Durability of a 955?

[katrider]

I was asked how long a 955 Sprint ST (2003) could be expected to last before major engine or tranny work, and I had no answer...

I would guess that one could expect 80,000 miles before a major rebuild of the top end or tranny?? This is just a pure NSAG (non-scientific a**ed guess...), so what is the general consensus for 955 reliability amoung the Triumph crowd??

How about the new 1050s?

[Papa Lazarou]

My knowledge, garened from others, would give the 955 at least 100K, possibly 150K. Some are well past 250K.

[MadOzodi]

IIRC, stk0308 put over 100k on his 955 Sprint.

[Papa Lazarou]

And the new 1050s are still too new to put a fecked limit on them.

[DNA]

I put 55K on mine before it lost a ring and I tossed the motor - BUT it had major issues from day one - with a top and bottom end rebuild at 4K mi.

I used 1L of oil in the first 600 miles and another 2 l in the first 2000 so it was FUBAR from the factory.  They fixed it under warrenty.

Once it was rebuilt I rode it like hell in rallies and tortured it for multiple 24 hour periods - off road and extreme heat.  I think I overheated in Phili traffic on the summer hunting boni add that was what killed it off.

so yes - 80 -100K should be easy if the motor is sound and you don't kill it intentionally.

-DNA

[bomber]

I'll have 80K on my 1050 by the end of the year --

I'll not tempt murphy, nor display hubris, but I WILL say I love the motor.

[Rincewind]

Way to go, bomber. 

There is legend of a London courier who put 250,000 on a 855cc triple in the early years of the new Triumph.

1995 - Triumph enters the US market again for the first time since the close of the Meriden Cooperative. Triumph buys back UK dispatcher Andy Utting's 1992 Trident after 250,000 miles. Although the engine was hardly touched in that time, Utting went through 30 pair of tires, 120 oil changes, 24 sets of brake pads, two speedometer cables and 14 chain and sprocket sets. In exchange, he got a new Daytona 900.

http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/time06.html

[garry]

I put 43K on my 2002 Sprint RS. I know that's not big numbers, but it was trouble-free to that point and the co-worker I sold it to has been riding it for several more years with no issues.

[Croak]

70k on my 2002 now, no issues with the motor/tranny at all.  Put about 60k on my '99, but it had a rough life before I got it..was still running when I did an engine swap, but was burning a lot of oil.  Swapped engine (from a Daytona 955) asploded three days after the transplant, so I bought the 2002 (ended up being cheaper than another engine swap on the '99).

[BBB]

I bought a new 955ST in 1999 and it needed a new head gasket at 12000 miles. At 15k it started to burn oil (having previously not burnt any) and it was eventually stripped and had the cylinder liners, pistons and piston rings and the valve guide seals replaced (under warranty). After that it ran fine until I sold it with 35k on the clock.

[sprint_st]

IIRC back around the time the 1050's were showing up there were several posts on Sprint forums about longevity of the 955's and there were several guys talking about ring or piston failures between 50 to 100K.  That was "several" like at most five.  Considering those were forums of guys from NZ, OZ, GB, and the USA plus the number of bikes out there, IMO that makes the engine pretty much bullet proof.  Also there were LOTS of posts from guys with 100K plus.

I've 30K on my Tiger 1050 and plan to look at replacing sleeves, pistons and rings at 100K but only IF I'm showing any signs of an issue.

[stk0308]

IIRC, stk0308 put over 100k on his 955 Sprint.

Almost, 98k miles actually.  If I were honest about the last 20k of it with a nearly failing head gasket.  I'm not going to say they're all bulletproof, but they are no worse than any Japanese motor built today.  That should be enough for just about anyone.

BTW, I put 45k miles on a 1999 Sprint ST and currently have 28k miles on a 2008 Sprint ST.

[katrider]

There is legend of a London courier who put 250,000 on a 855cc triple in the early years of the new Triumph.

1995 - Triumph enters the US market again for the first time since the close of the Meriden Cooperative. Triumph buys back UK dispatcher Andy Utting's 1992 Trident after 250,000 miles. Although the engine was hardly touched in that time, Utting went through 30 pair of tires, 120 oil changes, 24 sets of brake pads, two speedometer cables and 14 chain and sprocket sets. In exchange, he got a new Daytona 900.

http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/time06.html

Now this is impressive...most cars can't go this far!!!

I saw a photo of a rider and his Sprint at something like the highest point in N America or ?? and the caption said the bike had 180,000 miles on it...ring a bell with anyone?? It was probably posted on this forum.

[Papa Lazarou]

Snot a legend. Tis true. An early Hinckley Triumph is so over engineered that they will go on forever.  The cut off date is around 1998