[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by wangdu

I really liked the ST for its flick-ability compared to Bonnies but I wanted something substantial upfront (speed+tacho) and pure retro looks. I bought my T-100 within a week of first riding it despite the usual bank balance worries & protesting brain.

Same here! I too would have gone for the T-100 for the twin pods but again, my obsession with all black and less chrome made me go with the ST. Also the price difference in both bikes wasn't justified in my mind. Thank you and hope you keep updating the thread too!

Originally Posted by PISTONS

Congratulation Adi, You made a perfect choice with the matt black one.

Completely agree! Thanks a ton. Heating is actually not that much of an issue for me I am pretty accustomed to it now. The temperatures here are still in high forties and hoping to see some rains soon. Riding in cooler temperatures definitely will strain the machine less.

Originally Posted by mobike008

How comfortable are you with the low seat and overall compact dimensions of the bike as you seem to be a tall person (guessing from the picture)?

Thanks a lot! The bike still makes me grin the moment I start her up. As for the seat, I would have preferred a taller stance. The low seat isn't the best comfort wise, but ergonomics are good. I am 5' 10" and I am comfortable with the position. But the seat padding and comfort are not as good as the bigger seats on the T120. Planning to change the seat soon if I can't find a good additional gel seat.

Originally Posted by vishy76

BTW, you seem to have an all black garage now. Two monsters share it. An explosive 1.8 TSI octavia DSG and a 900 cc super bike!

Haha yes the dream garage is coming closer to reality, one step at a time thank you! This one is really a surprise package as no one can ever imagine it to be so good with the bulk it carries.

Originally Posted by dkaile

Congratulations on a fine machine mate. Wishing you years of riding pleasure. Ride safe, ride fully geared.

Cheers...

Thanks a lot! Indeed a refined machine this one is. Looking for better gear, hope to find some good pointers here on the forum.

Originally Posted by laxmanrk

You know, that makes two of us!

T120 is in its own league! But the chrome is sometimes too much for me to fathom. I prefer the all Matt black treatment anytime and for any vehicle for that matter. They don't have any plans to launch the black edition anytime soon.

Originally Posted by @sohel

Congratulations Adi. It looks beautiful it matt black. I am glad to see someone from gujarat on this forum (There are very few of us I guess). We should plan a meet ��

Hey are you part of any Triumph Gujarat dealers whatsapp groups or something? Actually good to see fellow BRAT on Teambhp!

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Yes get the hang of getting more of front brake bias in to your braking habit and the happier you would be

Thank you! Trying to get to know the beast a little bit more every time I ride! It's fascinating!

Originally Posted by giri1.8

Haven't seen an street twin in flesh, but from the pics I could see that there is something about the way Triumph has given attention to the little details, I mean the instrument cluster looks simple but classy(just an example).



Congrats and ride safe !

Thank you, indeed the beauty of this bike lies in its details or rather the simplicity with which it is executed!

Originally Posted by HariRE350

The brothers wish you many many happy miles of pure unadulterated fun!

Your two scrumptious beauties are just.. Haha! What a combination, and an awesome thread! Noted about the darkening of the reservoir in your thread too, thanks for pointing out.

Originally Posted by classic86

Btw! How did you get km/l on the fuel efficiency indicator? Mine still shows L/100 km.

Thanks man, your thread was indeed a confidence booster in the decision. It was by default set to km/L for my bike. May be they changed this later on? Must be possible by software tweaks.

[koushik24]

Congratulations! adi_petrolhead Even I wanted the Matte Black, here in Bengaluru, but the waiting time was just not feasible, rather I couldn't wait for that long after booking my bike. So settled for a Phantom Black instead. Never knew the Disc brake oil reservoir is different for Matte Black.

Happy and Safe Riding.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by koushik24

settled for a Phantom Black instead. Never knew the Disc brake oil reservoir is different for Matte Black.

Thank you and congratulations to you too! Did you get a BS4 model? If yes, the reservoir will be black by default. I had never seen another BS4 ST besides mine until one more (red) on the forum, thats when I noticed that all BS4 bikes have the translucent black reservoir by default. It makes a difference because the earlier white plastic was very cheap looking. Would force many people to go for the machined aluminium reservoir, but now it seems to blend with the handle bars better.

