In the summer of '98 a rollerblading incident dislocated my tailbone. This made riding in a cruiser position less then joyful. So in the fall of '98 I sold my much loved Honda Magna and began the search for a bike that would allow me to travel comfortably over long distances, while riding two up and stow away copious amounts of beer, I mean gear.

I began reading every motorcycle publication known to make my all important decision. At that time, Triumph announced the release of their all new Sprint ST for the Spring of '99. A 955cc engine producing 110 hp with 72 lbs of torque providing plenty of power for two up riding. 5.5 gal. of gas, color matched detachable saddle bags along with a trunk if needed, heated grips, taller windscreen for the winter, and power outlets for heated clothing, radar detectors and the like. Not one other bike on the market at the time had all these things going for it. The BMW K1200RS was the closest but with a starting price tag of $17,000 compared to $11,000 for the Sprint, the decision was easy.

Since then, Kristy and I have put over 25k on that bike with only a few warranty repairs mixed in. The Sprint has performed very well on our trips to Nova Scotia twice and Prince Edward Island once, each trip lasting over a week and covering more than 2,200 miles each time. It has seen jaunts up to 140 MPH fully loaded while two up and other days have been more docile traveling over 750 miles for the day. The Sprint has never had an instance where it did not get us home. The Sprint has proven to be a very comfortable bike both for passenger and driver on the long hauls, reliable and extremely fun to ride especially fast (Kristy begs to differ with that last statement). All in all the Sprint ST has been the most enjoyable bike I have owned to date.

Ernie Stevens