triumph sprint reliability

Hi:

I just joined the site and am hoping to get some feedback on reliability of the Sprint. Right now I have a BMW K1200RS with about 33,000 miles on it. When I bought the bike new in 02, I test drove the Sprint and thought it was a great ride, handled better than the KRS, had better acceleration. I did have concern with reliability since I usually do 300 to 500 mile rides in upstate New York, Vermont every Sunday.

Toying with the idea of getting a replacement this next Spring. Want something lighter, faster. How have your experiences with the Sprint been? Please let me know if you do long rides like I do. Would think that the Sprint probably is nearly as comfortable as the KRS. What do you think of the Daytona or the Tiger?

At this point, I am thinking..

Sprint
K1200S
Daytona
K1200r
or maybe the Tiger.

Would appreciate any feedback you guys can give me.

Thanks[*]null

[jefferskn]

I have 49,500 miles on my 99 Sprint ST right now. Granted I bought the bike with 48,000 on it. But no problems so far. The bike runs really strong.

[flyingsprint]

Lots of similar discussions going on here. I was a k75 guy then went to dirt then back to street.

I always wanted the K1100rs and later the 1200rs, but cost prohibitive and in my mind very overbuilt. that being said, can I afford a beemer- only the 98k12 with 30-50K...so I bought the '03 sprint ST with 5K

the tripple is an excellent motor and the bike overall is possibly 160+lbs lighter than the K12. with only 10 less horse -'03. the new one is even better! and faster...and handles better!

the sprint is overall an easy to ride bike with much usable power and exellent brakes in it's class.

1200s is beemers supposed "busa beater"- I think it's totally cool, but pricey for most of us.- hard bags, not so much.

tiger- everyone loves- and again all these bikes to me are budget beemer, but Triumph is doing fun fast things for MUUUUUch more affordable than beemer. the new ST cannot be matched by any beemer and can have saddlebags and is the newest generation of cool.

for comfort and power and price all triumphs beat all beemers- and I like beemers!

on my ST i've done quite long rides 6-8hr days. the seat could use some help, but otherwise postion is good, bars of course can be raised. new ST even better. the daytona IMHO will put the hurt on you on a long ride. hunched over a bit.

later, flyin'

[mouse]

I personally believe Sprints are as reliable as any bike out there. As with any machine, common sense & regular maintenance determine their longevity. As with any brand, it's good to have a reputable dealer nearby (which I don't). You can, however, find just about anything you need to know on sites like this.
I think I've ridden most of the sport/touring type bikes out there, and for the money I put the Sprint ST @ the top of the pack, followed by the Ducati ST4...of course you have to add about another $4K to get the Ducati. You also need good mechanical skills or enough money to let somebody do it...the desmo engines are famous for their power, not their reliability.
If you do much non-pavement riding, the Tiger is a great choice but not as at home on the long hauls. The Daytona is too sporty for me...great power, but I can't stay bent over that long.
As for the BMW's, the K1200S looks like the best one yet, but again you're talking more $'s.
There are a few things which make the ST's considerably more comfy on long rides...a taller touring screen,a custom
fitted seat, and bar risers (HeliBars, Gen-mars, etc.). For a lot less than the difference in price of a BMW/Ducati you can fit an ST to anybody's style.
Again, the reliability is there as long as everything is properly maintained. I wouldn't think twice about getting on and heading for Alaska (so much for that "common sense"part).

Thanks for the feedback so far. I will give you my two cents on the KRS as this is my fourth summer with this bike. Bike runs great, had a problem with one of the temperature sensors that controls one of the fans. That's it. Got the bike with the bags. Switched the seat as it was good for about 200 miles. Bought a Sargent. Great highway and secondary road bike. Usually ride at 80+ can ride all day without much of a problem comfort wise. But... the bike is really heavy, with a long wheelbase 60.6 inches. Not a great bike for the twisties. Paid $20,000 with tax, setup, bags, tail rack. Took out a five year loan, pretty low interest rate 4.9%. After three years, I ask the dealer what I would get for trade in and I find I would get less than the value of the outstanding loan. I am now about 42 months into the loan, have about $6,800 outstanding. If it's such a good bike, why doesn't it hold the value?

[flyingsprint]

you always lose big when you buy new! that is alot to lose though. seems like most beemers guys keep em a while. at 2 or so years your puttin the hurt on yourself.

for a while the sprints were a screamin' deal and sold with bags. basically a $10K with bags for free, and sometimes as low a 7-8 grand with bags and factory incentive.

even harley these days doesn't hold the same value as it used to.

the fact is- after you buy a newer, lighter, faster bike- some dude on an '02KRS will haul A$$ past you before you even blink...Make sure you don't just throw your $$$ away on another bike.

also most triumph i think have test rides. call em' up get a trade in value and test em all!


flyin'

[DaveM]

My local Triumph dealer, has about three St's that they regularly service with 100,000kms plus on and still going strong, with an oil change every 5000kms.

Davem

[garry]

34K twisty miles on my Sprint RS in the last 2+ years. Much of it in the middle of Nowhere, WV. Heck, they don't even have a Triumph dealer in WV. I live to ride 300 - 500 mile days and some of the roads are very remote. My Triumph has never broken down or caused me grief. I just do normal maintenance and keep on riding.

[InParkSlope]

My completely non-expert impression is that the triumphs have a strong and reliable engine and mechanicals, ok aux systems, but some non essential parts are flimsy in design.
I've seen some 05 BMWs up close and they look and probably feel much more solid in the details.
My 05 sprint has a little too much "plastitosis" - from the glove compartment lid, to the fake chrome side flashes, to the black colored and pinstriped boomerang plastic headlight front-end, to the fairing inserts and plastic gas tank. And lastly, it all comes together, in a chorus of plastic, and flimsy with the "hard bags".

[Nelson955]

I've been fortunate to own a BMW and a Sprint ST simultaneously since April 2001. My original ST was bought new in May 1999. I part ex'd it in April 2004 for another new ST.

1999 ST. Build quality was good overall. One or two issues with the lacquer peeling off the footrest hangers and stone chip damage to the lower front fairing. At the 12 K service, the head gasket was found to be defective so it was replaced. It started to burn oil from 15k which led to new pistons and liners being fitted. No problems engine wise after that up until I part ex'd it with 35000 on the clock, apart from the usual consumables. Oh, and the chain adjustment mechanism seizing up.

2004 ST. Poor fit of the fairing panels apparent on delivery. Triumph replaced the offending panels. After a year, paint was found to be peeling off several brackets. Triumph have declined to replace these, citing that the warranty doesn't cover corrosion. Engine wise, the stepper motor housing broke and affected the top end power delivery. This was eventually traced and replaced under warranty. Bike has now done 9000 miles.

Triumph build quality is certainly worse IMHO that it was back in the late 90's.

I owned a '99 R1150GS from April 2001 to May 2005. It had 9000 miles on the clock when I got it. I sold it with 40000 on the clock. Only problems were the rear wheel/shaft bearing going and the left indicator switch needing replacing. Other wise it was just the consumables. The finish on the BMW was very good and it cleaned up very well prior to selling it. As did my original '99 ST. I very much doubt my current ST will be looking as good at 5 years old as my original one.

Wilman, you might want to consider a R1200GS as well. I just picked up one last week, and it is a blast. A different experience to the ST. Both are very good motorcycles, but my experience is that the BMW's have the edge on build quality. Having feet in both camps, I think I can be objective on that.

Bob