Another Motorcycle

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Why another motorcycle I hear you ask? Well, when I bought the Suzuki GSX650F last year, I bought it as a "city bike". Such a bike needs to be nimble more than powerful, good turning circle, and not require excesive concentration to ride well. A fairly upright riding position provides a good view of surrounding traffic. That bike has met those needs admirably.

While just about any bike can be used for touring, I did not expect the Suzuki to be well suited to it. And I confirmed that during a trip to Canberra earlier this year. It was OK, but not especially comfortable.

Web searching narrowed the field down to 2 likely bikes - one BMW, one Triumph. Fortunately, Procycles store in St. Peters (my side of the harbour!) carried both brands. A test ride was arranged. First the BMW F800ST. This was disappointing. It sounded buzzy, and had rather anemic acceleration from a standstill.

Next cab off the rank was a Triumph Sprint ST. They did not have one for test rides, but I did ride the Street Triple - a naked bike, but not a tourer for me. Wow! A very impressive cycle it is. So, at least I really liked the Triumph's 3 cylinder engine. But I would need to ride one before purchasing. A "test sit" seemed comfortable.

As it happened, a new version of the Sprint - the GT - was being released the next week. And they would have a machine for test rides! Well, I had the first test ride (the day after it was released at a press event), and signed on the dotted line. I made the mistake of taking my cheque book with me!

Rear view of silver/black motorcycle with panniers

You will notice this bike is silver. They come in 2 colours - blue or silver. And lo, Procycles had a silver one coming in real soon now.

Except there was a mismatch between paperwork and what they had been told, and there was doubt about the bike being silver or blue. Murphy to the white courtesy phone please! Yes, the one that showed up was blue. The dealer's other showroom had a silver demonstrator, so in the end they performed a "colour transplant" - I ended up with a silver amalgam bike - new everything except for the transplanted colour parts from the demonstrator model. There are no paint defects/scratches that I can see. And I have washed it down.

Silver/black motorcycle seen from front left (of rider) Triumph use an uncommon engine configuration of 3 cylinders. Which contributes to the bike's distinctive burble. And it has great grunt from a standstill - chalk and cheese by comparison with the BMW.

Silver/black motorcycle viewed from front right (of rider) So what makes for a better touring bike? Bigger petrol tank - claimed 320km/tank, a bit longer and heavier, adding to stability, and luggage space! It's not the ultimate touring bike, but I don't want one anyway. It's a bike which should be able to tour very comfortably but still has sporting abilities for enjoying the road.

A Week Later

Two GSX-650F bikes in my garage Six days later, and my garage now has 2 Suzuki's in it. What happened to the Triumph? Well, it's first service - 800km - was scheduled. The loaner/rental bike just happened to be the blue/white version of my "city bike". It felt comfortable! For city riding.


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