+ Click to Enlarge SMOOTH STYLING: The Triumph Sprint RS makes a statement by being understated – jolly British, chaps. Picture: DAVE ABRAHAMS

March 4, 2003
By Dave Abrahams

Time was when the previous year's all-out sports bike was this year's sports tourer, often without so much as a change of graphics. Today's riders are much more demanding and that simplistic approach doesn't cut it anymore.

Now an all rounder must deliver all-day touring comfort, pinpoint handling on the track and during advanced riding courses, a tight turning circle and stability down to walking pace to handle the Friday afternoon gridlock and a wide spread of power from a steady pull-off at idle to a flat-out top-end rush.

If that sounds like a tall order – it is.

Even today there are only three models laying claim to entry in this niche – and none of them is an across-the-frame four, the layout Japan Inc has spent three decades teaching us is the only way to go for a motorcycle to be all things to all riders.

The first, some say archetypal, all rounder was Honda's VFR750, derived from the track and refined to the point of blandness. The latest claimant is Ducati's ST4, a wonderful sports tourer but a not quite perfect commuter.

In between there's the Triumph Sprint ST, very possibly the best of all worlds; it's not the greatest at anything but it has the best combination of attributes and capabilities, which is what this category is all about.

The motor is the latest 88kW edition of Hinckley's now familiar 955cc triple. Like the RS, it has the new closed-loop fuel-injection system with a lambda sensor that reads the level of unburned gases in the exhaust and adjusts the fuel input accordingly, dozens of times a second.

The system not only adjusts itself to meter the most appropriate mix of air and fuel but also learns how fast – or slowly - the rider is changing those parameters.

It damps fuel-injection jerkiness as well as or better than any spritzer system IOL has tried. You can drift through rush-hour traffic like a shark through a shoal of mackerel on a whiff of throttle then the combination of power and superb road manners makes it unnecessary to prove anything in the Stoplight GP.

Then show the ST a gap in the tintops and you're through it before most people see you. Crack open the throttle and the closed-loop system reacts instantaneously – the Sprint's very considerable muscle is right there, right now.

Three-cylinder motors (certain red-hot two-strokes notwithstanding) have always been renowned for their gutsy power delivery and this is one of the best. It pulls, growling gently, from about 2200rpm with masses of torque from three. It'll tolerate full throttle anywhere above 4000 and howls up to the bloodline at nine-five on a steady wave of torque.

Turn it on hard anywhere in the upper half of the rev-counter dial and you get a first-hand demonstration of what 100Nm of sheer grunt will do.

Its road manners may be impeccable but the bike is no pussycat. There's enough vibration in the power band to remind you that this is not a four-cylinder bike, set off by the unmistakeably musical intake roar typical of all big triples, and enough power to get you into a lot of trouble if you don't concentrate.

The Sprint thundered up to 220km/h in an impressively short distance and topped out at 245, showing a needle's width less than 9000rpm on the white-faced, central rev-counter. Still more impressive, it was rock steady at top speed despite a slight quartering wind, even with my hands closed firmly on the grips.

Most sports bikes pick up a front-end shimmy at maximum velocity that requires the bars to be held extra-gently by your fingertips, which can be a little spooky at 70 metres a second.

All of this addictively usable urge is fed through a tough but rather soft-feeling cable operated clutch; I never managed to make it misbehave but it lacks the solid final hook-up that makes Kawasaki clutches so successful on the drag-strip.

It also refuses to judder or grab, no matter how hot.

Triumph gearboxes, over the last couple of years, have shown a tendency to jump out during snap upshifts without the clutch. I've learned to use the clutch and even, on some examples, to wait a split second before releasing the upward tension on the gear lever to make sure it's in properly (is there a rude joke there somewhere?).

The test ST, however, missed only one shift during the time IOL's two test riders played with it and that was probably my fault. The shift is a little heavier and considerably more notchy than I am used to on a Hinckley product, even though this example was well run-in, but reassuringly positive, even on full-bore getaways.

There is very little lash in the final drive train, just a gentle clonk from the cush drive as it takes up the power in first – and that despite the long chain run needed by the single-sided swing-arm.

The revised fuel-injection system and better selector geometry have had a heavy impact on the Sprint's power delivery; it's a little more muscular, slightly harder-edged, and demands (and gets) more respect.

The rounded twin-spar perimeter frame stays for 2003, as does the hefty cast-alloy swing-arm, but the conventional front suspension benefits from the same careful re-valving, revised fluid specs and different spring rates that made such a difference to its sportier sister, the RS.

The net result is a superbly stable chassis, its front wheel firmly planted under all but the most extreme circumstances, that still turns in like a scrambler, flips from side to side like a GP bike and dives deep into a downhill corner, brakes hard on, without losing its composure.

