Sprint ST - First Impressions
Discussion
Just a few notes as a few people have been asking what it's like.
I have just got back from an hour or so on the demo bike and if I had to sum it up in one word it would be 'fantastic'
Before I start, I have to say that my previous experience is only on a Bandit 600 and CBR600 so this is a whole different ball game for me. Also, I only had 6k rpm to play with as it's still being run in.
First things first, it looks great. It looks good in the pictures but it is so much better in the flesh. The attention to detail is outstanding. All the little touches just make the bike.
The sound from the triple is very different from the I4's I'd ridden before. It roughly purrs away at idle and roars when you open the throttle but when you close it there are a some pops and bangs from the tailpipe. This is with standard exhaust. The guys were saying that the race can should even spit a few flames.
I only had an hour on the bike due to the demand for test rides but I managed to fit in a good 50 miles through towns/villages A's and B's.
Climing on I thought it would be a bit of a beast with it being a litre bike but it surprised me how easy it is to control on light throttle/clutch. The throttle has no jerkiness at low revs or pulling away and when you make it to open road it pulls cleany away in any gear from very little revs. There is a bit of a kick around 5k but I didn't really open her up beyond 6k.
On the road the bike is really easy to handle. It is so much better on the back roads than the cbr although round town it does feel heavier and bigger (to be expected though). You can easily throw the bike around and it is far better than than anything I have the balls to try with it.
The brakes are amazing and the front caught me out the first time I used it. I just didn't expect to be hauled down to a crawl so quickly.
Gearbox is smooth and easily goes up and down the box without any snatchiness. Clutch is strong but not too heavy to bother me round town.
I did get a slightly sore wrist round town but I think thats more down to my bad technique than anything else but once the speed got up the wind blast kept the weight off it.
Some of the reviews have been complaining about the mirrors vibrating but that must be at mag review speeds and not what can be called normal road speeds. Suffice to say that up to the 80's you can see fine.
The speedo is a little clustered with all they numbers in such a small space but it's easily readable. The digital info screen does lots of good stuff but I was having way too much fun to be bothered looking at it. Just be sure to reset your max speed if you get stopped by the bobbies
All in, it's an absolutely stonking bike and I never once felt that maybe a litre was too much for my (lack of) experience.
If you want one be fast as I've heard that there are only 20 bikes left for the UK this year (680 have been ordered so far)
Roll on April!!!!
I have just got back from an hour or so on the demo bike and if I had to sum it up in one word it would be 'fantastic'
Before I start, I have to say that my previous experience is only on a Bandit 600 and CBR600 so this is a whole different ball game for me. Also, I only had 6k rpm to play with as it's still being run in.
First things first, it looks great. It looks good in the pictures but it is so much better in the flesh. The attention to detail is outstanding. All the little touches just make the bike.
The sound from the triple is very different from the I4's I'd ridden before. It roughly purrs away at idle and roars when you open the throttle but when you close it there are a some pops and bangs from the tailpipe. This is with standard exhaust. The guys were saying that the race can should even spit a few flames.
I only had an hour on the bike due to the demand for test rides but I managed to fit in a good 50 miles through towns/villages A's and B's.
Climing on I thought it would be a bit of a beast with it being a litre bike but it surprised me how easy it is to control on light throttle/clutch. The throttle has no jerkiness at low revs or pulling away and when you make it to open road it pulls cleany away in any gear from very little revs. There is a bit of a kick around 5k but I didn't really open her up beyond 6k.
On the road the bike is really easy to handle. It is so much better on the back roads than the cbr although round town it does feel heavier and bigger (to be expected though). You can easily throw the bike around and it is far better than than anything I have the balls to try with it.
The brakes are amazing and the front caught me out the first time I used it. I just didn't expect to be hauled down to a crawl so quickly.
Gearbox is smooth and easily goes up and down the box without any snatchiness. Clutch is strong but not too heavy to bother me round town.
I did get a slightly sore wrist round town but I think thats more down to my bad technique than anything else but once the speed got up the wind blast kept the weight off it.
Some of the reviews have been complaining about the mirrors vibrating but that must be at mag review speeds and not what can be called normal road speeds. Suffice to say that up to the 80's you can see fine.
The speedo is a little clustered with all they numbers in such a small space but it's easily readable. The digital info screen does lots of good stuff but I was having way too much fun to be bothered looking at it. Just be sure to reset your max speed if you get stopped by the bobbies
All in, it's an absolutely stonking bike and I never once felt that maybe a litre was too much for my (lack of) experience.
If you want one be fast as I've heard that there are only 20 bikes left for the UK this year (680 have been ordered so far)
Roll on April!!!!
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