Triumph Sprint GT (2010-current)

Bought this in march 2011 have really enjoyed riding it in all weathers, snow, ice , rain, and occasional sun. This bike is fast, comfortable, economical and fun. It is solid, well built and finished. People mention small numbers on the speedo and no gear indicator! C'mon within a week you know what gear you are in, pushing down with your left foot at the lights is a habit and once you become one with your bike it's no problem. As for the speedo, I and I am sure most riders don't need a massive tv screen to tell them how fast they are going, you pick it up quickly. I believe this is the best bike you can buy for the money, it's as fast as anything 50 to 100 mph, great through town, light clutch, good brakes and a pure riding experience, buy it, you won't regret it, I am 6 ft 1" 17 stone, lluckily the missus isn't!

I took delivery of a new 9-11 model with 1km on the clock and after a gentle 500km, I rode 12,000km in 20 days (3/4 of the 'big lap' around Oz). Having a 2005 Daytona 955i, and a 2004 Sprint RS, this platform was a sweet mix of both. Comfort was a notable improvement, as was the outstanding storage in the large bespoke panniers. Over long milage, the fuel economy was also a significant improvement with the taller top gear - 7% higher than the 'Tony and RS, which returned an average of 5.0 l/100km over 12,000km. With some particularly flat runs, 4.5 l/100km was not uncommon! I did almost the same trip on the RS in 2010 (with less luggage) and recorded 5.9 l/100km. With the GT being around 60kg heavier, it's an impressive result. The pillars of this 'triple package' lies in that sweetly sounding and ever-reliable 1050 mill (although I still believe the 955i has better all 'round performance and that iconic British 'bark'), the improved comfort and very agreeable riding position and the additional storage in the panniers, under seat and the fairing-mounted lockable compartment, which is handy for snax and suncream, but it's not water proof! The new 12v aux charger was also great extra to keep the phone alive. All up, my backside and legs found the GT good for up to 1000km per day. The GT is very stable in cross winds and although the OEM windscreen is adequate, there is plenty of protection. The GT is equally at home flicking through the twisties and with some effort will keep up with the bigger bikes in the curves. On the down-side, there have been 2 issues, which Triumph resolved - from day 1, the fuel sender was a dud and after 3 replacements, they finally fitted one that worked. Secondly, and this was so weird, the bike 'changed its tune' - just prior to the 15,000km service, the engine became sluggish and lumpy low low. It lacked any real enthusiasm under 2000rpm. The Triumph Technician remarked how the current tune was set for a 'non-catalytic converter' (i.e. after-market pipe), which was baffling since the tune had not been touched since delivery! Resetting the tune to the original mode, the bike's low-down performance was immediately restored to normal... how odd?? Oh.. last of all, the analogue speedo is often difficult to read if there is any glare or visor gunk and I will never warm to it. Digital speedo has been the market standard for decade... I wish it was available in Tornado Red or Racing Yellow! Silver and blue is so vanilla.

I bought my Sprint GT new in October 2012. So far I can find nothing to criticise on this bike. Build quality appears to be excellent. The engine is fantastic, smooth but also has that great Triumph triple character. I'm as puzzled as the previous reviewer regarding criticism of the handling reported in one or two road tests in the motorcycle press. I find the ride quality to be very good, glides over road surface imperfections and goes exactly where I point it. Overall I'm really happy with the performance of the Sprint GT. The performance plus the practical aspects like quality panniers, heated grips, and really competitive pricing make it ideal in the real world of using the bike for weekend fun,week day commuting and summer holiday touring. Recommended.

One month on and the Sprint GT is proving to be a great package. I added a couple of options - heated grips, alarm, bigger screen and touring seat - which added a little to the price. It still came in at less than the competition, and to mind it looks better. I have not been able to fault the build quality, and I can attest to the fact that the panniers are waterproof even in monsoon conditions! The bigger screen works well, the seat is all day comfortable. I can't understand some of the reviews that talk about poor handling - sure it's no sports bike, but it's pretty good on the twisties compared to anything else I rode in this class. I have not had to wind up the rear suspension as some reviews suggested, and I'm not a small bloke so the suspension is "real world" fine, even if you can't spend two hours adjusting it to knock a few tenths off your lap time. For communting and touring you need a decent sized bike, and the Sprint GT is plenty big enough to be comfortable and stable, but agile enough to not be a pain around town. The panniers are huge, and I can manage 200 miles to a tank. Overall the Sprint GT is a great touring/commuting package. It lacks the BMW's toys, but it also lacks the price premium. Overall a real bike for the real world at a price a normal bloke can afford.

Had it 2 weeks now - just what I have been looking for in a road bike for a long time now

Just had a demo ride yesterday, had the bike for half a day managed to clock up 130 miles on a good cross section of roads. Now I normally ride a Rocket 3 two up. So I took the wife with me. The bike coped brilliantly with what must have been 30 stone of human luggage. The handling was sweet, the engine and gearbox superb. A fantastic bike for the price - the only cticism was at the standard screen, completely useless for a bike carrying a GT badge. The optional upgrade should prove a worthwhile investment. The standard screen offered no protection on the motorway and would put many off if they were after the bike for serious mile munching. I still rate the bike 5 star overall. The price tag for such a quality machine through it. PS as for the lights, ok I didn't do a night drive but I haven't had as many cars move over for me in a long time - they must have made some improvement!