Re: 05 Sprint ST Heat Issues?
Triumph did the right thing putting underseat exhausts on the Sprint ST. The idea is correct their execution just sucked, as other have said it's not a problem on all bikes.
The underseat pipes on the R1, ZX-10R, etc.. are fashion. Racers remove them and go back to the high mount side exhaust because it's lighter and keeps the weight lower on the bike, they have no worries about bags or passengers, etc..
The underseat pipes on the ST, VFR, etc.. are not fashion. They allow the manufacturer to use a far superior luggage setup with zero loss of ground clearance. The bags don't have to have a "cutout" which kills the room in the bags to make room for the exhaust, and the exhaust is up and out of the way with no ground clearance issues.
All the other S-T bikes with standard side exhausts have to make a tradeoff. Either put the pipes down low on the bike like a cruiser or touring bike, and lose ground clearance. Or make a hokey bag on one side that loses 50% of it's volume to make room for the pipe.
Symmetrical luggage with an underseat exhaust is the way to go.
It's moot anyway as Triumph has supposedly fixed this for the 06 and 07 models anyway.