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2008 Triumph Model Line Press Launch

Posted by Kenn Stamp
Friday, 18 April 2008
Page 2 of 3 Day two started bright and early with the forecast calling for some wet weather, 60% chance if memory serves me right. Not only did rain loom on the horizon but low temperatures as well. It was around 60 degrees at the lodge but would be dropping somewhere close to 40 degrees as we made our way over the mountains. Oh yeah and it would be damp too as, even without rain, thick fog blankets the mountain tops in the early morning. As everyone was milling about chit chatting and such, I strolled over and staked my claim to a gray Sprint ST. The gray one was the one without bags but it was fitted with Triumph's performance exhaust that looks exactly like a stock unit. Looks the same but, boy oh boy, it sure doesn’t sound the same. As we left the lodge I played with the bike a little bit for “journalistic” reasons. At least that was going to be my excuse if asked about why I was keeping the bike in 3rd gear when I really should be in 5th. In reality I was doing it because I loved the sound of the exhaust. While this is Triumph’s official entry into the “sport-touring” genre, it is definitely skewed much closer to the “sport” side of that equation. The riding position has the bars set much lower and the pegs set much higher than on other sport-touring bikes. This is probably not a bike that a person looking for a big sport-touring bike to eat up long highway miles will look at when deciding which bike to buy. The Sprint’s niche is not in medium to long-distance touring with some twisties thrown in, but in short to medium distance touring comprised almost entirely of twisties. With a dry weight that ranges from approximately 115-180 pounds lighter than other bikes in the sport-touring genre and a wheelbase that is shorter by a minimum of 1.3 inches, this is a bike that is more at home at someplace like the Cherohala Skyway rather than your local interstate. Throw in a minimum $2k dollar savings over other sport touring bikes and the Sprint ST starts to look more enticing for those that enjoy the ride as much as the destination. The Sprint ST heads into 2008 with only minor tweaks to an already excellent rig. Triumph modified the headlight lenses to provide improved headlight performance; very important should your day in the saddle turn into a night in the saddle. Two other changes that were made involve new footpeg rubber for improved durability and prolonged wear, and two new colors: Pacific Blue and Graphite. Wind protection was good and I didn’t experience any buffeting around my helmet during the morning ride. Putting out 125hp at the crank does leave the Sprint ST down on power from some other big sport-touring bikes but the lack of weight should easily make up for most of that power deficiency. It was an entertaining ride and was the bike that I got to ride through the fog with. For those unfamiliar with mountain riding, it is a unique experience to ride on a curvy road through fog so thick you can barely make out the bike 15 feet in front of you. Add in 40 degree temps and a fogged visor (both inside and out) and there is no better way to focus your attention and wake-up your brain. After our first photography stop, I changed bikes and jumped on an orange Triumph Tiger 1050. Being 6’0” tall with an almost 32” inseam, there are few bikes that I can’t flat-foot at stops with the Tiger being one of them. When Triumph changed the focus of the Tiger model line from “Adventure Touring” to “Do-It-All-and-Then-Some”, they didn’t mess with the seat height, deciding to keep it tall like its predecessors. Tall seat height equals tall suspension which makes for a comfy ride over “paved” roads. The Tiger is a UBM (Universal British Motorcycle) much like its forefathers were in the 60’s. Most people can only afford (or have room for) one bike, so quite a few of those owners look for a bike that can do more than one thing; a Jack of all Trades – Master of None kind of bike. There have always been Japanese bikes on the market that have either been designed for that role or been forced into that role, but few have the charisma of their British counterparts. The ride to our next photography stop was only about 15 miles down the road so my first ride aboard the Tiger 1050 was going to be a short one. Short, but very telling. Almost immediately I noticed that whereas the other riders would swerve to miss potholes and such, I would actually swerve to hit them just to enjoy the Tiger's suspension. If you live in an area where the roads resemble a teenager's face more than a baby's bottom, you will enjoy the bump absorbing qualities of the Tiger. Unfortunately, while it's suspension soaked up bumps like a champ it was a little too soft for hardcore cornering antics. One thing to keep in mind is that, unless you are doing a press launch at a track, manufacturers set the bikes up to be middle of the road suspension wise. This is due to the wide variety of both riders and riding styles that need to be accommodated. When pushed even semi-hard in corners the Tiger would give a bit of a wobble. It never went past that wobble point but it was a bit unsettling. I asked the Triumph representatives on hand about that and they told me that they wanted to build the bike to accommodate the broadest base of riders possible. Their logic is that if a Tiger 1050 owner was more interested in cornering prowess and less interested in the touring abilities, they would just fit stiffer Ohlins springs and shock and be happy with the bike. If they had made the suspension stiffer then the overall usability of the bike would have suffered. It will take more saddle time than I had to see if this logic could be validated or not and to see if I could adjust the suspension enough to reduce the wobble without decaying the ride over rougher roads. We'll have to wait and see if the talks Triumph and I are having about a long term test bike come to fruition in August. Oh, and the big change for 2008 is the absolutely scrumptious (did I really just use the word scrumptious?) Blazing Orange color. I'm not a “wild” color kind of guy but this color would be my first choice to own. << Start < Prev 1 2 3 Next > End >>

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