i can only dissapoint u

yes, yes, yes, i know it's the 'new' triumph patent plate, not the 'original' one, after a week of going to see 'old' 'original' triumph's i'm getting 'pretty vexed' as my old grandma used to say, as per previous post, 'patina' is no excuse for a hastily assembled, mis-matched bunch of parts, care-worn, rusty and neglected and top dollar because the seller thinks it's a 'classic', listen, i'm old enough, uglier enough and been around the block enough times to recognise a pile of poo from a hundred yards, i get in the car and head home,the comments of the owners ringing in my ears, 'it's a classic', 'you won't find a better one at this price', 'it's an original bike, only going to go up in value' fuck off, i'm not a mug, i know a nigh on forty year old machine is going to show some signs of life, like a woman, most bikes get better with age, there's no way i'm going to pay four grand for a bike that's worth fifteen hundred quid at best as a total resto job, i'm not expecting concourse condition, just an honest, well used bike, complete with all those little niggles, i cannot believe that when you turn up at someones gaff and you can't start the bike because the battery is flat they wonder why you are slightly perplexed! and then you want me to part with a sixth of my annual income? bollock's to that! it takes too much earning, put it back in the shed you money grabbing bastard! so, steve, the bloke who's bought my sporty get's in touch, he wants me to drop the bike off at his gaff because he hasn't sorted out his insurance, my heart sinks, i didn't want to ride the sporty again, i'm resigned to it going, but, after my fruitless trips this past week looking at ka-ka, i'm wondering if i've done the right thing, out into the heavy commuter traffic, it's a dismal, cloudy, drizzly night, i'm carving the traffic and lane splitting, you forget how much fun it is commuting on a bike, leaving the car owners fuming in the endless nose-to-tails lines of human stagnation, the bark of the supertrapps  echoing off the boring sheet metal euro-boxes, my bar-end mirror disappears as i clip a lane-changing bmw, i see it arcing away as the bars snatch to the left, a little too close for comfort me'thinks, he hit's his horn, i'm not stopping, there's no way he can catch my un-lit, black and silver, small reg.plate, [please, remember to ride responsibly, alway's wear a helmet, preserve nature and be nice to other road user's] what a fucking blast! the last ride on the sporty, i ship up to steve's and we do the transaction, paperwork and cash- money exchanged and he gives me a tour of his absolutely epic bike collection, [more to come on this one], we head home in his old knacker of a car, like me he thinks cars are for getting groceries and fetching part's, i get a text later that evening, 'couldn't resist it, been out on the sporty, love it! cheer's, keep in touch' brilliant, makes it all worthwhile, steve's got plan's for the bike, he's on about ohlin's right-way-up forks and piggy back shocks and a black, orange and white traditional harley race paint-job, into work this a.m. and i get talking to a mate, who's mates got a mate who's selling a triumph bonneville, a little digging and i discover it's a 'hinckley' not a 'proper' bonneville, i dismiss it straight away, then i think about it as i'm walking the dog's, i do a little digging on the 'tinterweb and do some research, pre-ninety-five models are 790cc, air/oil cooled, dohc and produce around 61 bhp in standard form, uhhm, set of carb's, unrestricted exhaust, nothing too radical, more 'medium cool massaged' rather than full on engineering exercise, a little bit of whoo a little bit of whaa, i go and have a look, whats to lose?  it's a genuine, clean bike, not immaculate but with a full service history, full year's ticket, a t100 rev counter and dash fitted as an optional extra, i begin to 'photo-shop' it in my head, [alway's done this, even before computers were mainstream, cutting and shaping, blacking out this part and adding that part], bloody hell, i can do one of these, i drop him a oner as a deposit, bike on the road, ready to go and a grand in my arse pocket to kick it into shape? no-brainer, game on..........

Comments

  1. Cool! When do we get some pics?

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  2. Good work Tim. I saw one of these on the road recently, (if its the same bike), looked great, nothing flash, just a proper bike. If that falls through, maybe Jeff Wrights' ZX10 is still ip for grabs.

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  3. If I didn't already have my old Triumphs...I'd probably have a modern one. Made the mistake of sitting on one...they feel right...probably have one someday.Yas ,pictures Tim...pictures

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  4. No argument from the bloke who's ride is a three year old skirtster mate, empathise totally and can see it being the coolest of its type already . . . as Jan said, proper bike an all . . . glad you put the sporty to bed mate, the right way to go out too . . . oh yeah, next edition please Lovey . . . vroom vroom !!! XX

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  5. The sporty was way cool, and you'll miss it some. I regret a few of my bikes I've sold, but you can only ride one at a time, and all that shit.
    Time, I guess, to look forward and not in the rear view. Have fun.

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  6. well, i wasn't expecting that!, thank's everyone, thought you might have all called me a sell-out for ditching the sporty like a lot of my mates have done, stay tuned, i've got a few ideas for the bonny.....

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  7. It was a Harley... I talked to you despite the Harley not because of it. Have fun with the new toy

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