The steering is not quite as millimetre-precise as the latest 600cc Supersports machinery but it's still more taut than many race replicas of a decade ago and a tribute to what can be achieved on a comfortable, 200kg real-world motorcycle.

The brakes, big four-pot Nissins as always on Triumphs, look the same as the tackle on earlier machinery but this particular set-up has less lever movement and more bite than I'm used to from these stoppers.

It permits accurate modulation deep into a corner and let senior road tester Jenni Peters to pull off some spectacular out-braking.

The rear brake has more power and considerably more feel than most modern sports machinery; it's good for more than just parking and hill starts and lent much-needed confidence when I rode the Sprint in rain.

The body panels are the same as the original ST, except for a pair of bulges to house built-in front indicators that replace the earlier external units. I don't think they are an improvement, but that's a personal view.

Certainly the whole front of the motorcycle is smooth, admirably set off by the mono-colour paint. The test bike was finished in what Triumph calls Caspian Blue, a magnificent metallic royal blue with unexpected depth and highlights in strong sunlight.

It's not only stunningly beautiful but also easy to clean and photograph.

The plastic covers are firmly moulded and closely fitted with solid brackets and lots of silver heat insulation on the inside surfaces that, unfortunately, deflected the considerable heat from the motor towards the rider.

Everybody who rode the bike complained that it became uncomfortable in heavy traffic on a warm day, a fault that doesn't afflict the half-faired RS.

The heat disperses on the move but Peters also mentioned that the motor warms up much quicker than earlier versions and runs hotter in traffic, hot enough to cause her concern under certain circumstances.

I disagreed; although the bike gets hot enough to scald your shins, the coolant temperature stays within the maker's safe limits – just don't ride this bike in shorts during rush hour!

The RS shares its abbreviated digital dash with the sports models but the ST is blessed with a fully fitted flight deck and analogue instrumentation. There are dials and needles for speed, revs, fuel level and coolant temperature, plus a neat row of warning icons right at the top, closest to the rider's eye line.

This classy flight deck is unfortunately let down by a too-small digital clock half-hidden in a little recess and difficult to read even when stationary. A clock face with proper hands would be better here for the same reason as analogue dials are better than digital – easier to read without having to look directly at it.

The switchgear is standard Hinckley, solid and chunky; it's the same as that on nearly all the triples for the sound reason of saving costs without sacrificing quality.
The ST also has a main stand, like all bikes in this class.

The headlights are wired strangely; only the left light comes on for low beam and only the right for high – which generates a solid stream of well-meaning people telling you one of your lights is broken.

I prefer to use all the lights I paid for, day or night; if the bike were mine I would immediately rewire them in the standard Japanese pattern.

The seat, slightly stepped for the pillion, is wide and flat, deeply padded and stays comfortable for hours. The foot-pegs are relatively low, affording ample room for moving about, but the chassis is narrow at this point so the low pegs don't affect ground clearance.

The tailpipe also helps with ground clearance; it has two mounting points – a lower setting to offer room to mount hard luggage and a higher mounting point for when you want to get really serious about going quickly.

Heatable grips, a higher screen, an anti-theft alarm and even a performance tail-pipe (read loud!), strictly for off-road use in the nanny state, although you'd probably get away with it here if the local hooligans are anything to go by.

Certainly the Sprint ST has faults; they've been highlighted here it's because the overall package is so very good. Of the three great all-rounders, the ST is by far the best tourer, the best commuter by a narrow margin (because of the over-enthusiastic central heating) and second only to the Ducati in the sports category.

Mind you, because of the revised front forks, I might even score that a draw – it's that good.

These bikes are all extraordinarily competent in every field; which one is best must be a personal choice, but on my score-sheet the nod goes to the Triumph Sprint ST.

Test bike from Mike Hopkins Motorcycles, Cape Town

Price: R99 500.

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Specifications:

Motor: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke transverse triple.
Capacity: 955cc.
Bore x stroke: 79 x 65mm.
Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: 12:1.
Power: 88kW at 9100rpm.
Torque: 100Nm at 5100rpm.
Induction: Multi-point sequential electronic fuel injection.
Ignition: Inductive digital, via electronic engine management system.
Starting: Electric.
Clutch: Cable-operated, multiplate wet clutch.
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox with chain final drive.
Suspension: 43mm conventional cartridge forks with dual-rate springs adjustable for preload (front), monoshock adjustable for preload and rebound damping (rear).
Brakes: Twin 320mm semi-floating discs with four-pot opposed piston callipers at front, 255mm disc with twin-pot opposed piston calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 120/70 - ZR17 tubeless. Rear: 180/55 - ZR17 tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1475mm.
Seat height: 805mm.
Dry weight: 207kg.
Fuel capacity: 19.5 litres
Price: R99 500.

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FIRMLY MOUNTED: None of the body panels shakes or vibrates.