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Over the weekend I had an opportunity to test a couple of bikes from Triumph. Triumph is touring the Nation with their fleet of demo bikes. Check out the Triumph website for more information on when Triumph will be in your area. If you're thinking about a new bike, this is a great way to test out a Triumph and see what you think. I was able to ride two bikes from the fleet, the 2005 Rocket III and the 2005 Sprint ST. Two very different beasts from Triumph. A friend of mine that was along for the ride also rode the Rocket III and a 2005 Speed Triple.

2005 Triumph Rocket III



The first ride was on the 2005 Triumph Rocket III. This was my first experience riding a cruiser. I guess if you're going to try something new, you might as well start at the top right? And I do mean the top. In case you have been living in a cave for the last 18 months, the new Rocket III from Triumph is the biggest and baddest production motorcycle around today. The monstrous 2294cc motor pours on the torque like a freight train. This bike pumps out an amazing 147ft-lb to the 240 rear tire.

The Rocket III has been out for a little while now and there have already been some conversations here at TMW about the bike as well as some ride reports from other members. I won't try to recreate those reports or rehash old information. What I want to do it point out what I noticed about the bike and give you a perspective from a first time cruiser rider.

Before taking the Rocket III out for a spin, I got aquatinted with one of the bikes in the showroom. I knew going in that this bike tips the scales at 704 pounds and I wanted to get the feel for the beast before I took it out on the road. I must admit at first I was a little intimidated by the shear mass of the Rocket. I threw a leg over and pushed the showroom bike off the side stand and I was instantly surprised. The bike did not feel all that tough to manage. I let the bike tip back on the side stand and then picked it up again, just to be sure, but the result was the same, it seemed quite manageable. I looked over the controls a bit and I was ready for a ride.

The test rides were scheduled once per hour and were led by reps from Triumph corporate as well as employees from the local dealership. There was a set route and a number of rules to follow to make sure no one got hurt. There were about 10 riders in each group. We were given a quick lecture on safety and the rules for the test ride. Next we got an overview of the ride route and it was time to saddle up.

I was setup on a Rocket III that featured Triumph's Flame Red Custom Paint scheme. This accessory kit from Triumph replaces your stock solid colored tins and body panels with a red and gold flame paint scheme. This kit will set you back $2550. My tester was also outfitted with the upgraded exhaust system from Triumph. Which I'm told pushes the both the horsepower and torque over 150. It also played a nice exhaust note with some sweet sounding pops when you were off the gas.

When I fired up the engine, it was a quick and simple affair without any drama that you might expect from a 2.3 liter engine. There was a nice deep roar from the bike as the motor came to life. Of course a couple of quick twists of the throttle were in order. The Rocket responded again with a nice deep growl. Right away I noticed the lack of torque pull from the motor. There was just the slightest sensation from the motor from side to side as I pulled the throttle back. So slight it was almost unnoticeable. Nice! We pulled out of the parking lot and we were on our way.

The ride route was a great combination of city streets, open roads and freeway travel. Our demo loop lasted about 20 to 25 minutes, not quite as long as I would have liked but still a good amount of time for a demo. It gave me just enough of a chance to get familiar with the bike.

Riding the Rocket III proved to be about the same as what I felt lifting the bike up from the side stand in the showroom for the first time, it was very manageable for bike weighing over 700 pounds. The first couple of times I took off from a stoplight proved to be a little bit of a challenge as I wasn't able to find the foot pegs. Having never ridden a cruiser, I had to hunt a little for the pegs. My instincts told me the pegs should be below my knees or a little behind. Before the end of the ride this was already becoming less of an issue as locating the pegs started becoming second nature. A few hours in the saddle should be long enough to get used to the position. Cruising along at 65 mph on the freeway in 5th gear the tach showed about 2500 rpms. This bike is quite relaxed at highway speeds. The Flame Red custom paint package from Triumph that was outfitted on this bike includes a small fly screen that comes up just over the instrument cluster. I know a lot of people like a taller windshield for touring but I felt quite comfortable at 65 mph on the Rocket with the rather small screen.

I also expected controlling the bike would feel different with the bars upward and outward and my legs stretched out in front. The feeling was different but not uncomfortable or difficult at all. I am more comfortable with my feet below my knees because that's how my bike is built and that's what I am used to, but I could easily get used to the cruiser riding position.

I found the seat on the Rocket III to be quite comfortable. The controls were pretty common. There's no funky BMW like switches and signals on this bike. You'll find controls much like any Japanese bike on the market today. I found the turn signals easy to operate and there was a nice positive click as you press the center button to turn off the signals. I could feel this click through my gloves and it provided a nice positive reinforcement that the blinker was shut off.

