Mark,
I gots me one of the old top-heavy first generation Triumph Triples....a '95 Sprint. While I always LOVED that big lump of a motor in the thing(what a great powerband...loads of torque and some pretty good horsepower "upstairs"), the thing pushes through turns like a friggin' tractor(a lot of weight on the front tire)compared to the sportbikes of today. Once you get used to it "falling" into turns(due to it's top-heavy nature) it's actually a pretty competent beast.(but of course, it's more a "Sport-Tourer" than anything else.
Sad note though....The sprag-clutch on the starter went out on it a couple of years ago, and the T300 series(that was Triumph's designation for their first-generation triples) require that the engine to be pulled and the cases split in order to get to the starter mechanism(unlike the 2nd-gen T-500 series). So, my first modern Triumph baby that I purchased just as soon as Triumph returned to the Good Ol' U.S. of A, back in '95,(I remember like it was yesterday how jazzed I was to hear that the "Red Coats" were comin' back) has been sitting in the garage of my other house in Prescott AZ for a while.(I miss riding her)
This'll be one of my little projects after I retire in April.
Cheers,
Dwight
