At first glance, the windscreen and front end design look normal, letting through plenty of stable air that hits you on the chest and face – just as you would expect. But the stock screen turned out to be much better than that, with rock-solid stability and a total absence of turbulence as speed rises, a performance right up there BMW’s best RT and GT designs, the leaders in that area. And if you like to have less air hitting you, I suspect you will find aero happiness in various Triumph and other accessories catalogues.

So this is GT riding!
Towards the end of my 1000km ride on the GT, I finally got it. I found the right position for me, and more important, the right speed bracket for maximum personal comfort: from 108 to 123kph. Within those limits, there was just enough pressure on my chest to prop me up just so without loading up my arms and shoulders, and with my legs comfortably tucked under my bum. Higher speeds meant a gradual build up of pressure on the chest and helmet, just what you would expect, while lower speeds started to loads up the arms and shoulders to hold me up.

As I found out on short runs, inner City riding is not part of the GT’s purview, at least with me in the saddle. The engine behaves impeccably below 2000 rpm, but the mass, seat height, length and width of the bike, plus my extended arm and somewhat cramped legs all told me that the open road was where I needed to be.

The luggage does stick out past the mirrors, so watch it in tight quarters. But the capacity is so useful that  I actually loved them, especially with the floating mounting that made them feel lighter. (Photo: Bernard Suquet)

On longer runs, the engine growl is satisfying as massive grunt pours out of the engine at any revs. The bike’s agility/stability combination really shines, especially when you keep it in the happy zone that starts at about 100kph.

With performance, quality and low pricing, the 2011 Sprint GT gives you a lot of bike for your money. This GT wants to eat klics rather than poke around hairpin corners or vegetate in urban traffic. And you can tailor it to your preferences with the money you saved.

I bet a lot of people will live happily with that!

+
Engine torque, power and responsiveness
No turbulence at any speed
Happy stability/agility combination above 100kph
Excellent price-quality deal

-
Seat-footpeg-handlebar distances a bit tight for me
Too-small numbers on the speedo, or digital please
Needs optional Cruise Control and Speed Limiter