[drthompson65]

New 2010 Triumph Sprint GT gets power and torque boost - | Motorbike reviews | Latest Bike Videos | MCN

 

[mikstr]

Now there is a bike I could see myself buying (unless, of course, I can find a Mexican looking to unload an RC45; apparently they make good long-distance touring rigs, what with their smooth Little Bang V4s....). I loved the old ST but the underseat exhaust was a ridiculous feature (on any bike IMHO, but especially on a tourer or sport-tourer).

 

[fotomoto]

I loved the old ST but the underseat exhaust was a ridiculous feature (on any bike IMHO, but especially on a tourer or sport-tourer).

Until you accidentally drop it and then realize you didn't just dent nor scratch an $800 piece of thin metal tubing. <wink, wink, nudge, nudge> :rockon

Looks like you'll have to remove that huge can to remove the wheel from the SSSA. WOW, just lost yet another advantage there too. Why not go to a cheaper standard swingarm (swinging fork)? And still a conventional fork in this day and time? Geez, is Triumph trying to copy Kawi's original Concours model concept? :woot:

 

[mikstr]

Good points (my experience getting stuck in slow-moving traffic astride a 1098 a couple of years ago has acquainted me with the less desirable aspects of underseat exhausts, however), and I am inclined to agree with you on the conventional fork. That aside, I rode one during a press launch a year and a half ago and quite enjoyed it. IMO it is the perfect combination of sport and touring. Is it perfect? No, but it comes closer than anything else out there at the moment.

 

[Rickster]

 

[banda]

And still a conventional fork in this day and time? Geez, is Triumph trying to copy Kawi's original Concours model concept? :woot:

Triumph's conventional fork (think back to Daytona 600, 650, Speed Four) is a pretty kick ass fork.

USD forks don't offer any real advantage on a road bike. And they have some non-trivial disadvantages. You have to design the fender to protect the entire male slider portion of the fork from road debris. You have to have great fat triple clamps and limited steering lock. For what? Slightly less unsprung mass? Why does that matter on a sport tourer that handles well already?

So you have to ask yourself, do you want to impress spec sheet wannabes with your bike? Or do you just want it to work the best that it can? I'd take a Triumph right side up fork over a Kawasaki USD fork any day. And for a sport tourer, I'd take wider steering lock and better slider protection from pits and dings over lower unsprung mass, higher torsional rigidity, and pose value.

:twocents

 

[mikstr]

Triumph's conventional fork (think back to Daytona 600, 650, Speed Four) is a pretty kick ass fork.

USD forks don't offer any real advantage on a road bike. And they have some non-trivial disadvantages. You have to design the fender to protect the entire male slider portion of the fork from road debris. You have to have great fat triple clamps and limited steering lock. For what? Slightly less unsprung mass? Why does that matter on a sport tourer that handles well already?

So you have to ask yourself, do you want to impress spec sheet wannabes with your bike? Or do you just want it to work the best that it can? I'd take a Triumph right side up fork over a Kawasaki USD fork any day. And for a sport tourer, I'd take wider steering lock and better slider protection from pits and dings over lower unsprung mass, higher torsional rigidity, and pose value.

:twocents

Curiously, Triumph uses the exact same front fender on the older Speed Triples with conventional forks as the newer editions with USD forks (I researched the part numbers as I fit a CBR900RR conventional fork on my "pedestrian" VTR and mated it to a Speed Triple front fender as it is both cheaper and more stylish than the Honda piece).