Joined
·
4,232 Posts
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> :rockonI loved the old ST but the underseat exhaust was a ridiculous feature (on any bike IMHO, but especially on a tourer or sport-tourer).
Triumph's conventional fork (think back to Daytona 600, 650, Speed Four) is a pretty kick ass fork.And still a conventional fork in this day and time? Geez, is Triumph trying to copy Kawi's original Concours model concept? :woot:
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).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