2001 Triumph Sprint ST

[SwissBrit]

Hi all,

Well after skiving the day off work, I've spent most of this morning playing on the road with the above mentioned bike.  Niiiiiiiice.  Really, really fun to drive and much, much more comfortable than the VFR.  I'm seriously thinking about parting with the cash and buying it.

2001 Sprint ST
48k km (about 29k miles)
BRG

There are however, one or two little things that I'm not too sure about (mechanically), so I thought I'd come to the experts  

Starting up from cold, there is a very odd and very loud ticking sound.  The frequency of the sound increased with higher revs.  Were this a car, I might start using words like "big end", and "rattle of death", however after 5 minutes of warm up the sound went away.  Possibly something sticking due to it not being ridden for a while?

Moving on from there, the engine revved very freely and didn't miss a beat at all.  When idle however, I got the feeling that it might be running a little roughly.  A couple of gentle flicks on the gas and she sounded great when revving.  It's just the idle that sounds, well not lumpy or like the bike might cut out, just "unrefined" I suppose would be the best way to describe it.  The garage guy said that the 3 cylinder engine does sound like that and it's totally normal.

From my understanding, the garage are having an issue getting rid of it.  It's too old for their normal stock and they're doing it as a favour for a customer who brought her new bike from them.  Being a Suzuki dealership, I personally think that he probably doesn't know that much about Triumph as a brand (and Sprints are like rocking horse crap out here) so isn't really the best person to take advice from regarding what a 3 pot would sound like.

He's giving me the bike for a weekend test ride so I'll be able to see if it's still comfortable after 200 miles or so (I think they really want shot of this bike).  Whilst I'm doing that, are there any specific things to watch out for?  Any Triumph specific issues that I need to keep an eye out for?

Does anybody have some experience with how this engine should sound on tickover?

[garry]

That gen Sprint makes a bit of engine noise. Ask about the fuel connector recall. I also remember there being a clutch cable related recall and perhaps something with the single-sided swingarm bearing. You can probably find threads on triumphrat.net with about the recall history on Sprints.

[DaisyCutter]

My newer Sprint idles smoothly and doesn't tick.

If it were me:


You get this Sprint for the weekend, so you can do a hard shake down run.  Most people don't get this opportunity.  The dealer didn't take this bike as a favor to lose money.  That's a lie, the dealer will profit from it.  The seller probably got $600 for it on trade. I think the dealer hopes that you either bond with it or crash it this weekend... either way it's "sold".  The dealer probably stands to make the most profit if you wad it up.

I'd do a good safety inspection and take it for a ride to another Sprint that's for sale, and see how that sounds. Or maybe find a member who's willing to do a side by side run, if you're so inclined to see if the sounds are "typical".

If it were me, I'd put in a slug of fuel treatment and fresh gasoline, then I'd run the snot out of it on a long ride (as much as you can with the tires).

If it survived, then I'd consider buying it.

On a ten year old bike, you may need to have the carbs synch'ed  and cleaned for optimal performance.

Also consider how old the tires may be, it could need new tires even if ample tread is left.

New grease on the wheel bearings, steering stem, and shock linkage.



Use that as bargaining leverage.

The upshot is that traditional logic suggests it should be mechanically fine, most engines that are going to have a major failure, will do it at either very low or high miles.  If it's lived strong for 30K, it probably has another 30K inside it.

It should feel at least as strong as a VFR.  My 1050 feels notably stronger at the low-to-mid range than a VFR.  

Post pics!  

[Bowtie76]

My 06 sprint has what I call an almost lumpy idle,  which is just a part of the tripple moter.  If you think about it the idle should be somewhere between a parallel twin and a inline 4.  

I'm not sure about the ticking though, mine doesn't do that.

Otherwise I can say that the triple motors are bullit proof and more fun than you can shake a stick at.

Ride it and if you fall in love with it buy it otherwise walk away.

[onedollarjuana]

Take it to a mechanic if you are truly interested.

And don't get the carbs sync'ed.  It's injected.

My buddy's 2000 ST has 50k miles on it and stills runs great.  My 2002 ST has 29k on it and turns great.  The older engines are noisy compared to the newer ones, but seem to run forever.

There is a small chance of having a bad crankshaft.  Some older Sprints had a bad batch of cranks that broke in half.  It might be limited to 2002, though.  Check the http://www.triumphrat.net/sprint-forum/ for more info than you can shake a stick at.

[bubba zanetti]

Throttle body sync is a good step is the idle is lumpy and the revs go up and down.

I sold my 01 with just over 60,000 miles. Never any ticking. I would do a few things. Does pulling in the clutch and releasing make any difference while the noise is occurring ?  I would take a piece of tubing and use it as a stethoscope and try to isolate where the sound is coming from - top end ? bottom end?  I would be curious what kind of oil is in it and the condition.

These are tough motors and I have not heard of this issue before. Somewhere there was an issue with the clutch that could produce some ticking but I cannot recall.

Best of luck and ride another one if you can get your hands on it.  

[SwissBrit]

Thanks for the imput guys and gals.

The Swiss seem to love all things new, so when anything be it a car or a bike gets beyond 5 years old, it's almost impossible to sell.  This one has been dropped (lightly) on both sides so the fairing and one of the boxes is scratched.  However if you ignore all the things that have been done to it (Scott oiler, Raised bars and installed Garmin Satnav), it's still coming up at about chf 2k (about the same in $) BELOW other bikes of this kind.  I originally thought that it must be in a really crappy condition due to the price, and the fact that whoever took the pics really needs to stop as the bike looked so beaten up.

Real life however is a different thing.  THe damage is very light, and certainly less than I was expecting for a 10 year old bike.

I'm going to have a chat to my local bike mechanic (who also happens to be my landlord) to get his opinion.  

Thanks all.

[jhawk]

......These are tough motors and I have not heard of this issue before. Somewhere there was an issue with the clutch that could produce some ticking but I cannot recall.... 

Triumph triples have a fair amount of top end noise and a different idle than other bikes ....ticking sound..... some earlier models (prior to 1998) had occasional problems with the sprag clutch (on the starter)... if this was the problem, the ticking sound would not have gone away....

[Flying W]

I had a 2000 ST. These motors have a very industrial sound at idle but sound great beyond that. I put 30k on mine and really loved the unique character of the engine. Your extended test ride should tell you much more about the condition of this example.  I liked my ST way better than the VFR I replaced it with.

[Rincewind]

My Triumph makes some ticking sounds when starting up from cold, but I have no idea if it's the same ticking you hear on that bike.  Mine's like a tap-tap-tap-tap for a minute, and then it goes away, no problem.

Triples do sound sort of weird at idle.  

See onedollarjuana's link above to the RAT forum if you want to read about Sprints forever and a day.

[Croak]

Much of the rattle in '99-01 Sprint idle noise is from the gear linkage to the automotive style alternator.  Another source of noise is the injectors themselves, which is where the ticking sound at idle usually comes from, and the injectors are pulsing at a higher rate when the bike is cold.

My '99 was louder than my '02 at idle, but both had the same tick tick tick when cold.  Made me worry about valve issues at first.  

[Papa Lazarou]

The sp[rag clutch noise should be obvious at start-only start.

Triples do sound different to fours. But you suggest that it may be more than that.

Get a check from an independent engineer. These engines should be good for 200K