I first rode a new Triumph in 1993, during a trip to the United Kingdom, when I interviewed a factory representative and he arranged for me to take a test ride on a new Sprint 900. Within the first kilometre – sorry, mile – I realised that this was a very different machine to anything the British had ever come up with before. It handled, it went well, it looked good and it felt like it would carry on going forever. In fact, it felt like it could have been built in Japan – and that’s a compliment. The new factory, owned by millionaire John Bloor, has nothing to do with the previous Triumph brand except the name, and it shows.
Triumph motorcycles are brought into South Africa by the same people who import and distribute Kawasaki products, so they’re pretty well established here.
Over the years since my first ride on a new model I’ve ridden a fair number of demo Triumphs, and enjoyed them all. The way their three cylinder engines deliver their grunt from way down the rev range pleases me, and the absence of the hi-frequency handlebar tingle that most of the Japanese fours produce is a blessing. And that lovely three cylinder howl—
I’ve now done 6 500 km on my yellow Triumph Sprint RS and have absolutely no regrets. The gearbox is a trifle notchy, but a change to fully synthetic oil at the 10 000 km service should help matters there. Otherwise the bike does everything I need, and superbly. Handling is rock-steady and the brakes are stunning. And, with 118 horsepower – that’s 90 odd kilowatts – on tap the Triumph is plenty quick enough. Cruising at 180 – 200 km/hr is easy, and I’ve seen 245 km/hr on the clock with a little more to come. The bike’s fuel consumption is very good – riding hard I manage about 250 km before the warning light comes on, with 15 litres filling the tank to the brim again. That’s something like 16,5 km per litre, or six litres per 100 km.
The Triumph Sprint RS is a sports-tourer rather than a pure sports machine, and the seating position is thus somewhat more comfortable than on the cutting-edge race replicas. Removing the rear seat cover exposes a large section for a passenger, and the footrests are also reasonably placed for the lady in your life – passengers on sports bikes usually end up with their knees somewhere around their ears, because the footpegs are mounted so high on the frame.
At R94 000 the fuel-injected 955cc Triumph Sprint RS has to be one of the biggest bargains around. With serious grunt just a roll of the twist grip away, brilliant handling and pretty good comfort levels it makes more sense that one of the similarly priced 600cc sports machines that have to have their necks wrung to extract decent performance from them. And it’s just different enough to make it much more interesting than most of the opposition.
All Triumph motorcycles come with a two year unlimited mileage warranty. Service intervals are 10 000 km.