2011 Triumph Sprint GT Demo Ride Impressions

[JimNtexas]

This morning I took a demo ride on a 2011 Triumph Sprint GT. My impressions are here.

On a bumper sticker its a great sport bike with nice bags, but the ergos are almost race-replica. Forget about riding one of these more than an hour or so. The handle bars could be raised I supposed, but it would be harder to deal with the knee killing very high mounted foot pegs.

My FJR felt like a riding on a cloud after getting off the GT.

 

[DELETE-PLEASE]

This morning I took a demo ride on a 2011 Triumph Sprint GT. My impressions are here.

On a bumper sticker its a great sport bike with nice bags, but the ergos are almost race-replica. Forget about riding one of these more than an hour or so. The handle bars could be raised I supposed, but it would be harder to deal with the knee killing very high mounted foot pegs.

My FJR felt like a riding on a cloud after getting off the GT.

I've tried the 955, 1050, and while the test rides were short, I loved the feel of the engine, and HATED the feel of the riding position. I don't know how these are really "tourers". It's even worse for me being 5'4" so I have to lean over even MORE just to reach the handlebars.
What I need is a triumph tiger seating position with a sprint ST weight and seat-height. But alas, it will never come to be.

Shame about the new one. I was really hoping for a more relaxed position.

Alexi

 

[CO FJR]

Before pulling the trigger on my FJR 2 weeks ago I test road a 09' SprintST Demo with 20 miles on it....LOVE the Pacifia Blue, but I new the riding position wouldnt do well on my wrists for very long. Triumph does make a High Bar Kit for them, which raises them an inch, but after much debate I decided it wasnt worth the risk. I almost waited till this weekend to try the GT, but ended up getting a great deal on the FJR.

 

[atxrider]

That is disappointing, I was hoping they made some modifications to increase the comfort level.

It is a beautiful bike though...

Regards,

Davy

 

[rockmurf]

Rode it yesterday for about 20 minutes. No heat, enjoyed the ride, don't know how the lower bars would feel after hundreds of miles but for a short ride this is the first bike I have ridden that when I got back on the fjr I thought the other bike's ride was better. I feel it is a little over priced especially when you factor in the thousand dollars they tack on for freight and set up. I am 5'10 230 lbs.

 

[HotRodZilla]

When I first rode my buddies 2006 Sprint 1050, I thought it was pretty cramped too. Then he put 1.25" risers on it and it felt like a new bike. The transformation was amazing, and the bike was very comfortable. I would bet the same would hold true for the GT. They are fun bikes. Lighter than the FJR, and pretty fast for their application.

 

[ehc0720]

I tried out the new GT last weekend, while looking to add a sport touring bike to my garage again. I currently also have a Triumph 1050 Tiger, great bike, so I went by the Triumph dealer and rode the GT for about 20 min. It was fun and fast but the riding position is to sporty, same as the ST I think. The bars might be able to be raised but the peg are way to high for me and lowering them would be clearance issues. Went to the BMW dealer earlier that day looked at the GT and RT, I've had a K1200RS and a R1150GS before, too many things to go wrong and along with past experiences scared me a way. Stopped by a Yamaha dealer and found a used 09 FJR with 1100mi for $11k, it's mine now even has a top box. I moved the bars all the way back put the seat in the highest position and it's very comfortable, hot on my ankles though. Already ordered grip puppies, throttle rockers, the wire harness from here on the forum and sliders.