My 2,400 mile test ride!

[radlefty]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, even though I absolutely love my Moto Guzzi Norge, I've been lusting for a Sprint ST for awhile and after failing to find a test ride to verify it's what I wanted, I found a really good deal on a 2007 in Florida and decided to go for it and do a fly & ride from Mpls.  I left last Saturday and got home this Friday after taking the long way home through the mountains of northern Georgia, N. Caraolina & Tennesse. So my first impressions are:  WOW! why has it taken me over 30 years of riding to find a bike like this? The Norge was my first sport-tourer after years of riding standards & cruisers and I have to admit I never understood how important ergos are for comfortable long distance touring even though I had ridden thousands of miles across country on numerous trips. Because of a car accident years ago, I have occassional low back & shoulder pain & figured that those parts of my body would hurt as part of 500 mile days & I just made sure to do plenty of stretching to minimize the pain.  The Norge allowed me to do 700+ mile days with no pain in my back & very little in my shoulder, as well as teaching me how to lean & attack the twistie sections with more confidence. As I continue to work on my riding skills, I began thinking how nice it might be to have a bike with a little more "sport" with the touring which led me to the Sprint. My biggest concern with the Sprint was the more "sporting" ergos. Not so much with my back but with my shoulder & possibly my wrists & Knees. My concerns were soon put to rest, as I rode 210 miles before stopping for gas. The bike is completely stock & it fits me like a glove. The ergos are even better then the Norge for me, with zero pressure on my back, shoulder or wrists. The more forward position keeps me from having to reach to the handlebars & takes all presure off of my shoulder. I do a fair amount of yoga/pilates so I am able to keep pretty good posture in the more forward position.  As far as performance goes, I'm not sure I could keep my license if I had any more. The handling is the twisties is excellent for stock suspension & allows me to lean harder then my skills allow. About the only negatives compared to the Norge are the headlights, brakes, seat and windshield, which are all excellent on the Norge. I used a sheepskin seat cover on my 500 mile day which made the seat bearable and I think I can easily see 600+ miles days when needed.  I think I made the right decision  

[spinalator]

It is amazing the different bikes in the same segment will be comfy or be troublesome. Hope you enjoy the triumph!

[drbenjamin]

Congrats! Glad you like the bike - I had the same experience with my Sprint GT. I was concerned about the posture, and to be fair the first few rides I felt a little tingling in my hands, but once I started keeping my elbows bent it all came together. It's much easier to control the bike leaning forward a bit, and now that I'm used to it I really enjoy the seating position. Plus the sound that engine makes at 5K+ ....

[motormike]

Sounds good.

I think Motoprimo in Lakeville, MN allows test rides on their Triumphs.

[falconati]

^^^they do.  They're good about test rides for both Triumphs and Ducatis.

[scottzilla]

Nice    they can't seem to get rid of the sport in the sport touring.  

[radlefty]

Sounds good.

I think Motoprimo in Lakeville, MN allows test rides on their Triumphs.

Yes they do. I had taken a short test ride 3 years ago.  They had just sold their last Sprint ST days before I went to look at it. They were looking for another one for me. I have had good experiences with them when I had my Rocket.  I really just needed an excuse to take a vacation ( I work 7 days a week from Sept till the middle of April) and I found it. Really enjoying the bike and looking forward to heading back cross country to upstate New York in July where I work all month. I get weekends off and usually head to the Adriondacks.

[motormike]

The last time I was at Motoprimo they had a 2009 Sprint ST but they must have sold it.  They also had a Sprint GT.  If I wasn't such a noob, I would test drive one.  I won't  have my SV until June 10 and i haven't rode since August when I got my license.