[koushik24]

Hi adi_petrolhead,

Looks like mine is not BS4. I bought mine in January. As you mentioned, mine has the cheap plastic looking one. I am planning to get the Rizoma Oil reservoir for mine.

[grplr02]

Hi Adi_Petrolhead, great choice on your bike. The Street Twin is a fantastic machine and that matte-black colour is very nice too. I test-rode one briefly last year and was immediately impressed by its torque, power delivery, high level of finish, and stock exhaust sound. Earlier this year I had the opportunity for a lengthier ride. A friend had bought one recently and over two days, I put around 200kms jumping between the new ST, a Tiger 800Xcx and a Triumph Scrambler (865cc air-cooled '16 model). Riding was on mountain roads, mostly good tarmac.

Keeping the Tiger aside and looking closer at the ST and the Scrambler, here's my take - still highly impressed by the ST, the reviewers aren't lying when they use words like "easy to ride," "manoeuvrable," "lots of useable power right where & when you need it," etc. as that's exactly what I found. Many reviewers compared the manoeuvrability/flick-ability of the ST as being better than the T100 and T120 - which are in turn supposedly better than the older generation 865cc models. Also, the new 900cc engine is supposedly more powerful/better power delivery than the old 865cc lump. But I found little differences in these areas between the older-model Scrambler and the ST - caveat, this Scrambler isn't stock (aftermarket exhaust freed up more power) and also I've put several thousand kms on it so am very comfortable on it, while I was being a bit more careful riding my friend's very-new ST. Finally, I'm not a top-level high-speed rider, so the finer details are probably lost on me.

The ST sits lower, and while that makes for a comfortable reach to the ground for not-so-tall riders, beginners, etc. I found it a bit cramped, even though my pant inseam is only 30 inches. Perhaps something that can be easily rectified by after-market seat, or just riding it for a while longer and getting used to the seating position?

Overall this is a fantastic motorcycle. Triumph has hit it out of the park with their new generation Classic/Bonneville line-up. As I mentioned above, the detailing is really good. With the old-gen models, you immediately wanted to trash the stock mirrors, turn signals and exhaust, followed by a bunch of smaller parts - which is what I did with my older Bonneville and now this Scrambler - whereas, the parts on these new bikes are really top class - turn signals, mirrors and the great sounding exhaust are all really nice, combined with most everything else on the bike. The radiator is so well-placed it's practically a non-issue as far as classic looks are concerned. I'm very tempted to get one too - perhaps a T120 or the new Bobber? Although with where I live, the former might make better sense? Let's see, need to test-ride both soon.

Enjoy your new machine and hope you'll share lots more pics with us!

[PISTONS]

Originally Posted by grplr02

Hi Adi_Petrolhead, great choice on your bike. The Street Twin is a fantastic machine and that matte-black colour is very nice too. I test-rode one briefly last year and was immediately impressed by its torque, power delivery, high level of finish, and stock exhaust sound. Earlier this year I had the opportunity for a lengthier ride. A friend had bought one recently and over two days, I put around 200kms jumping between the new ST, a Tiger 800Xcx and a Triumph Scrambler (865cc air-cooled '16 model). Riding was on mountain roads, mostly good tarmac.

Sir, What a BEAUTIFUL Bonnie err Scrambler you have. Wonderfully made.

Have you made any test ride of the new breed Bonnie's. If Yes, Please share your observations.

I feel ST is lot smaller when compared to T100 (Air cooled version). I agree it has got the best sound in its stock form and No need to spend money on aftermarkets/Arrows

@Adi, Please share more updates on your ST. How is behaving at high speeds.

[grplr02]

Originally Posted by PISTONS

Sir, What a BEAUTIFUL Bonnie err Scrambler you have. Wonderfully made.

Have you made any test ride of the new breed Bonnie's. If Yes, Please share your observations.