I didn't really get to put the engine to quite the test as I would have liked, riding in a group with just a little freeway time. Off the line though it was quite evident that this bike has loads of torque in reserve that you can roll on whenever you desire. Even with my moderate twist of the throttle I could feel the the torque and the power of this enormous engine. Power delivery was smooth and very linear from way down low. The power plant delivers a nice flat torque curve.

What about the transmission? I almost forgot about the transmission altogether because the need to switch gears isn't such a big deal with all that power. There's no need to worry about bogging down this motor. A rolling start in 3rd should be no problem for this beast. The gearbox was quite positive and smooth in operation, should you feel the need to shift this thing.

My only complaint about this bike and it's a small one is the engine sticks out a bit far on the left side of the bike. I could tuck my knees in on the massive gas tank on the right side but there was a small protrusion on the left that prevented me from doing that. I feel like this wouldn't be much of an issue though after getting used to the riding position a little bit more.

At $15,990 the cost of admission is lower than a number of Harley Davidson models. So if you're in the market for a new bike and your considering a cruiser, have a look at the Rocket III. Even if your not in the market for a cruiser, take a ride on the Rocket III anyway. Maybe you'll change your mind.

Check out the Triumph Photo Gallery to see more images of the Rocket III

Stay tuned, I'll report on the 2005 Sprint ST from Triumph soon.

2005 Triumph Sprint ST Revised July 26, 2005

Another bike I had a chance to ride was the 2005 Sprint ST. This is Triumph's Sport Tourer.

I believe that sports tourers are really broken into two categories. First there are the Sport Touring Standards like the BMW R1200RT and Honda's ST1300. These bikes are more relaxed all day touring bikes that are also sporty. Then there are the Sport Bikes with Bags. These bikes include the BMW R1200ST, the Kawasaki ZZR1200, as well as the Triumph Sprint ST.

In my mind the Sprint ST is really a sport bike that still looks good with luggage and unlike some of the more traditional sports tourers, Sprint ST looks simply fantastic without bags. This is one sexy machine.

My tester was a 2005 in Caspian Blue and there were about 3900 miles on the odometer. Should be broken in and ready for my ride.



When I threw my leg over the Sprint the first thought that came to my mind was this thing is small. It feels smaller that my BMW F650CS and a lot smaller than the last bike I test rode, the BMW R1200ST.

The seating position on the Sprint ST is all sport. There is a forward lean to the raised clipons, the pegs are pushed back and the seat puts you into a comfortable but forward lean. If you're new to sport bikes this might feel unusual at first but give yourself some time to get used to it, say 3000 miles or so. I have talked to a number of sport bike riders who are quite comfortable in this position. You will find it least comfortable at slow speeds around town but as the MPHs rise the wind over the shield will give you a nice push back in the seat and equalize things out. I noticed a little pressure on my wrists while on the test ride but it's nothing I couldn't tolerate.

As I fired up the ST and the sound from the motor was different than anything I have experienced before on a bike. The inline 3 has a unique sound. If you put 3 bikes in a row all with the same displacement, one having a twin, another with a triple and a third with a 4 cylinder. The twin is going to displace the most volume per cylinder and the 4 the least right? That leaves the triple somewhere in between.

The sound from the engine is pleasing , it doesn't whine like a 4 cylinder but it's not as deep and thumpish (okay I made that word up) as the twin. A quick blip of the throttle revealed that the triple behaves more like a 4 cylinder than a twin. The bike reved quickly and settled back to idle almost as fast. It's more twitchy than my single for sure. Checking the tach further enforced the my theory that this power plant was closer to a I4 with the redline indicated at 10,000 rpm. Of course I know that the engine alone does not make the Sprint ST behave like a sport bike but my point is this thing feels more like a Japanese sport bike than it feels like a big v-twin.

As we got underway on our test ride I surprised myself a couple of times twisting the grip to start out from a stop. The revs jump quickly even with a slight twist of the throttle. Other than that there was nothing that really stands out in my mind about the test ride itself. I guess in many ways that's a good thing. Nothing out of order, uncomfortable or strange to report means I felt at home on this bike right away. Riding the ST proved the bike has a firm but confident ride along with smooth power delivery and nice flat torque curve.

The dash layout is modern and well thought out. The gauge pod features a nice large tach right in the center. Exactly where it should be if you ask me. The spedo is located on the left and the information display is on the right. The information display is pretty slick. You get an actual fuel gauge which is becoming more commonplace but still a nice upgrade from many bikes reserve light. The information display is controlled by three buttons on the dash. There are a number of functions you can control with similar features to the trip computer on my 1989 Ford Probe GT. You get distance to empty, average fuel economy, instant fuel economy and a number of other things. I didn't get to see what the dash looks like at night but from photos I have seen it looks pretty sweet with it's blue illumination.

