Trumpy Sprint

Having a weakness for trumpies I'm thinking about swapping the Bandit
for a sprint for touring & 2 up duties. The bandit's a little bit fat
and heavy and lacking in ground clearance*, it does the job but it's
really not exciting me.

For those who've owned them, what's the opinion ? Given I'll only be
keeping it about 18 months much as I'd like one of the new 1050s I think
it'll be second hand.

The other option is a Benelli TNT or Xraptor - neither of which is a
smart move financially (but I'm having trouble resisting

JL
* Of course I have the contradictory goals of wanting max ground
clearance and minimum seat height for my short little legs

 

Well you certainly don't want the old 891cc model; they were pretty-much
designed to keep you off!
(All the T3 Trumps are very tall. The T5s seem much better)
Clem

 

OK ta, the T5's have a lowish seat height, I hadn't tried the older ones
thanks for that - do you know what year they cut over from T3 to T5 ?

JL

 

Sprints about '98.
(Daytonas were first about '96 and then Speed Triples. Tigers kept the T3
for a few more years and the Trophy never went to T5)
Clem

 

[Google Google]
1999 for the Sprint ST and 1997 (early) for the T595 Daytona and (late)
T509 Speed Triple.

 

Speaking of which, Just got my Tuneboy kit and found to my non-surprise that
the local Trump monkeys had downloaded the wrong tune last time I let them
loose on it several years ago.

Instead of the tune for the low c/f pipe with the later '98 cams it has the
tune for the high c/f pipe with the earlier cams...Bloody!...

 

The first T5s appeared in late '96.

 

It played Dixie?

Theo

 

I owned a T5 Triumph. Never again..... the horror.... the horror .....

 

I had a Sprint RS for a year or so. A slightly more flickable version than
the ST, though the difference isn't particularly large, other than cosmetics
and the digital speedo.

PROS:
- gorgeous engine. Still my favourite donk of all the bikes I've ridden.

- fuel range: In one word, amazing. Canberra to Phillip Island on one fuel
stop. I once refuled after 376kms and the reserve light hadn't even come on.
Keep in mind I weigh 115kgs and take shitloads of luggage. That is some
impressive economy. Riding around 110-115kph on the highway I was getting
23-24km/l

- comfort: Canberra to Phillip Island, with only one comfort stop other than
the refuel. Absolutely brilliant for long distances. And this was with the
standard seat & no sheepskin. Even my ZX9 was an arse-breaker in comparison.

- luggage-friendly. Got the Triumph panniers kit, which includes some
excellent clip-on fairing guards so your paint doesn't get scratched when
the panniers went on. Also got the trumpy tankbag, which is another
top-quality item.

- great gearbox once it loosens up after a few thousand kms. Slick, positive
shifts.

- nice brakes (sadly not matched by the forks)

- 10,000km service intervals

CONS:

- slow steering, crap super-slushy suspension.

Sure I'm heavier than the "standard" rider, but I was just as heavy when I
bought my ZX9 and z1000, and they were top-notch in the suspenders
department. A lot of work getting it to turn and feel absolutely horrible
mid-corner with the standard tyres. Very unstable. Switching to proper
sports rubber improved things considerably though. I should have kept it and
upgraded the springs too, though it still would have been very much on the
'touring' side of sports-touring.

Fiddling with the standard suspenders only made things worse (only preload
adjustment for the forks): soften them up, and the forks would bottom under
only moderate braking. Stiffen them, and the bike became damn near
unrideable as it bounced over the smallest of bumps.

Top-heavy at slow speeds. U-turns were a pain in the arse.

- sounds like a washing machine. If you buy one, get one of the truimph
aftermarket cans. They give it a lovely note without being too loud.

- Did I mention the standard tyres are shite?

- Leaks a few drops of fuel when parked in the sun on warm days.

- Vibration sends your throttle hand to sleep. Worse than even the
head-down, bum-up Jap superbikes, which just tend to make your wrists ache.
Spending $10 on some wraparound tennis grip lessens this problem slightly.

Overall, I really miss the Sprint RS, despite its limitations. If you like
covering long distances quickly, its a top bike. And you can get em cheap
too.........

 

Hmm OK, well I'm relatively light but stick a mental budget in for
uprated springs.

Handling, after you swapped tyres did you try sliding the forks up
through the triple clamps to sharpen the steering ?

Any different to an inline 4 there ?

That one's the first negative you've said that worries me, I have
trouble with that already on most bikes.

Yeah, intended purpose is a two up tourer

JL

 

No, mostly because that would have placed more weight on the wrists,
exacerbating the pins-n-needles problem. I should also say that it was my
first big bike, and I didn't know how to get what I wanted. Given that
messing with the preload didn't improve things, I really didn't want to dick
around with it anymore.

I should stress that it's not that you can't hustle the bike through corners
quickly, it just takes more work and there's a lack of feedback compared to
more sporty kit.

Yep. My ZX9, Z1000 and (come to think of it) my mate's VTR1000 all much
better for u-turns. All handled much better, and if they had more comfy
seats would be up there with the sprint on comfort.

Yeah, it was irritating. Some aftermarket throttle grips or some cheap
wraparound tennis grip might help

I think you'll be very happy with one, so long as you're aware of the
shortcomings going in. The good points are very, very good, while the bad
ones are probably all solvable if you know what you're doing.

 

OK ta.
JL

 

<snip>

If you had had the brains to post-order you could have not had to own it

 

Thanks G-S

JL