sockmonkey wrote:Last time we all got together in NE Georgia, our local pal there had a hard time keeping up with him on a Gixxer.

+1 on that.

2 Years ago I almost died on US 28 in NC several times on my BMW r1100s following both of these guys.

Last year had much more fun following them on my Duc 749. That guy on the Guzzi is extremely fast... amazingling fast for a cruiser type of bike.

Here's the bottom line:

No matter what type of bike you're on, vintage, sport, cruiser - you ride beyond either your limit, or the bike's, and you're going down. You need to keep yourself, ego, and ability in check at ALL times, regardless of what bike you're riding.

I will agree, a "sport" bike gets the blood pumping and makes the brain say "fast", but it is perfectly safe as long as you keep ego in check and remember your sense for self preservation.

It does not matter what bike you're on... get going faster then 30-40mph and if the wrong thing happens, you're toast.

Ride intelligently.

Ride safe.

Get the bike that moves you.

t

re: Triumphs

vockins wrote:

chad wrote:

vockins wrote:As a Triumph dealer ex-employee, I implore you; do not buy the Triumph Speed Triple or the 955i.

They are absolute crap. How that company is still in business is beyond me.

hey vockins- i sure am interested in hearing more about this one...
let it rip.

In thirty days we got two seizures, a melted wiring harness (the entire harness), various fuel injection problems, uncountable overheating problems, and myriad electrical issues.

Every single 955i and Speed Triple we sold one year came back for warranty claims. Every single one, all with different issues. Our service department had to go to a 14 hour day to keep up.

I prepped a Triple that had no fork springs, but it had fork oil. What the shit is that?

The non "performance" models were fine. I have no experience with the fours, but I think anyone looking at their 600s would be happier with a well maintained mid 90s CBR, and they would save a few thousand dollars.

Talk to many Triumph owners before you spend your money. I believe you'd be better off with anything else. I'd even take my chances on Aprilia staying solvent.

This was eight years ago, so it is certainly possible that the quality control has been raised significantly since then, but I would not count on it.

If I were considering a Triumph, I'd ask a lot of Triumph owners about their experiences before I threw down. A lot of them.

I have an uncle who says that the Royals are the best for reliability, and ease of fixing and all that kinda stuff. I personally never ridden one, but they look and sound pretty cool. Im a BMW guy. Me and the wife ride around on a R65 (hers) and an R100 (Mine). They 65 can cruise pretty good for a 650, and she keeps up with me and the 1000cc bike! They are both shaft driven, and while hers is a 5-speed, I had a custom gearbox put in mine that has 6-speeds! If you are not careful, you get going like 100mph and not even know it. The motor is only kicking about 2500rpm. The redline is at about 7600rpm on both of the bikes. Royals have a bunch of engine parts that one could install and make a relitively small bike cruise like a 454 big block. Like Trevor said, get a bike that moves you!

That is my $0.02

Dh.

Here is a close representation of my bike. I have a Vesco fairing on mines though, and its all black. Flat black.

My BMW R100

vockins wrote:re: Triumphs

vockins wrote:

chad wrote:

vockins wrote:As a Triumph dealer ex-employee, I implore you; do not buy the Triumph Speed Triple or the 955i.

They are absolute crap. How that company is still in business is beyond me.

hey vockins- i sure am interested in hearing more about this one...
let it rip.

In thirty days we got two seizures, a melted wiring harness (the entire harness), various fuel injection problems, uncountable overheating problems, and myriad electrical issues.

Every single 955i and Speed Triple we sold one year came back for warranty claims. Every single one, all with different issues. Our service department had to go to a 14 hour day to keep up.

I prepped a Triple that had no fork springs, but it had fork oil. What the shit is that?

The non "performance" models were fine. I have no experience with the fours, but I think anyone looking at their 600s would be happier with a well maintained mid 90s CBR, and they would save a few thousand dollars.

Talk to many Triumph owners before you spend your money. I believe you'd be better off with anything else. I'd even take my chances on Aprilia staying solvent.

This was eight years ago, so it is certainly possible that the quality control has been raised significantly since then, but I would not count on it.

If I were considering a Triumph, I'd ask a lot of Triumph owners about their experiences before I threw down. A lot of them.

I've had a triumph speed triple for the past 4 years and 36,000 miles with no problems. One recall for the nylon tank/fuel connector, took 5 minutes to replace. the front brakes need bleeding pretty frequently lately but other than that and regular oil changes the thing's been reliable as hell.

vockins wrote:re: Triumphs

vockins wrote:

chad wrote:

vockins wrote:As a Triumph dealer ex-employee, I implore you; do not buy the Triumph Speed Triple or the 955i.

They are absolute crap. How that company is still in business is beyond me.

hey vockins- i sure am interested in hearing more about this one...
let it rip.

In thirty days we got two seizures, a melted wiring harness (the entire harness), various fuel injection problems, uncountable overheating problems, and myriad electrical issues.

Every single 955i and Speed Triple we sold one year came back for warranty claims. Every single one, all with different issues. Our service department had to go to a 14 hour day to keep up.

I prepped a Triple that had no fork springs, but it had fork oil. What the shit is that?

The non "performance" models were fine. I have no experience with the fours, but I think anyone looking at their 600s would be happier with a well maintained mid 90s CBR, and they would save a few thousand dollars.

Talk to many Triumph owners before you spend your money. I believe you'd be better off with anything else. I'd even take my chances on Aprilia staying solvent.

This was eight years ago, so it is certainly possible that the quality control has been raised significantly since then, but I would not count on it.

If I were considering a Triumph, I'd ask a lot of Triumph owners about their experiences before I threw down. A lot of them.

I worked at a Triumph dealer (among other brands) back in 1996. Our service department never had an abnormal amount of warranty work on any of the units. I only put in a year-ish though. Their fit and finish was very good.

They were dogs back then as far as competing with the Japanese sporty machines. They are better now.

I still like that Speed Triple though.

Speed triples rock....

A lot of people have been also saying good things about the new Daytona 675.

t

spoon wrote:
I worked at a Triumph dealer (among other brands) back in 1996. Our service department never had an abnormal amount of warranty work on any of the units. I only put in a year-ish though. Their fit and finish was very good.

They were dogs back then as far as competing with the Japanese sporty machines. They are better now.

I still like that Speed Triple though.

The models was referring to were the 98-00 955s and Speed Triples with Spondon-esque frames. The first redesign of the neo-Triumphs, I guess.

The first round neo-Triumphs were tanks, because they were essentially Kawasakis. Total pigs, but tanks nonetheless.

The non sport models like the Bonneville and the Trident were very solid throughout.

EDIT: It's also pretty fucking ironic that the Royal Enfield Bullet is now exclusively manufactured in India.

If you're into the Enfield, you could also (for the same amount of money) modify the crap out of a Yamaha SR500 or even an XS650. I'm a pretty big fan of the Japanese bikes for the reliability and cheap parts.
The english bikes get nostalgia points though...
http://myspace-330.vo.llnwd.net/00320/03/33/320913330_m.jpg
This is my SR400.

Swat wrote:If you're into the Enfield, you could also (for the same amount of money) modify the crap out of a Yamaha SR500 or even an XS650. I'm a pretty big fan of the Japanese bikes for the reliability and cheap parts.
The english bikes get nostalgia points though...
http://myspace-330.vo.llnwd.net/00320/03/33/320913330_m.jpg
This is my SR400.

This is a great idea, too. All of those Yamahas are great, cheap fun.