Controls are pretty standard, the turn signals were smooth in operation, a lot nicer than the notchy feel on my BMW and some other bikes I have thrown a leg over. I found the grips to be a little small. I guess the smaller diameter grips gives it a more sporting feel however I like my grips a little thicker.

I had never rode a sport bike before and therefore I had never ridden a bike with full body work. One thing that I noticed that bothered me was the heat rising from the engine up around my knees especially at stoplights. It was quite warm the day I took the test ride with the temps over 100 degrees F but that's not uncommon in my area of California. I have been doing some reading and it seems that this is also a problem on other bikes with full body work. Looking around online I have found that a few other Sprint ST owners reported this sensation as well. Your milage may vary, test one out and see if it will be an issue for you. If you live in a cooler climate, this could even be a welcome sensation.

My tester was fitted with Triumph's optional exhaust and the sound was quite nice with a few pops here and there when your off the gas. A sound I found quite pleasing and amusing. It put a smile on my face for sure.

Operation of the break lever was smooth and progressive without being too harsh. I would almost like a little bit firmer feel but again, it's nothing I couldn't learn to like or even love.

If you are looking for a sexy well mannered sport bike OR a sporty tourer, you owe it to yourself to have a look at the Sprint ST from Triumph. With the addition of the ABS model for 2006 Triumph has a couple of nice machines, that are really worth considering. The base price for the ST is $10,599. Triumph will also be bringing their 2006 ABS equipped Sprint ST to the states in September at a base price of $11,899.

Nice Tests!

YES the Rocket is FAST & has the Torque....I reckon it would be a great bike to ride around the whole country! - perhaps pulling a trailer of some sort as well.

NB: Just remember folks the V-Rod was on the Rockets tail the whole time we tested it a-ways-back....

Hey, thanks for the reviews. Well written and interesting. One thing about the Sprint STs seat, my understanding is there's nothing under there because of the exhaust. So there's no real reason to remove it. That's why it's bolted down.

Before I read the Triumph ST review, I wanted to say that was a great Rocket III review. I felt like I was a part of the story, with you on the bike and experiencing the ride.

Great job!

...now onto your Triumph ST review...

Another good review, but if you could expand on the riding experience that would make it really sweet.

I look forward to reading your Triumph Triple 1050 review.. one sweet bike IMHO.

Overall, wonderful job, I really do appreciate the work and time you put in to do the bike reviews.

You da man!

Mike

Anyone checked out the T100?

I guess I got a little lazy with the ST review. I don't know I just didn't feel it when I was writing that one up. I think I was just in the zone while I was writing that Rocket III review. I was on a roll and everything just flowed. I didn't get that feeling when I did the Sprint ST review. Thanks for the feedback. I'll take that into consideration.

2005 Triumph Speed Triple
As for the Speed Triple, I wish I had rode that one. Only my friend got the chance to ride that one. I think the Speed Triple was the surprise star of the day. I hadn't spent anytime looking at the bike before I saw it that day. It's got a ton of style and it has hooligan written all over it.

Here is what I got from my friend Dan. He said it felt like he was riding a fast moving chair. The bike is a incredibly sporty naked with a 1 liter motor in a tiny little package. You don't even see the bike from your vantage point in the saddle. It's like riding a crazy fast chair. The bike has a pair of shorty cans that almost look like someone chopped them off with a cutting torch and welded them back together. Okay not really but they have a lot of style and they the make the bike look like it's ready to rip of the pavement even at a standstill. The tail end of the bike looks chopped as well with the way the rear fender is setup. I'm sure that a number of owners will be looking for a fender eliminator to remove the rear mud guard.

The furthest thing forward on the Speed Triple is the instrument cluster. I snapped this picture from the seat and I think this reinforces my friends idea about the flying chair.



One unfortunate thing about the speed triple demo bike that my friend Dan took out for a ride was a failure in the instrument panel just a couple miles into the ride. The whole thing just went dead. There were two Speed Triples on the demo truck and they were both having problems with the instrument clusters. Triumph assured me that this should not be a problem on their production bikes and attributed the problems to the rough treatment the demo bikes get. Sounds to me like some gnomes got shipped over in the crates with the Speed Triples when they came over from England.



I love that yellow gold metallic! The Sprint ST and the Speed Triple share a lot of parts in common so I think the pair should aptly be called Beauty and the Beast.

I just updated the Sprint ST review based on the feedback I have received. I think I trimmed out most of the fluff and dug in a little more on the meat of the review and the test ride. I think this revision is better overall. See above.