Paul in South Mississippi

[aviatorandwriter]

Hey guys. My name is Paul. Second post on this site. First one was on the GSX650F thread.
Quick bio:
Riding since I was seven (for those who are interested, that was 1975).
Riding an 07 GSXR 1000 and an 06 Triumph Sprint ST but used to have a 98 Katana 750 and always loved that bike. (Thinking about getting a used 750 or the new GSX650F for my wife).
Living in South Mississippi, the weather allows me to do a fair amount of riding all year. I spend most of my time riding on the street but also ride a YZ 125 on the dirt and borrow a track only ZX6 for track days which I'm hoping to do plenty more of this summer.

[WyredHardware]

welcome to KR

[Zepp]

Hello Paul, welcome to KatRiders

[idphillips]

Welcome to KR. BTW how do you like the ST ? And what are its weakspots ? Just wondering cause I've been looking at them as a possible upgrade

[JBLUE]

Hey paul welcome

[Mat0302]

welcome to KatRiders

[Suzuki_dog]

Welcome to KatRiders, Paul.

[whitecl0ver]

welcome

[GytRDunKat]

Welcome to KR!

[DOCTORNITRO]

Welcome to KR







THE DOC

[Dennis]

Welcome to KR!

[Nero]

Welcome!

[fireman1724]

Welcome

[Rushfan]

Welcome to KR Paul youre in good company!

[aviatorandwriter]

Welcome to KR. BTW how do you like the ST ? And what are its weakspots ? Just wondering cause I've been looking at them as a possible upgrade

I love the ST. When I was looking for a sport tourer, I considered the BMW K1200S, Honda ST 1300, Honda VFR Interceptor, Yamaha FJR and the Katana. I'll list each bike and why I chose the Triumph over it.

BMW K1200S- costs too much and for a bike with 164hp, it didn't seem that powerful.

Honda ST1300- One word: BORING. I liked the bike but it felt underpowered. It had more touring emenities (better gauges, storage) but it still seems like Honda couldn't get the sport into the tourer. More like a Goldwing on the Atkins diet.

Interceptor- old technology. Honda needs to do some real upgrading on this bike. 800cc's put it at the lower end of the displacement range and still didn't get the best mileage

Yamaha FJR- too expensive, too heavy, too HOT (I hear they've fixed the heat issue for 07) Poor fuel economy.

Katana- as much as I loved my old 89, I just couldn't force myself to buy a new one till Suzuki updated it a little. Also no hard bag option which is something I really wanted for longer rides.

The Triumph Sprint ST has an unbelievable amount of torque for an inline engine and it makes that torque from around 2500 rpm's to just above 7000. Wheelies are actually more predictable on it than the GSXR.
Hard bags are now standard equipment and those things could go through a storm and not leak. There is a little heat from the riser by the right peg so wearing boots is a good idea.
Fuel? 40mpg if I'm not trying, 45 if I'm piddling along like Mr. Magoo.
Triumph put more emphasis on sport than tourer. The bike is great in the curves with the only weak areas being a too soft suspension and it could really use some better brakes. Weight is around 480 lbs so it's right between the heavy FJR and most sportbikes. The weight feels a little high when going slow(similar to older BMW K1200's) but add a little speed and it feels comparable to the Interceptor when flicking through the turns.

Hope this helps. Come down to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and I'll let you take mine out to see if you like it. Of course, Triumph is a huge believer in actually letting customers do test rides so your local dealership will probably have a demo bike you can try.

Paul