I feel ST is lot smaller when compared to T100 (Air cooled version). I agree it has got the best sound in its stock form and No need to spend money on aftermarkets/Arrows

@Adi, Please share more updates on your ST. How is behaving at high speeds.

Thanks Pistons, glad you liked my bike! That's a genuine air-cooled 865cc Scrambler with additional custom stuff done to it, not a Bonneville converted into a Scrambler (not that there's anything wrong with that, a friend has an older T-100 that has been gently scrambler-ized and he rides the bejeezuz out of it!). Also, re: my feedback on the new breed Bonnies - just re-read my post, I've test-ridden the ST for a bit now and gave my feedback here, especially vis-a-vis the older Bonneville, of which I've owned two.

[adi_petrolhead]

I've been riding a lot less these last few weeks. Mainly because I was still waiting to buy the correct riding gear such as a jacket and boots, already had the LS2 from day one. Still searching for a decent pair of gloves, don't see the point in spending 6K on Alpinestars.

Currently the bike is at 1900 Kms in a little over 3 months. Its way off my desired figure, I was planning to do long rides but somehow didn't materialise due to work and social commitments.

I feel a little discomfort on dry side roads in my area where there is a lot of loose mud, otherwise the tyres are very sticky in rain as expected from the Pirellis.

Have started to drive hard on occasions and the motor reaches 100 Kph in 2nd gear with superb ease. Generally no issues till now, I just have to get a centre stand and do the chain cleaning and lubing myself. Its tough since the dealership is 120 kms from my place. Every time a visit to the dealership is a 'ride' in itself since its a 250 km round trip.

Will keep updating as much as I can, with pictures, as soon as I get to cleaning the bike thoroughly.

On the point of cleaning, since my bike is Matte Black, I just use a dry microfibre cloth and nothing else. Haven't washed the bike in 3 months, hence the paint work is holding up without the water spots. What do you all use for cleaning the bike's critical parts such as Engine, Chain, Wheels and suspension? any special bike wipes or just a wash down and microfibre cloth?

Still looking for an add on seat cushion. Cannot find anything available online. Point me in the right direction if anyone knows?

"For The Ride"

[grplr02]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Still looking for an add on seat cushion. Cannot find anything available online. Point me in the right direction if anyone knows?

"For The Ride"

I've used Airhawk air cushion pads, really well made and easily adjustable. They seem to be the number one name that comes up whenever someone discusses additional motorcycle seat padding. They didn't quite work for me as I found the softer setting a bit too squishy and the full setting made me sit a little higher than I liked - setting is easily adjustable, like air pillows. Now my friend has it on his Tiger 800, and he absolutely loves it.

https://airhawk.net

I bought mine from Revzilla: https://www.revzilla.com/airhawk-seats

Hope this helps!

[Brocklock]

Hi guys,

Just curious if anyone has had a puncture on their Twin? Mine has just done 1000 Km and I picked up a nail somewhere.

The manual says that punctured tyres need replacement, just like the Kawasaki manual for my Z1000.

Btw, Triumph gave me a quote of 38k for the rear tyre only (not the set). This is about 30% more than what I usually pay for a pair on my Z1000.

Any inputs?

[Sting]

Originally Posted by Brocklock

Hi guys,

Just curious if anyone has had a puncture on their Twin? Mine has just done 1000 Km and I picked up a nail somewhere.

The manual says that punctured tyres need replacement, just like the Kawasaki manual for my Z1000.

Btw, Triumph gave me a quote of 38k for the rear tyre only (not the set). This is about 30% more than what I usually pay for a pair on my Z1000.

Any inputs?

I'm not sure what tires the new ST comes with. On my Delhi Goa trip I fixed up a puncture on the Bonnie's Metzelers in Goa and rode it back to Delhi and have been using it ever since without any problems. Different people have different views on whether a motorcycle tire should be patched - I am in the category that does fix the puncture rather than discarding the tire and haven't had any problems.

