Hello from a Triumph Sprint Owner

Hi. I currently own a non running 2006 Triumph Sprint. I'm in the process of hiring a lawyer and trying to invoke the lemon law to get rid of this POS. The issue of stalling has been going on for almost two years and the last time it just died and will not restart and Triumph wants to claim it's a new issue. I have absolutely loved the bike when it was running and from what I understand my situation is not the norm but I personally will never buy another new Triumph. Still want a used Bonneville.

All that to say I am looking at buying a new bike somewhere in the not too distant future and in the initial looking process this seems to be the direction i want to go in. I don't want to go up to a 1300. The Sprint is a 1050. I am more interested in the sport aspect of sport touring although I have spent two 14 hour days on the Sprint and plan to do more of the same.

Can you spend 14 hour days on the VFR without needing medical attention?

 

the only thing that makes me stop is my bladder or stomach. so far ive only gone 4 hours straight, with one gas stop. but i got off and it felt like i had only been on for 30 minutes. id say as long as you replace the seat, you could ride it all day long.

 

I agree with Jay, the seat is not the greatest. Being cheap I have not replaced mine yet so I just wear padded bike shorts underneath whatever I'm riding in. I've done 10 hour days like that with no problems.

Action

 

My understanding is that the ergomonics of the Sprint and the VFR are pretty similar (wasn't the Sprint intended to be the VFR killer?) so you should find it a pretty easy transition.

 

I was hoping they would be similar. I should be able to tell when I sit on it.

I don't know about killer but from my research they appear to be made for the same purpose.

I just don't want to upsize to an FJR or the ST or the Concours.

Another thing in the VFRs favor is every vehicle I've ever owned has been silver/gray except for my Sprint. I love the look of that 2008 VFR.

 

Having just done a 1400 mile weekend, I have no complaints.
I did a longer weekend on the stock seat last year and was only slightly uncomfortable. I replaced it with a Sargent seat this spring and could have have dozed in comfortable slumber while cruising at 90 mph in I 5 traffic.

I love the VFR.

 

I've ridden a similar model to the 2008 VFR and compared to my 1999 model it's very smooth, a real gentleman's sportbike. It's almost to the point its boring because you barely feel anything on the road and you're just gliding along.

The seat, however, isn't that great and if you want to do 14 hour days upgrading the seat is an absolute must. Sure, you can get by with padded bicycle shorts but nothing beats a high quality seat. I highly recommend sargent. You can buy them at a great price from sandhillpowersports.com

With that in mind I do have two recommendations for 2 different purposes. If you want a SPORT-touring experience look at the 98-01 models. Those have a little more power and the whole bike is more suited for faster riding. But if you're more interested in sport-TOURING then look at the 02-present models. They are very smooth and I would not hesitate to ride one if I had to go on a cross country trip.

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

Comfort and sportlyness are both good. I would like to keep the bike for a long time so I would probably look at a newer one just so i could put most of the miles on it. I have heard the VFR is pretty solid mechanically also.

The first ten months I owned my current ride I put 12000 miles on it. In the last two years I have put less than 7000 because it has been in the shop so much. The 7000 miles even includes a two week trip from Alabama to Vermont and back with a rally in the middle. 2500 of those miles in 2 weeks.

Lots of people complain about the Sprint seat also but I have never replaced and have no problem. Stand up every half hour or so after the first 8 or 9 hours.

 

You're right about that, the 6th gens officially have 10 more hp than the 5th gen. On the flip side the 5th gen is lighter, about 22 lbs lighter.

But after riding both I got to say the power is more on tap on the 5th gen. You can just twist the throttle and go but the 6th gen needs to build up speed.

P.S. Your mom :lol:

 

LMAO..True that Brother, I've spent time on both as well. That is exactly the reason why I went -1 on the gearing. Now if I could just do a side by side run with a 5th gen I'ld really know how well (or not) it worked.

 

Having clocked up 12,000 miles on my previous Gen 6 with 600+mile a day rides before getting my current Gen 5, I concur the Gen 6 is the slightly better over longer distances because of its smoothness and its stock seat maintained its firmness longer however the Gen 5's being Sports tourer to the Gen 6s sports Tourer is more about the riders perception than reality.

The Gen 5 seems sportier because it sounds rawer with its louder Gear Driven Cam engine and feels sportier due to its rougher standard suspension and slightly lower bars.

The reality is the Gen 6 has better 43mm forks to the Gen 5's 41mm, stiffer alloy frame and if you loose the Gen 6's very heavy stock exhaust the non abs weight difference is marginal so when push comes to shove through tight twisies as long as you keep the Gen 6 above 7k there is no difference and the forks standard cope better with mid corner road ripples.

My only complaint with the Gen 6 was with its VTec transition used to become a bit annoying over time through my favourite long distance sections of tight twisties meaning when riding 7/10s or above. With the Gen 6 you need to keep its engine spinning above 7k where the Gen 5 allows you to become lazy with gear changes using its wonderful mid range torque from 5k to 9.5k keeping toes on footpegs* and concentrating on hanging off and swapping sides from corner to corner a little easier.

* The v4s natural engine braking and CBS helps both 5th and 6th Gens with this kind of lazy but still rapid riding as the need to use foot braking is minamalised.