Sprint Looking For a Sprint For the Winter...and Next Spring/Summer Trips

There's a guy selling one that's a tad damaged - nothing too serious - which is of interest. Needs new screen, horn and indicator relay (or maybe just needs connections cleaning). And in the title is 'brake pedal' but doesn't explain anything in the description. The picture shows it's bent, but the hanger on the bike isn't from a Sprint. I wonder what it is. I've sent a pm asking. The bike has been lowered by 2" by lowering the rear forks (suits me). The V5 has the taxation class as disabled so I suspect both are a modification for a previous disabled rider.

Hanger on the bike (unknown origin)


Sprint RS Hanger

 

A couple of brake/rest hanger assemblies on Ebay now for £23 and £35. He says he'll let me have the bike for £500 if he doesn't get a better offer. WBG book value for poor condition is £550, £1130 for average. Leaving aside the untidy fairings, repair costs for relay, horn, brake pedal and screen is about £100 on Ebay, say £200 with a hugger and cowl. There are some personalised transfers on the bike that presumably can be peeled off. Add some spit and polish and a 2002/03 with 47.5k on the clock has got to be worth £700. He says recently serviced and only 10 miles on the clock since. So I'm tempted.

 

That's what I was thinking. Might put a snipe bid in at near £600 just in case someone else comes in for it. If they'll pay more for it, then that's fine. If I get it for say £599, then I'm happy.

 

Well I'm not saying the £500-odd RS isn't still tempting, but I just gone and bought me a 1999T Tornado Red Sprint ST for £1020 lol. 34,000miles, recent big service, panniers and top box. It's been dropped so has a couple of scrapes and a small crack in a fairing. Says he has receipt for dealer purchase last May at £2500. Family emergency in NZ forces sale and needs to complete by Weds early evening before flying out for good. Was on Gumtree for £1190. I offered £850. If he'd been prepared to negotiate I'd have met half way at £1020, maybe £1050. Anyway, he declined saying he was sure he could get his asking price and put it on Ebay with a 5 day sale. That would obviously attract fewer bids than normal. WBG book is £970 for average condition, £1280 for good. So for low mileage, recent service, easy to get to by train in Isle of Dogs, and 80 mile ride home, what the heck, I put a last minute (actually 5 secs) 'snipe' bid in at £1050 and got it for my original idea. According to my spread sheet analysis what I've paid is about right. Gives me a chance to try an ST and ride it up to West Yorks to check out the RS. At worst I'll get my money back on the ST if I tidy it up, spray out the scrapes and give it a good spit and polish. Lets hope I don't t drop it what with me being short-arsed - hence not being overly fussed about bikes already got a few scuffs and scrapes on 'em. Going to put an extra footbed in my boots to add a few millimeters when I go to pick it up Wednesday lunchtime.

1999T Sprint ST, 34,000, this plus top box, not tank bag.

 

You may laugh, but I wore blue patent leather stacked heel platforms when I went for my first ever driving lesson (MkI Escort) back in '73 and got my foot stuck between clutch and brake in Sefton Park (scouseland) - dual controls so the instructor got it sorted. Could do with those now.

 

Picked the red one up today from the Isle of Dogs and rode it 80-ish miles home. Def a bike that has seen more European touring than polishing. Rides nicely, and definitely wants to be ridden quickly. Both feet flat on the ground which was a surprise. I thought I'd be on the balls of my feet even with the extra millimetres of footbed I stuffed in the boots. Initial riding thoughts are that some adjustments are needed to get it comfortable. I feel cramped on it, and I'm a short@r$e with a 29" inside leg (trouser wise), with the heels of my boots catching on the pegs and the gear change a real effort to lift my toe to for down-changing. So a thicker seat probably first on the list. The bars seem more of a stretch than the Norman Hyde drops on my Bonnie, and I was getting ache in my lower neck, so some bar risers on the shopping list too. It's a bit twitchier than the Bonnie, less confidence inspiring on the twisties, but a bullet in a straight line. Had to do a lot of filtering on the M1 in a long stationary tail back, and got overtaken a couple of times by more nimble riders, but first time up on this one, and not yet confident about getting my feet off the pegs rapidly, so not overly embarrassed by that. Going to Cambridge Addenbrookes again on Thursday, about an hour away, so I'll give the Sprint another run out wearing my flat-soled boots this time.

 

Crispey, they're woefully under-inflated Bridgestone Battlax T023. Seem to get decent reviews. I need to look through his receipts for work done. My impression was a guy who knows how to keep a bike mechanically sound, but probably needed to invest in a bicycle track pump. Rides a Thruxton back home in NZ. Dealer service at 24k, but did his own 30k and not long changed oil and new brakes all round. Says he changed the cam chain cuz he had the engine open anyway. He's got the front forks wound right down as far as I can tell. He rode mostly two up, and looking at them I would say their combined weight ain't much more than this fat knacker carries around. I'll see how it goes for a few miles with some fresh air in the rubber.

 

So, looks like I bought one of those frustrating bikes that only works properly when it's got air in it's tyres After adding the 10psi it was short of back and front I must say the handling was noticeably better. Still not as confident zipping it round the curves and roundabouts in the dark as I am on the Bonnie, but still scraped the toes of my boots a few times. And just as an aside, it does frustrate me too how the NHS has to put up with inferior equipment. According to the scales in the Cardio department I'm now 24kilo lighter than I was 18months ago when weighed in Genetics. Okay, I know I've been playing shy with the cakes and buns and that my trousers don't pop the buttons quite so often these days, but I'm still a fat knacker.

 

Just looking through the history. It was Sorned by the original owner from 2003-2008, then done a thousand or so miles each year till last MOT 11/06/15 at 23,559 miles with 24k service before setting out on European camping tour, now done 35,500. That's some European tour these last few months. He replaced the fork oil in August with 15w Med/Heavy (in Greece by the look of the invoice). I'll check the rear ones. If stock I'll look at fitting some Hagons or some such.