My recommendation would be to never go to Triumph for your tire needs. Always prefer to go to various authorised dealers; you will find a lot more variety at much lesser cost. At Rs 38k just for the rear tire it will be an understatement to say it is daylight robbery. High peformance bimmers have tires that cost less! I changed both front and rear to Pirellis at approx 8k for the pair and have been quite happy with the change. Many others on the forum have changed from OEMs on their Triumphs and have been pleased with the performance.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Sting

[HandfulOfHell]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Ride, Handling & Comfort:

Enough of criticism! Now lets get to the good part yes, the ride!

Well to say the least, every single time I start the bike, get in the saddle, it makes me feel big, huge, at the same time makes me feel like an integral part of the machine. The heavy dry weight is not felt at all once you ride off.

1st and 2nd gear are quite easy going, but its the remaining three cogs that make you grin from end to end If you so wish, this bike will do;

0-70 km/h in 1st gear
70-100 km/h in 2nd gear

Overall acceleration 0-100 km/h will be accomplished in under 6 seconds with timely shifts and good tarmac. I am yet to testify that claim because of the running in period.

But really this machine isn't made for this type of riding. The sweet spot is in third gear about 80 km/h and then reach a steady cruise of 100-120 km/h in fifth. There is zero vibration from the bars or pegs, and only after riding for more than a couple of hours, that too without good gloves, you might feel slightest of tingling in your palms. But this is nothing to complain about.

Grip from the tyres is superb! Pirelli Phantoms not only do the job well of sticking to the road, but also look the part, completing the ST's vintage chopper look. There's a bit of a grey area about these tyres, lasting only about 15-16K kms. Apparently they cost around 15K for the set (front and rear), this is what I was able to see online. Not sure how much the dealer will charge. But they're excellent in the ride comfort, cornering grip and braking department. You can do some serious bank angles on this bike although it being a Street naked.

Braking is very good for a single front disc setup as mentioned earlier, mighty impressive stopping power along with ABS. On the topic of ABS, no, its not switchable, and yes, it works perfectly well in our conditions. The roads I have to ride on, its better to keep ABS fully on at all times, along with Traction control. Brake pad life is claimed at 7-8000 kms by the dealer, but thats if you have a habit of resting your foot on the brake. Only time will tell, how much I can squeeze the life out of these copper pads.

I am still learning high speed cornering and learning to balance between the front and rear brake force. So can't comment on aggressive handling, but manoeuvring in the city with traffic is very easy and turning radius is fantastic. It is super stable on the highways too, and even sharp undulations don't unsettle the bike much, meaning I hardly have to stand on the pegs, but I do so from habit. For a novice like me, its very easy to ride this motorcycle. Pros will feel even more at home.

The saddle height is just right. Your feet are just under you, not forward not backward. My only grouse is the seat padding. I am just not able to seat myself in for more than an hour at a stretch. May be its because of the heat or my jeans, I don't know. But the seat on the T120 is far far more comfortable. Will be trying to retrofit the same on the ST in near future. What I don't understand is the price of a seat being close to Rs. 25K. Will have to source something else like a gel padding add on, but cannot locate anything on the net as of now.

Hi Adi, That's a great review of your ownership experience. I am hoping to get some advice from you . I have a proposition to buy a well maintained, Apr'18, 1500 kms run Street Twin for 6.5L. I love the Street Twin for its butter smooth ride and a good electronics package though it may lack the presence of a superbike. I have heard a few things on these forums and was hoping to get your feedback on them - (1) Heard about the rear shocks bottoming out, (2) expensive service costs and (3) lack of 6th gear affects highway performance (4) Tires behaving funny in less than good roads and some wobbling issues (5) Heating.

Plus a new 2019 model with some improvements is on its way to India in about 4-5 months which addresses some of its existing issues. https://www.autocarindia.com/bike-re...st-ride-410551

It will be great to get your views not that you have lived with the bike for 1.5 years. The ST, however, wont be available for long and so I need to decide now.

[adi_petrolhead]

Hi there, thank you for going through the thread, although I haven't updated it much since a long time. Reason is I've been riding quite less. My bike has done just 3000 kms in 1.5 years.

