Triumphrat

Mi-KEY

Hi All,

I may be asking for advice already given, but my searches haven't yielded anything yet.

At the moment I am thinking about a second bike. My current ride is a Sprint ST.
I looked at the Street and Speed Triples (plus other Non Trumpy's - Yuck. The Street gave me a huge grin, and felt like I could have a LOT of fun, but also like I would be wringing it's neck everytime I rode it, and the Speed... Well it felt like a trip to an early coffin. Such a Hooligans bike. :-)

So I was thinking maybe a different tach could be the go. The Thruxton has caught my eye now, but have not even sat upon one, let alone ridden it yet.

Until I get the chance to do this, can anyone please give me their observations and advice when thinking about this type of bike? Also if anyone has ridden both the Sprint ST and Thruxton would you be so kind as to supply some comparisons?

Apart form the 1050 Sprint ST, my only other road bikes have been a (much) older Zooki GSX400E, and a honda CB175 a million years ago. Plus Honda Road trails and MX'ers when I was learning.

If this is of any use, I am nearing 40, and have a very ordinary left shoulder that fatigues badly on the Sprint after about 300 hard kilometres... Would the Thruxton further exacerbate this sort of problem?

Thanks everyone,

Mike

fastbike

Well, I'll give the obvious answer. I've ridden a Thruxton and owned a Sprint 955. I think the Thruxton will make your shoulder issue worse. The bars are lower than the Sprint's.

How about a Bonneville instead? Alternatively you can put regular bars on the Thruxton but that's a bit involved. A different ride than the Sprint, much more relaxed.

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I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.

Brooksie

New Thruxtons have higher bars. Risers are also available. It would be a great second bike.

BillTheCat

I am nearing 50 and hert all over from bike wrecks and life in general my last bike was a Ducati 1098 fun yes!.... too much for a street bike yes! Uncomfortable Heck YES! But I rode it all last summer. You can get used to anything with enough dedication .....Trips to the Gem & so on. The thruxton is a great motorcycle ....Underpowered yes If you want to be a Hooligan dont buy it. Its just what it was designed for a great retro old school cafe you need that mindset to really enjoy it. The riding position is comfortable for me BUT! you are not me. Go set on one and ask yourself just how much do I want to look COOL!

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LAND of the FREE ....*some restrictions apply. void where prohibited

neuroboy74

i want to test a speed3 so bad

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CAPTDON

++1 on the Bonne!! A great 2nd bike w/so much you can do to it for fun besides riding it which for us older / injured folks is an issue. The Thrux riding position- I think "might" be a problem. The Bonne is comfortable as hell - as those kind of bikes go! Broken back x2 here & I can ride my Bonne 160 mi w/o much more than a pit stop w/o feeling like crap the next day. W/ std pegs- the ability to stand & re-adjust in route is a blessing!! Fwd or rear-sets dont alow that option!
PS- I had to pass on a new Thrux in 05 for 7 G's OTD! Really bummed me out. It was having a floorplan B-day & the dealer wanted to move it then! Spent 3+ hrs going back & forth on the Thrux & a T-100 across from it. The owner was there every time i sat on the Thrux to hold it up - to see IF I could handle the riding position! I couldnt!! Got the Bonne w/ NO regrets!! The Sprint is a NICE bike!! Too fast for my needs tho. Hey- good luck!!

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CAPT D

rminchi

I'll toss my 2 cents worth in... I have a '99 Sprint ST and picked up a '04 Thruxton last year as a second bike. I'm really happy with my decision, but it's not for everyone. The personalities of the Sprint and Thrux are completely different and part of that is the more aggressive rider position. If you're limited on riding time on the Sprint from shoulder pain, then the stock Thruxton with clip-ons is probably not going to be much fun (especially if you get stuck in traffic). You _can_ change the bars out or flip them around to get the riding position more upright - though it might be easier to just go the Bonnie route. Since everyone fits a bike differently, it would be a real good idea to spend some time test riding one if possible, or at least spend some time sitting on one in riding position and see how long you last. HTH,

Rob

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'99 Sprint ST (Red)
'04 Thruxton (Red)

1stgarry

I've got a Thruxton and a KTM Superduke in the garage. TBH, the Thruxton was a bit of a pain in traffic and around town, so I tended to favour the SuperDuke leaving the Thruxton as a second bike.

But since I fitted the LSL bar risers and superbike bars (along with a change of rubber) the Thruxton has been transformed to an all-day, all-traffic, bike.

Now it's the Superduke that sits alone in the garage, and I'm having a ball on the Thruxton (helps that I've had some engine tuning, suspension, and brake work done on it).

In fact I'm now trading the Superduke in for the new Harley XR1200 - just put a deposit down and hope to pick it up late June

Unless you're prepared to improve the Thruxton, I'd recommend a Bonnie as a second bike. Your shoulder won't like the Thruxton, even if you flip the bars!

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2005 Thruxton (75 bhp rear wheel)
2005 KTM SuperDuke
2008 Harley XR1200

Mi-KEY

Thanks everyone...

Advice well and truly taken. There is a local mob in Sydney that do some awesome work on customising Bonnies and sell this Street tracker amongst other things, which I have sat on and loved the feel and look so much.
Might be worth investigating the Bonnie a little more.
Now to do the research on them...

Cheers,
Mike