Sprint GT first 300 miles

[NevD]

Picked up the bike from the dealer on Thursday and done 300 miles over the last two days, btw the salesman in the Triumph dealership was excellent I couldn’t fault him at all.

I am extremely impressed with the bike it has far exceeded my expectations. After reading some negative comments in various reviews I have perused, and also seeing some posters on this and other forums having some problems with the bike I was a little apprehensive as to what it would be like.

Here is a list of some of the negative things I have seen written about the GT in the last few weeks.
The bike stalls sometimes when cold.
The bike stalls when changing down or putting it into neutral.
It can be difficult to change gear, too many false neutrals.
The bike is ok on long sweeping corners but struggles on the sharp twisty type roads due to its weight and longish wheel base.
The bike is prone to tracking on tarmac banding or white lines.
It tends to get blown about a lot by the wind.

I know it’s still early days having only covered 300 miles but I have not observed any of the above items. The bike has not stalled once, I have not missed any gears, I think the handling on long sweeping corners and tight twisties is absolutely excellent. I have not found the bike to be prone to following banding lines on the road surface, and I think the bike is really good in a head wind, and certainly better than my old bike when it comes to side winds.

All in all I think the bike is terrific and represents excellent value for money.

[buicknick72]

Originally Posted by NevD

The bike is ok on long sweeping corners but struggles on the sharp twisty type roads due to its weight and longish wheel base.

Compared to what?!? Compare it to the wheelbase and steering geometry of a FJR, Connie, etc and it will tear them up.

[XL1200R]

Nev, my experience in the last 8000 miles is the same as your first 300, excepting that mine has stalled three times when going down the road between gear changes. My GT handles as good as my last bike, which was significantly shorter and lighter, yet has a much nicer ride going down the road and is just less tiring on be on overall.

[Miggs]

Originally Posted by NevD

The bike stalls sometimes when cold.

It can be difficult to change gear, too many false neutrals.

It tends to get blown about a lot by the wind.

I can concurr with these three to an extent with my ST.
It's the first bike I've had to let run for 30 secs to 1 min or so on cold mornings before pulling away, to prevent a stall.
Gear changing is very difficult at low revs/speeds. A short shift into second at low revs is virtually impossible.
I also get blown around a fair bit on side winds, but not as bad as my old CBF1000...that was dangerous!

[JohnD]

NevD,

In general my experience mirrors yours. It was difficult to find neutral the first few miles. My dealer warned me about this saying that the gearbox would rapidly lossen up. He was right, and by the time I had ridden home from picking up the bike, finding neutral was easy.

I never, ever had the bike stall. I did read one review about this when the bike first came out. Maybe the tune was changed? However, when starting from cold I also never, ever, just start and go. Why do that? At least give the engine time to move oil thoughout itself so that the bearings and other moving parts receive lubrication. Even when the engine is already warmed up, I will give an engine 10-15 seconds to move oil around. When cold my procedure is to start the bike just before I put on my jacket, helmet, gloves, so the bike has been running a couple minutes before I go.

The only false neutrals I get are my fault, when I get lazy and have not properly used a firm shift from 1st to 2nd. If I do what I should, then no problems with the 1-2 shift.

Good on twisty roads, a little top heavy at walking pace, but this is a sport-tourer, not a sport bike. I get bit more push from winds than when on my Kawasaki Concours 14 (GTR1400), but the Kwak weighs another 110 pounds (50kg.). Counter-point to that is the Sprint flat outhandles the Kwak and looks like a sport bike when you have the bags off.

Overall, I am very pleased with the GT, with the exception of needing a more protective windscreen (I'm 6'4" or 1.94m), but I fixed that last week with the install of a Zero Gravity Sport Touring screen.

[bigspy]

Nev

I agree with you in all aspects. I have my GT for few months now and put around 1k miles on it. I had it stall few times but after I took it to the dealer and they reset the computer everything seems fine now.

