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Now, mounting this beast for me was a well-waited reward. Climbing<br />
off the 660 Trident and getting onto the ST, was like getting out of your<br />
old varsity mini 1275 and jumping into the Cooper S; literally WORLDS<br />
apart. The comparison I immediately made arose from recollections<br />
of the day test we did to ET with the Z900 and pitting it against the<br />
Z1000. Same idea, but the bigger box has the better parts, the better<br />
ride and the better thrill factor, hands down. The 125Hp triple will sling<br />
the 165kg thrill machine from zero to more than 200 ‘happies’ in a<br />
matter of seconds. The power delivery is smooth, quite linear and very<br />
manageable. Even for a new rider. Of course Triumph have employed the<br />
use of a great electronics package allowing you to adjust traction, abs,<br />
power and all the good things we’d expect from a company that supplies<br />
a rendition of the same motor to the Moto2 class of racing. It’s great,<br />
not a screamer, but in a right, probably the best medium-sized triple<br />
motor out there. My personal ride experience immediately let me think<br />
of the CB1000R, but lighter and a little angrier, because of the rev limit<br />
being a little lofty. Lighter, forgiving and confidence inspiring, it tends to<br />
lure you to keep the taps open a little longer, and keep the speed a little<br />
more ‘up there’. The short wheelbase makes it easy to zip through the<br />
traffic and manoeuvre around in the parking lots and streets of suburbia!<br />
Fun, real fun… Truthfully, there wasn’t a machine that was there on the<br />
day that could be compared to this little firecracker. It’s in a league of<br />
its own and has shown promising results in the recent Daytona racing<br />
and is purported to be entering the WSSP. Albeit with a fairing, it’s<br />
essentially the same machine. I could have enjoyed a few laps around<br />
a track and dragging the knee on this machine because it’s so easy<br />
to ride! I give it full marks for everything, ergonomics, performance,<br />
features and price. 180k well spent, in my book.<br />
Kyle says:<br />
Yeah, I lost that fight over and over again and didn’t get to ride it on this<br />
ride. (Editor: BooHoo Chop, last time we took it out you wouldn’t let<br />
anybody else ride it then so chop, chop… give us all the benefit of your<br />
wise words).<br />
Okay, Okay… Fair enough.<br />
What was the price… around R200k I Think? (Editor: From R180k chop).<br />
Hoooooooooooligan, I just love this bike and had a really good sulk<br />
when I didn’t get to ride it this time. From robot to robot, you can keep<br />
your M3 or M5 this bike is ‘firkin’ fast and I have so much more fun on<br />
the back wheel. Through the likes of Sandton she might be the most fun<br />
you will have between home and work. If you can’t wheelie pull the front<br />
brakes and you will endo for a good couple of meters.<br />
Glenn says:<br />
Love it. Comfortable naked superbike. Easy to understand why owners<br />
love them so much. Ridiculously fast off the line. Go ride one… bank<br />
manager how’s that overdraft looking?<br />
BMW F750GS Sport – from R206,600.00<br />
Read this in a whisper, because we are saying it very quietly<br />
so BMW doesn’t hear us. We have always believed and<br />
said, ever since the launch down in the Cape in November<br />
2018… the 750 is a better bike than the 850. We know it is<br />
not what everybody wants to hear, but that’s what our lot<br />
think. The 850 isn’t a bad bike, it is just that the 750 is…<br />
well, better. Yes it has the same 853cc engine that has<br />
been electronically restricted to “750cc” only giving 57kW<br />
or 77Hp, but the torque is what makes all the difference at<br />
83Nm, but that package just works better with the 750’s<br />
suspension, chassis and electronics package on the road,<br />
(even with the quite portly 224kg’s) where, let’s be honest<br />
these bikes spend 90% of their time anyway. The 750<br />
Sport is very quick, handles like a dream, is comfortable<br />
to ride and has a very nice quick shifter, comes with<br />
cruise control… in fact has most of the desired bells and<br />
whistles. This was the other bike that caused quite a bit<br />
of rough housing to get the key fob first, particularly when<br />
the road opened up in to long winding freeways and the<br />
need for a speedo cruise was top of the list. We actually<br />
can’t understand why there are not so many more of these<br />
F750GS’s on our highways and byways.
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