Throw in some surface irregularities and the stock suspension settings will start sending warning signals to your throttle hand. (Photo: Tom Riles) » More Photos

The brakes are attached to some new and very sexy wheels this year that come wrapped in nice sticky Battlax BT020’s, and looking closely will also reveal some changes to the single side swing arm. Basically having remained unchanged since it was released on the new Daytona T595 way back in 1996, it gets some sharp styling details this year. Let your gaze drift upward at the rear, and you will cop an eyeful of the three separate muffler tips protruding over the LED rear light. The pipes not only look the business, they sound simply magnificent, especially when you are throttling off from high rpm in a low gear: A riding situation that needs to be recreated as often as possible. The sound is quiet enough to not be offensive to other motorists or passers by, but is totally addictive to the rider.

Our second day of testing had seen an awesome sunrise, and the big yellow orb’s departure was again making for some of that perfect light that had ace photographer Tom Riles was hopping around barking orders faster than an overworked line chef in a busy restaurant. “Left a little, right a little,” he demands perfection and the results are plain to see here on these pages. While the shutter clicked, I got my first chance to step back and truly take in the beauty of the new Sprint ST standing in front of me. Notebook parked, brain out of evaluation mode, I was just able to appreciate the slick new styling and aggressive nature of the new bike. From the turn signals in the mirrors, to the radical looking front headlight set up and swooping under tail exhaust, the new Sprint ST looks sharper, leaner and more focused. All I need to do now is see how it performs with a set of hard bags, and some luggage on the long haul around Scotland this summer. Stay tuned.

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