Triumph Sprint vs other Sport Touring Bikes

[mjac62]

A friend of mine is an avid Ducati guy who owned the ST3 & ST4 models in the past. He now has the Aprillia Futura 1000. He is selling the Aprillia now and is deciding on a new bike. I suggected the new Sprint 2006 ABS model. Since I have never driven a Sprint, I could not tell him the comparisions. Can I get some feedback from what you all think about Triumph vs Ducati , or even BMW comperable sport touring bikes ? A real open minded opinion not just a pro Triumph opinion unless it's factual. Thanks

[ This message was edited by: mjac62 on 2006-07-27 18:09 ]

[YrfuneralMytrial]

Well, we're riding yesterday's models. If you're friend is buying new, you might want to ask the fellas in the Sprint forum.

[Diz]

I rode Ducati bevels from 1982 to 2000. Great to ride, lovely to own, definitely NOT a daily rider for the budget conscious. Both of my 864cc Dukes were daily riders for most of their lives, and my passion or what actually became familiarity with their quirks and idiosyncracies, made me reluctant to change. Unless the stator ignition went, I could usually get the bike started.

A good mate of mine (who was once a Honda mechanic), got a redundancy payout and spent about 3 months doing his homework as to what bike he was going to buy. He doesn't have a car, and his bike is his only transport. He settled on a 1997 Triumph Sprint.

I looked long and hard for a daily rider too, and at that point in time, was doing long-haul 700km a week or more to a job in Canberra from Sydney (Australia) on my Duke. I bought a 11/95 build Triumph Sprint after looking carefully at my mate's and have never looked back.

The shop where I get mine serviced sells Dukes too and after looking at a Multi Strada, they were honest enough to say that with my miles and riding style, which is mainly commuting these days, that I would kill a Ducati clutch about every 5-8000 kilometres at $7-800 a pop. My memories of Ducati electrics are not fond ones either, but in latter day models, I understand that this has improved.

In terms of build quality, I think Triumph have the edge. In terms of rider comfort, in Australia, the odds are stacked against under seat exhaust pipes.

Friends of mine who have BMW's have been disappointed with build quality in recent years and running costs.

I'm looking forward to seeing the new 2007 Triumph Tiger in the flesh, as it seems to fit a bit of a niche in terms of what I need as a replacement bike if you believe the spy photos.

Triumph haven't quite 'got' the fact that in Australia, we don't want full fairings, a half fairing is perfectly adequate- we want minimum 350km range, we want 'retina-searing' headlights- and we don't want to be sitting on top of exhaust pipes on 35 to 40+ degree days.

Oh, and any bike manufacturer who lets you 'custom order' suspension, paint, brakes etc as factory standard - is on a winner. Most of us who hang on to bikes for many years would be more than happy to wait a month or so longer to get a bike to our specs- from the factory!

Regards,

Simon

[zippythehog]

In the not to distant past, I worked at a dealership which sold bmw and ducati. Frankly, I was not impressed with the new ST3. My old Sprint was more comfortable, had more power, and handled better. To the Duc's credit, I hadn't adjusted the suspention on it and it did have nice factory bags.

If you want a Duc, I'd suggest the 749dark, or the Sport 1000 (much more fun and you already expect it to be uncomfortable in slow traffic).

Zip