Triumphrat

WildRice

My S4 is a joy to ride on fast back roads and twisty country lanes. It is the most fun bike I have ridden. However, it is not a great commuter bike. It is nimble with great brakes and great passing power. However, I prefer other rides for commuting to work.

I think it is a little too lean at low rpm. This makes it surge and run hot in traffic. If I hit a few red lights in a row, the temp goes above 105 C and the radiator fan comes on, then the clutch gets a little grabby. Then I park it and the fan keeps running for 5 minutes even with the key removed. It is not enough heat to do any damage, but I would prefer it if the bike ran a tad cooler. It's July, maybe it will run better after full break-in, later in the year. The low speed fuel injection is a little abrupt. If I am behind a slow car driver when turning at an intersection, I have to be very careful on the throttle to prevent over or under reving the engine. Once I am out on the open road, it's a blast to ride and it turns a lot of heads. It definitely wants to zip along, rather than crawl through traffic. I have the Triumph carbon fiber exhaust can and a new fuel remap (not sure which version). I fit Chase Harper Stealth saddle bags which make the S4 much more practical for commuting and errands.

As an aside, I usually commute by bicycle (22 miles round trip) and I am very fit for my age (42). I ride 4,000 to 5,000 miles a year on my bicycle.

My Suzuki Burgman 400 is an excellent commuter. It is a big scooter with automatic CVT transmission, fuel injection, weather protection, a huge storage area under the seat, and water cooling. It gets 62-70 mpg and can hit 95 mph on the highway. The low center of gravity, low seat height, and twist and go control make it easy to ride in traffic. Because the engine is on the rear swing arm, it is harsh on pot holes, so you learn to avoid them.

[ This message was edited by: WildRice on 2004-07-23 09:25 ]

your problems sound to me, like you're just not going fast enough :wink:

try to find some better roads to take to work, i don't know, i use my bike for commuting too, and i know how you feel when i get stick in city traffic, first redlight and the bike temp jumps way up,

Rik

Regularly commute on my S4 - keeps me grinning the whole way in. Might not be the most sensible bike for it but then what we be the point in going back home the long way?........

i know it's not the best bike for city traffic, but i only spend a portion of my riding in heavy traffic, and i'm not willing to give up my fun on open roads, to make my traffic riding a little easier, you can't have both, i'm willing to be hot and uncomforatble in traffic if it means my bike's limit is always gonna leave room for me to push myself, cause to be honest, for sitting in traffic, i'd love to have one of those big scooters, but when the roads are open, i'd be kicking myself for spending $5k on anything less

MercyBeat

I don't know... i've been using my s4 to get to work since i got it. It's a fun ride takes me anywhere from 20-40 mins to do 25 miles one way depending on traffic. It even seemed pretty solid in a downpour. ( I don't suggest riding in the rain ). I thought the triumph would be my 20% or less bike. meaning if the forecast was a 20% chance of rain or less. But I've taken this bike every day I would commute. And I'm taking the BMW out on the weekend because it's broken in. Which is funny because since I've bought the Speed Four I'm playing in a higher rpm range on the BMW and it's been pretty fun. I'm sure when it gets to about 55 degrees i get back behind a big windscreen and need those heated grips.

But... I think about half the guys i see commuting are on sport bikes. Grab with your knees and allways keep your elbows bent. relax.

I've thought about putting the higher bars on the bike... But it would be amost the same setup as the BMW and that would be creepy to me.

yeah, the rain isn't too much of a problem either, i admit it's one time i'd love to have a full fairing to tuck behind, but you learn to deal with it, and when you've got a rain suit on, it's just about all the same anyway, but the bike runs very well in the rain, seeing as how i'm about to park my bike for close to 2 years since i'm leaving for school mid-late august, and my tire still has some life on it, i was having a little fun with it yesterday in the rain, whenever i'd leave a redlight i'd snap the throttle to get the tire spinning real good when i'd take off, and to be honest, even with the tires not all that warmed up, half the time they wouldn't even wanna let go(pirelli diablos) and my front end would just shoot straight up, so i'm pretty confident on it in the rain, seeing as how it's my only transportation