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Buy it, then it’s in the garage when you want to ride it, unlike here you have the weather most of the time, with couple of short breaks I’ve had a bike since I was 16 and still prefer them to cars
I rode my first motorcycle in 1965 (BSA Bantam - 150cc two stroke) and have always had one in the garage until two years ago. I ran a 200 cc Messerschmitt bubble car for a year or two but sold it for £35.00 when the girlfriend, now my wife, refused to be seen dead in it.
Every motorbike was British purely because I liked them and found them easy to understand and after a few years found them dead easy to maintain, so I grew up with Amal carburettors, magnetos and the like. My biggest bike was an Ariel Square Four and my joint favourite was either a BSA B31 350cc single or a Sunbeam S7 500cc twin.
Yesterday I drove past a massive modern Motorcycle shop which had an agency for Triumphs and I called in for a casual gawp. Surprisingly there was a few other retirees in there also gawping around.
Bloody hell, how these modern Triumphs have evolved. I spent 90 minutes looking around all the various models. They have modernised but still look classic. They had chrome finishes, the fuel injectors were made to look like carburettors and it was obvious that you could probably drive around all over Europe safe in the knowledge that it was unlikely that you would ever breakdown. Best of all they had electric start so no more knackered knees.
The two that really caught my eye was the Bonneville Bobber and the Speedmaster. I was so impressed that I was just an inch away from buying the Speedmaster on the spot. It was really comfortable and your feet could go slightly forward, ala Harley and the handle bars were perfect.
I have been debilitating all morning to go back and buy it but the wife is very much against it saying I will end up being tossed over a hedge.
She's probably right but I really wish I was twenty years younger.
Buy it, then it’s in the garage when you want to ride it, unlike here you have the weather most of the time, with couple of short breaks I’ve had a bike since I was 16 and still prefer them to cars
I am currently in the UK until March / April. I spend about 5 months in Spain and that is another temptation.Originally Posted by adrianw
Mick look at Learning to Fly’s bike thread on here. Enoch has had at least two speedmasters in the last couple of years and really likes them. Regarding Triumph I wholeheartedly agree they have nailed the classic look whilst meeting all the current EU and safety requirements noise/ abs etc.
For pure nostalgia look at Royal Enfield, under new leadership they have gone from 50/60k bikes per year to nearly a million in THREE years. Their Interceptor 650 twin is the UKs best selling bike behind the might BMW GS 1250 . Enfields 650 super meteor is very speedmaster like but thousands cheaper than the Triumph model.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...ght=Motorcycle
Enfield here : https://www.royalenfield.com/
The Speedmasters a lovely bike, I find it really comfy as well.
I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 1200cc Twins that are currently in the line up, they're all great and just fit peoples requirement differently
I personally have a Scrambler 1200 and have covered more miles on it than any other bike I've owned, I bloody love it!
I fear I might come over as a bit biased though as I do sell them for a living! lol
Hi Mick
Why not ask for a days loan to see how you like it. Save a lot of faff if bought and no likey
Take it easy, they’re different beasties nowadays and above all: “Keep it upright between the hedges buddy!”
Jim
Born again Bikers who catch Shiny Bike Syndrome often end up being debilitated, in my experience.
Get it!! I love my Bonneville Custom and so does my 94 year old Grandad. I only regret the things I didn’t do not the things I did
I was hoping no one would not notice that little mistake. This forums auto correct is PITA.
Yea sorry, couldn't help it lol
Hope this helps Mick..
If you are serious about either of these bikes I suggest you ride them both.
From my experience the Bobber looks cooler, but the Speedmaster is easier to live with and a little more practical.
I easily get over 60mpg on either variant, and covered around 15000 miles between the bikes without any mechanical issues whatsoever, apart from the first Speedmaster had a small oil leak that was fixed under warranty with a modified part.
My Bobber 1st
My 1st Speedmaster
My 2nd Bobber..(Limited edition)
My 2nd and current Speedmaster
Listen to the wife.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
FTFY!
You were being debilirately obtuse…….
Easy to say when it's not your wife!FTFY!
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Tensions are rising in the Mick P household.
Basically our marriage of 51 years is based on the little ditty below.
I alone rule my house, my wife will have it so.
But when I try to say a thing, she tells me where to go.
Another rule Mick, if you buy a bike, you cant sell it :)
LolYou were being debilirately obtuse…….
Now you're being abstruse
Bear in mind Mick that if British-built (as opposed to -owned) is part of the appeal - and I'm not suggesting it should be - that only 2 of Triumph's 6 factories are in the UK. Many are therefore built in Thailand and Brazil.
AJS are made in China, RE in India. CCM may be?
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
In this day and age parts come in from all over the world as the recent shortage of chip from China demonstrated. 100% UK build is a pipe dream now a days.
I now want a 100% reliable bike that is bomb proof and the wife is not happy with this idea at all.
I have a wife like that.
I also have a mother like that.
So, I said to my mother just this afternoon that if they both go to heaven before me, it probably won't be be long until I join them.
My wife says “if you want it get it” then moans if got another bike afterwards
The problem I have is that two years ago I tripped over in Spain and landed in a load of gravel and made a right mess of myself as well as dislocating my right shoulder. It took 9 months for the pain to go away and I did moan a bit about it. It was not something I would want to go through again.
I lost my nerve to ride a bike and I sold my BSA 650 twin the moment I got home because if I suffered that bad just for tripping up, how much would I suffer if I came off a bike at say 50mph.
Two years later my courage has come back and the modern Triumphs seem to fit the bill except that the wife is worried how she will cope (she's still recovering from a stroke) if I end up injured or dead.
Somehow the dream is slipping away.
My wife rides horses… so far she’s knackered her back, broken her foot, collar bone and rotational cuff, had numerous bangs on the head, and injured feet. Oh and broken ribs, forgot about that one.
I’ve been riding bikes for over 40 years, and I’ve had a badly broken leg, and that was down to someone else’s negligence.
I´m glad you´ve finally written the part about how the wife would cope, that has seemed to me to be the key part of all this and needs acknowledging...also but for your wife´s intervention a young lass would´ve slipped your watch off your wrist in broad daylight, which rather suggests your reactions aren´t quite what they once were.
Last edited by Passenger; 27th January 2023 at 11:32.
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