Triumph Sprint ST 1050 Road Test

Today Pure Triumph on The Embankment in Wellingborough kindly held a test day. I had booked a Triumph Sprint ST 1050 and duly turned up. Having handed over driving licence, passport and signed for £1500 excess I was given the keys and use of the bike for an hour on my own. Other manufacturers take note, if Buell, Harley and Triumph will let you loose why can't you ? Sitting on the bike the first impression is of how small it is. Both feet plonk on the ground, you sit in the bike rather than on it with your bum flush against the step to the pillion seat and a hunched reach to the bars. All the controls are to hand and feel sweet to use. There is little sensation of weight as you paddle the bike about nor any top heavy feel. This feels like a well worked out complete package. Turn the key and press start with a whiff of throttle, wang goes the rev counter ! Yeehar, this is going to be fun. Snick into first for the first of 6 very positive gears and away we go. Lovely, silky triple power delivery with the fuelling nicely sorted out. Onto dual carriageway and gently up through the gears - hang on - what was that snarl beginning just as I changed up ? Go back down a gear and let it rev - whoohoo ! There it is, that triple yowl that I've read about in the comics. The power delivery is linear, no nasty snatches or sudden upward power steps just a constant whooosh. The handling also feels like that of a small bike. It is absolutely planted on the road at all times, smooth over the bumps and goes exactly where you look in an instant with no dramas or sensation of falling into bends. Onto the twisties and the temptation to leave it in lower gears is too strong to resist - just listen to that ! Effortless rapid progress with nice predictable but strong engine braking. Hauling the bike's speed down to get back onto a dual carriageway needs only a finger on the front brake - you just know you've got all the brakes you'll ever need. Granddaddy niggles ? No heated grips on this bike, the wind blast from the tiny screen comes as a shock, the speedo dial is in a tiny font and hard to see and there is no gear indicator. Tell you what BMW. On the basis that you do not mind using proprietary engines, this one in a miniaturised K1300GT would make a stunning all rounder.