Be Devil's advocate on Street Triple R

[ConPilot1]

One thing you can never take away from Rince, he does love his Street Trip.

[Rincewind]

One thing you can never take away from Rince, he does love his Street Trip.

That's true.    However, it is far from ideal for commuting or touring.  It's got taut sporty suspension that feels all the bumps.  It's lightweight with a short wheelbase - good for hooliganism but not for feeling planted at high speeds.  It feels diminutive.  It's got nothing between your gear and the weather when the rain comes.  It has no easy-to-wash fairing but instead lots of dirty nooks and crannies.  It has no electronic ABS or TCS to help out, nor any special trip function instrumentation.  

So overall it's a pretty bare bones bikes that gives a raw riding experience with an emphasis on performance.  It's closer to being a scalpel then a swiss-army knife.  Rabidsnipe started his post saying he let his heart rule his head for the V7 purchase.  I'd say the heart would need to rule again for a STR purchase, because there are many more sensible bikes for the intended purposes.

[Rabidsnipe]

RE: heart vs. head.

One of my goals with my next purchase is to keep the bike for 3-4 years.  I recently calculated that in 8 years of riding (took MSF course in summer of 2003) I've owned 8 bikes.  That's a terrible year/bike ratio (or a wonderful ratio depending on your point of view).  What I’m trying to do is find that happy medium between passion and functionality.  While the FZ1 was functionality fantastic, it just didn’t “do it” for me.  On the other hand, while I sometimes found myself ogling the V7 in my own garage, it wasn’t really up to my mission requirements.  The VFR was the last bike that had a little bit of both.  My tastes, expected riding profile, and experience have changed since then.  The next bike down the passion -> functionality ladder seems to be the Ninja 1000 but I’ve really grown to love the naked/roadster style.

[Rincewind]

8-bikes in 8-years is a lot!   Good for you!   

I rode a Ninja 1000 last summer - nice bike but buzzy at high revs.  I think it would end up like the FZ1 for you. 

If I were in your shoes, I'd definitely try out the middleweight ADV bikes like the Tiger 800, Versys, V-strom, and BMW's.  

But that said, if you can deal with the aforementioned "devil's advocate" shortcomings, the STR is a PEACH!  

[bucktownbilly]

I have to crack my knees and stand on the pegs every hour or so...

I do this all the time on the FZ6 and 919.  Rolling into small towns provide the perfect opportunity to do so before cranking it back up to triple digits heading out

[Rincewind]

Regarding the headlights, have you seen any comments as to whether the new headlights are any better than the bug eyes?  I've seen a few postings regarding different bulbs that have helped in that regard.

One guy put the new lights on his 2010 model and reported that the new lights have a much better spread.  I haven't seen the new ones lit up at night to compare to the old lights.  The one complaint I've seen multiple times for the new lights (on Speeds and Streets) is cracking.  

The older style bug eyes definitely get my bike noticed by traffic, which is great.  I prefer the older style, but the newer style is not that bad.  

[ANZAC]

Yes, the older iconic British Bug Eye headlights are the best and one of the main reasons for buying a Streety  

The new headlights and digital Triumph tank logo are just wrong.  Someone at Triumph  

[SVTNate]

I own a Speed, not a Street, but I think that the worry of wind blast at highway speeds is over thought by many including myself prior to purchase.

I was really worried, because I used to own a Harley clone (V Star 1300) that was miserable at 75+ mph without a windshield.  Then I had an FJR, but obviously it has lots of protection from the wind.

Riding position makes an enormous difference.

My typical mountain run consists of round trip 160 miles or so, with about 90 of those miles being on the freeway at um... yeah.  The speed limit.  Anyway, with ear protection against the noise, it's totally comfortable.  As you know, on a naked it's clean air hitting you, no buffeting, but with the more sporty riding position it's not tiresome at all.

The Street is more upright than my bike, but not by much IIRC.  Should be comfortable.  I wouldn't hesitate to run through an entire tank at 80mph without stopping on my Speed.

[Rabidsnipe]

Riding position makes an enormous difference.

This was my thought exactly. After my test ride on the Street I was dumbfounded by how smooth it was, both the airflow and the motor. Hoping back on the FZ1 the buzzy vibrations from the motor and the buffeting from the screen felt harsh.

Now if I could just find a used one within 250 miles I'd be set.