1) The suspension hasn't yet bottomed out for me, the ride is very comfortable suspension wise. The seat is another story. Sitting in the saddle for over two hours will give you some discomfort and you WILL need a break to relax your gluteal muscles

2) The heat is not something to worry about. Yes, if you plan to ride in the city traffic on a hot and humid day, it will be uncomfortable, but cruising won't make your leg bake if that's what you're worried about.

3) Service cost for my low usage has been satisfactory. I service it once a year, with chain being cleaned and lubed by me every 4-5 months or 500 kms. Its a reliable machine and won't give you unrealistic maintenance costs. The efficiency of the mechanic also plays an important role here.

4) I do miss the 6th gear. Also the lack of a rev counter doesn't help here. But when I am cruising at say 100 kph, the bike doesn't seem strained at all. Any speeds above 100 kph are as such life threatening in India, although I have once accelerated up to 140 kph for a few seconds on a barricaded highway, I quickly went back down to 100 kph for a steady and comfortable ride.

5) I do feel the bike demands better tyres. The Phantoms look very nice and lend some extra retro character to the bike, but I wouldn't say they're the most grippy tyres out there. For our roads where there could be loose sand, gravel etc it could give you a nice slide if you accelerate hard enough till the moment the TCS cuts in. TCS works very well and keeps everything under control. So does the ABS. I have had to brake hard on a few occasions during monsoon and I must say the tyres and brakes both inspire confidence in wet conditions. You'd be better off with Scrambler type of tyres but sadly the ST has a rare tyre size with hardly any options available in India. You must import decent tyres like the Metzeler Tourance or Continental Trail Attack, etc.

Finally, the price of 6.5 Lakh all in on a 1500 km ridden bike is excellent value for money. The 2019 model has more power, a rev counter, some new accessories and paint jobs but in essence its the exact same motorcycle. You'd pay almost 5 Lakh more if you buy a brand new 2019 ST for sure. Its surprising that the 2019 doesn't even offer an LED Headlight option. I was hoping for it to launch so that I can retrofit it to mine, right now I'm using Osram Night breaker Laser H4 with much better results compared to the stock light.

Its a very flexible bike to be honest with no niggles. (till now, fingers crossed)

[msnarain]

I am looking to book a ST 2019. Super confused between the korosi red and matte ironstone. How is the matte paint to maintain? The red I test rode looked quite old while the one inside the showroom was nice and polished. In this case, I can just buy a nice wax and polish. How does matte age? I love the matte more, but I am worried about maintaining in the long run, as I can't just polish, or get it repainted.

On a side note, I once had a matte grey Apache RTR that the TVS service guys applied wax on ruining the appearance. I am guessing this won't happen with a premium brand like Triumph.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by msnarain

I am looking to book a ST 2019. Super confused between the korosi red and matte ironstone. How is the matte paint to maintain? The red I test rode looked quite old while the one inside the showroom was nice and polished. In this case, I can just buy a nice wax and polish. How does matte age? I love the matte more, but I am worried about maintaining in the long run, as I can't just polish, or get it repainted.

On a side note, I once had a matte grey Apache RTR that the TVS service guys applied wax on ruining the appearance. I am guessing this won't happen with a premium brand like Triumph.

Hey buddy! Definitely the Matte shades are better looking and surprisingly easier to maintain as they don't scratch that easily. As there's no clear coat, there shouldn't be any issue with dullness of paint. I personally feel Triumph have done an amazing job with providing it some kind of hydrophobic coating, water and dust just doesn't stand on the tank at all. I personally use a damp cloth and some waterless wash liquid to wipe the bike once a week and give it a thorough pressure wash once in two months. I only ride 2-3 days a week, roughly 100 kms. I also recently acquired Muc-Off Matte Paint Detailer from Spartan Progear in India, and it gives a nice protective coat to the tank and side panels. Do ensure you take off those safety stickers on the tank on day one else it'll leave a nasty border around it which is impossible to get rid off. I am living with it

Otherwise the paint and engine compartment is fairly easy to clean and maintain. It would be wise to get a centre stand to ease chain cleaning and lubrication as that is the task I fear most, not having a centre stand or paddock stand with me.