-2.jpg
http://www.thekeithfamilysite.net/images/6-5-04-2.jpg
My Stock Sprint ST.
http://www.thekeithfamilysite.net/images/HT9S6762.jpg
Steve Keith
http://www.thekeithfamilysite.net/images/trackdaywithoutvest3.jpg
Debra Kieth
http://www.thekeithfamilysite.net/motorcycles.htm
Lot's more local Triumph's and other AZ/OK bikes.
>Anyone interested in an RZ?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not with a worn out bottom end -:)
Bob Nixon, Chandler AZ
01 Sprint ST "RED" 50K miles
http://bigrex.net/pictures
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