Nearly bought a Triumph Sprint

[HeatedGrips]

After five years of 1150GS riding I'm ready for a change. I think the GS1200 is massively overpriced so decided to look at an alternative.

All the reviews of the new Triumph Sprint rave about it, and as I don't go off-road on the GS I thought I'd have a look.

I dropped in on the horribly-named On Yer Triumph near Aylesbury one quiet afternoon last week. They had a Sprint demo there and it looked the business.

I suppose mentally I'd already bought one when I decided to ask for a test ride.

Ha ha. No-one could be bothered with me. One guy was having a cup of tea with what looked like a mate, another disappeared into the back the showroom and the third, who actually managed to speak, politely asked me to go to one of the other staff as he was busy.

I gave up, if they are like that when you may be putting nine grand their way, what kind of service do they give when you have problems?

So I'm keeping the 1150 for a while, but with the sales success of the 1200 it's only a matter of time before the big boys like Honda design something that beats it.

 

[jimbo]

Pretty much par for the course, just like a saab dealer I visited a while ago.

I suggest you write to the MD and describe your experience. Then add if he would like to turn your opinions of his dealership around, that a salesman calls you and agrees a Friday when they could bring a bike round to your house so you can have an extended weekend test ride. It just might work.
J

 

[BBB61]

You would have been better trying North City Triumph in Chigwell or Boyer Racing in Plumstead SE London. Both would have given you a much better reception than what you got at On yer Triumph. I wouldn't bother going anywhere near Ongar Motorcycles in Great Dunmow though.

Bob

 

[Pukmeister]

Caveat Emptor mate.

A tale of woe......

I am currently rebuilding a Daytona 595 triple which threw a conrod. The reason for this is that when Triumph triples get dropped, oil flows from the sump breather circuit into the airbox and through the throttle bodies into the cylinders. On attempting to restart the motor, the subsequent hydraulic lock causes engine damage. After 2 years of ownership, my mates trumpet developed a tick on the overrun between 3 and 5 thousand revs. We reshimmed the valves and replaced the clutch basket but it still ticked. We were told about small end wear by a specialist and were sceptical as it only happened at certain revs and not all the time.

The engine let go at 20mph (thankfully), when the RH conrod snapped, the piston bent 2 inlet valves and the rod end came through the top casing. I can provide some nice pics if you are interested.

The previous owner had dropped and restarted the engine, bending the conrod close to the small end. This cause premature wear to the small end bearing on the RH cylinder. Eventually the small end bearing wore so badly that the piston tilted in the bore and the rod snapped.

I am picking up a big-end failure T595 engine tomorrow and building one good engine from the two units over the next weeks, checking absolutely everything during the rebuild. Apparently sizing the bottom end bearings can be a pain due to 3 different shell sizes to set the correct oil clearance, wish me luck.

If you are buying a used triumph triple, be sure to check for tell tale signs of being dropped, and get a good warranty on paper.

If you drop a triumph triple, resist the temptation to crank it over until the spark plugs have been removed, thus preventing hydraulic lock as the cylinders will empty of oil. You can then refit the plugs and restart the engine. My local trumpet dealer says they have seen this many times, and the conrods bend quite easily.

Personally I will be sticking with my BMW and Yamaha, you can keep all that bending conrods malarkey.

 

[Twotter]

Going on from the thread about the new Buell I was in my local dealers yesterday and whilst talking to the service manager he mentioned that he had changed his R1100S for a Buell Lightning earlier this year and was now seriously looking at the new Ulysses (sp?).

He'd been quoted somewhere just above £8k for one.

 

[Paul Wakefield]

I think the GS1200 is massively overpriced

The 1150GS ex ABS was £7,595 in 2000. RPI has increased by 14.7% since the Feb 2000 price list. This gives a current price of £8,714. Current list of a non-ABS 1200GS is spookily £8,715.

Seems fair.

Paul

 

[Franky]

I look at a triumph, sprint and st but the build quality is not what you expect in this day and age, cheap plastic, furred metal edges, fantastic engine though!

 

[Pukmeister]

Yeah, those Triples are torquey and nice to thrash too, until you drop it and end up with bent conrods.

 

[Big Lee]

Triumph Stuff!
Handy little site that was most helpful when I had my Daytona 955i

 

[Llama]

I just recently collected my 12gs having traded in my 03 Tiger. I dropped the bike a few times (off-road I might added) and never had any problem (apart from picking it up!).
Prior to the tiger I had a sprint rs for 2 years and I think the triple engine is one of the best on the market.

 

[malc]

I road tested the sprint & the tiger back to back 3 weeks ago I was seriusly impressed with the sprint & I would have bought one but my wrists were killing me after 10 mins so not what I can live with but the engine is gr8.
The tiger was a good bike & I relly liked the engine but the suspension was not in the same league as my 1150R & for a 4000miler the finish could have been better My R has 21000m on & still has a great finish.

The dealer was triumphworld (chesterfield) & they were great really helpfull & nothing was too much trouble I can recomend them.

 

[PW Cymru]

Great engine on the Sprint RS lots of torque, the weight of the cluth eventually finished me though.

On a cold Decmber ride out with the local BMW shop I ended the day not being able to operate the clutch because my wrist was knackered, partially due to the cold and a heavy clutch.

Not wholly the bikes fault I admit but still a problem for me.

Enjoyed it while it lasted though.

 

[spock]

hi you guys, I have a 02 triumph st,and I have done 24k on it, have had no problem with it at all, but I am as soon as funds let me, going to get a 1150gs, I think that the "new ST" looks and goes well but for me it's over priced, strange how we all see things different in'it....and the 2nd hand value of most bmw's and even more so the GS, hold quite a ferm price tag compared to other make of the same age and milage...at the moment the most that I can get to trade my ST. in against a gs. is 3k,....

 

[Kevmulcock]

I have just swapped my 02 RS (11k) for a 1200GS

Obviously completely different bikes, but I loved my RS, Completeing Land end - J O'Groats with fun on A & B roads.

I only swapped because I fell for the GS and my boss was selling his highly modified one for a decent price. It is the ONLY bike I would have swapped for. Otherwise I would have kept the RS for ages longer. The engine is ACE, comfort fine, looks pretty good to. I found the Triumph dealership OK. But BMW seem to go out their way for you. it appears they are just in a different class.

ps RS is for sale!!! (sorry for plug) drop me a line for info

I will happily keep it if the Wife allows!!