It is a nice surprise how the GT handles wind and corners. I'm really happy with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Motorcycle.com Free App

[DaveM]

Originally Posted by NevD

Picked up the bike from the dealer on Thursday and done 300 miles over the last two days, btw the salesman in the Triumph dealership was excellent I couldn’t fault him at all.

I am extremely impressed with the bike it has far exceeded my expectations. After reading some negative comments in various reviews I have perused, and also seeing some posters on this and other forums having some problems with the bike I was a little apprehensive as to what it would be like.

Here is a list of some of the negative things I have seen written about the GT in the last few weeks.
The bike stalls sometimes when cold.
The bike stalls when changing down or putting it into neutral.
It can be difficult to change gear, too many false neutrals.
The bike is ok on long sweeping corners but struggles on the sharp twisty type roads due to its weight and longish wheel base.
The bike is prone to tracking on tarmac banding or white lines.
It tends to get blown about a lot by the wind.

I know it’s still early days having only covered 300 miles but I have not observed any of the above items. The bike has not stalled once, I have not missed any gears, I think the handling on long sweeping corners and tight twisties is absolutely excellent. I have not found the bike to be prone to following banding lines on the road surface, and I think the bike is really good in a head wind, and certainly better than my old bike when it comes to side winds.

All in all I think the bike is terrific and represents excellent value for money.

Hi Nev if I may an answer to some of your points that you have read

The bike stalls sometimes when cold.
They are a rather cold blooded beast and like a wee warm up. I always let mine get a little warm while putting on my helmet and gloves and it never stalls. This was the same for my 955 ST and also for my 955 Daytona.

The bike stalls when changing down or putting it into neutral.
If this is happening when the engine is warmed up get it to the dealer, it is not normal and could cause an accident.
If cold then refer to the item above.


It can be difficult to change gear, too many false neutrals.
Also should not happen if clutch and shifter are adjusted correctly.
Howvener all Triumph 955 and 1050 Triples have straight cut gears and are manufactured with very fine tolerances and are stiff until well worn in with several thousand kms or miles have been achieved.
They also prefer frequent oil changes and good quality oil.


The bike is ok on long sweeping corners but struggles on the sharp twisty type roads due to its weight and longish wheel base.
This is in part to what you say but also the OEM tyres are not sharp handling or quick steering, put a set of Michelin Pilot Road 2 or 3's on as soon as possible.
Your handling will be transformed.
Also you have ABS as standard and gentle application of rear brake in sharp turns will greatly assist the quicker steering.

The bike is prone to tracking on tarmac banding or white lines.
Again change the tyres this happens on any bike with certain tyres fitted it is not IMHO a "bike issue"

It tends to get blown about a lot by the wind.
That is funny! All fully faired bikes are affected by cross winds the Sprint GT is no worse than anything else IMHO.

Cheers
Dave

[Yak1050]

I have had mine for 4 months and 8600 kilometers. I let it warm up as I put my gear on - never stalled on me. tight twisties - not as good as my friend's S3, but better than a lot of other "touring" bikes! It can still be difficult at times to find neutral, but I find letting the clutch out a bit then trying usually works. A few false neutrals, but most were my fault for not shifting crisply enough. Far less wind affected than my V Strom! Haven't had any issues with the tires tracking oddly, but they are about done - Pilot road 3s next!

[aah5]

Have just returned from 5000+klm trip to Phillip Is for the MotoGP on my SprintGT, no problems at all, ran faultlessly all the way, changed oil and adjusted the chain before leaving, no apparent chain wear and no oil consumed. A little hard on the shoulders the first couple of days but that soon stopped. Now how to stop all the insects sticking to the fairing and screen.

[Mickea]

Originally Posted by NevD

All in all I think the bike is terrific and represents excellent value for money.

May the rest of your mileage be just as good. Glad it went all OK, and you had the weather to do it!
rgds Mick