Motorcycle Diaries - Chapter Seven - Friday 24th April to Friday 1st May

When I handed back the Speed Triple last week to the team at Pure Triumph, it was with a sense of regret as it was such an adrenaline buzz of a bike, but with the knowledge that I had quite a bit of commuting this week to do, I was excited by the prospect of my next two wheeled beastie the Triumph Sprint ST.......my first ever sports tourer!

First up - what is a sports tourer? Well it is a genre of bike that aims to combine the performance of a sports bike with the capabilities for long distance riding, as well as being comfortable and safe. That doesn't sound so exciting does it??

In fact if you had asked me about sports tourer's before today I would have said they are for old people who simply cant get down on a superbike anymore................but as that will soon probably include me (I'm only 29 - but I feel older!), maybe its apt that I am taking this bike out for the week! I mean I like bike's that have sense of drama about them, or are breakneck fast usually, so I was sure what this would offer me in the form of fun.

I have never had the urge to ride a Sports tourer before, although my brother Gideon had a Honda VFR 800 twin which he swore by, and it sounded great, so I though what the hell, lets give it a go, and hey its got practically the same 1050 engine that the Triple had...........yum yum!

Boy am I glad I did! It might not have the dropped down looks of a racer, but the full fairing and higher riding position make it so much more stable and it feels bigger (not in a bad way!), and although at first the looks didn't really grab me, by the end of the week the three pronged headlights, the sleek lines and the uniqueness of it from the side had really grown on me.

Having ridden this bike simply everywhere for a week, from nipping into Kerrang HQ, to going to cricket nets, to visiting friends to heading down to London for some TV stuff, I can tell you it simply wants to be ridden. When I had the Tenere I said that on that bike you felt you could go anywhere due to its Enduro nature, and while this may not have the off road skills, wow it just simply devours the miles......and I cant believe I am saying, but its nice to do that in comfort sometimes! (God I AM getting old!)

To ride it is simply beautiful, and I really mean that, after the manic-ness and adrenaline fuelled rollercoaster that was the Speed Triple, which felt like it might kill you at any point because it was so torque-y I was keen to see how they would have adjusted the tuning and gearing on what is really the same 1050 engine in this version, and how it would behave.

They got it spot on, at lower speeds it's a lot less twitchy, delivering power much more smoothly through the low rev range, but that's not to say its not nippy, its just it wont snap your head off when your filtering through traffic. Then when you get through the gears and start giving it a bit more oomph the performance is surprising for a bike that is just so easy to ride as it feels like a track bike.

The Triple engine from Triumph has really impressed me in the last few weeks, being the perfect compromise between a twin and a 4 cylinder bike, and in this bike it just works like nothing else could. Even when you are threading through Solihull in rush hour, it never feels mundane, and when you get it on the open road it makes you appreciate its sporty pedigree by being incredible fast when you give it some revs.

As for the noise, well it won't make your neighbours think the world is going to end every time you start it like with the Rocket or Triple, but it is still a Triumph..........and wow does it make some nice noises, and it still has some of the burbles and pops I love so much, but just in a slightly toned style. In fact you get that impression, this is a bike that is like a slightly saner version of the insanity that was the Triple, and I can't believe I'm saying that, but that's a nice thing if you still want some thrills, but you have to use the bike everyday.

I would have to say this has probably been the easiest bike I have ever ridden, the handling, ride and balance of this thing are spectacular, and you can really ride it very fast very easily by throwing it around corners like it was a 400cc racer.

Unlike a sports bike however this bike does not get uncomfortable fro long journeys, in fact you really do feel that there simply aren't enough roads in the world to satisfy its hunger for eating up the miles, as it makes travelling long journeys so much more fun, comfortable and safe than on any other bike I have ridden.

You also get all the gizmo's with this one, loads of storage space in the fairings, panniers as standard if you want and of course the excellent trip computer that also has a range indicator, telling you how many miles you can do before you have to refuel, a very simple piece of tech that makes planning journeys so much easier, although with its 20 litre fuel tank you wont have to worry about that too often.

I made two long motorway trips on the bike and can comfortably say I have never felt more refreshed and relaxed when I got to my destination, as this bike just makes travelling long journeys so much fun. Sure you may not look as cool as you would do on say the Intruder cruiser I rode a few weeks ago, or you wont have the rush you get when on a full-on racer, but as I have mentioned, bikes nowadays are all about finding the right style to suit you.

So if your someone who commutes fairly large distances, but would also like a bike that can deliver sports bike-esque performance without trying to kill you every five minutes, I reckon "Spinderella" as I have affectionately come to call her, as her wheels just love to keep on spinning, is the perfect bike for you!

Sports-Tourer's officially rule, but as always she has to go back so I'm just off to Triumph to see what they have for me next!