Tuesday 30 June 2009
Saturday 27 June 2009
R.I.P. Sky Saxon
Thanks
Thursday 25 June 2009
Saturday 20 June 2009
Yeah ,yeah , I know.....
Wednesday 17 June 2009
Classic Cycles Inc Triumph
Tuesday 16 June 2009
Not so Bonnie
When the new Hinckley Triumph Bonneville first became available , I felt the same way about it as I do about all these Retro re~makes of classic vehicles (Leyland Mini, VW Beetle, Fiat 500 etc. ) , that is , I hated it . When you try to do an updated version of a design people really love , it`s always going to disappoint, because you can`t better the original .
Over time , however , I found myself coming around , the bike is aimed squarely at competing with Harley`s Sportster and from a design point of view it does that very well . It seems to occupy that space in the market for people who want an old bike but don`t want maintenance hassles or to have any more input than bolting on a flyscreen and adding a few stickers . But isn`t this kind of missing the point ? Some old bikes are cool because they`re beautiful , but they`re also cool because it takes dedication to ride one , you have to understand its little flaws , you have to connect with it.
I think the new Triumphs annoy me also , because so many people don`t seem to realise they aren`t connected to Meridan Triumph in any way . I blame the Classic bike mags for this , they all seem to love running features on the new ones , because it attracts the kind of advertisers who will pay top money . This reinforces the idea of a connection between the new company and the old that simply isn`t there.
What I`d really like them to build is a skinny lightweight 500 Twin , the kind of bikethat the old Triumph company built it`s name on , not those overweight bulky Tourer/Commuters they`re building now , they seem to me to be the antithesis of what a Triumph should be.
Anyway , the reason for this rant is , I got overtaken by one of them today , I wound down my van window `cos I could see he had aftermarket pipes on , the exhaust note was somewhere between a diesel truck and a damp fart , now that just ain`t Triumph.
Saturday 13 June 2009
Yabba Dabba Doo
`Last night I broke the seal ,
On a Jim Beam decanter ,
That looked like Elvis,
I soaked the label off ,
A Flinstones Jellybean jar ,
I cleared us off a space ,
On that worn little table ,
That you left us ,
And pulled me up a big ol` piece of floor.
I pulled the head off Elvis,
Filled Fred up to his pelvis ,
Yabba Dabba Doo the King is gone and so are you.
Friday 12 June 2009
Tuesday 9 June 2009
Friday 5 June 2009
God Bless America
Bill Johnson and Edward Turner
There`s no doubt that Edward Turner was a brilliant engineer , his vertical twin designs were the blueprint that all the other British manufacturers tried to emulate. He also had an eye for styling , the pre unit motors , especially , are works of art .
However , it seems like whichever book you you read about Turner or Triumph , you get the feeling that he had very little interest in his bikes being used in competition, because he saw them more in terms of practical transport . I think this was also the reason he wanted , towards the end of the Fifties ,to start wrapping his bikes up in cumbersome bodywork . For me , putting a `Bathtub` on a Thunderbird is like making a stripper wear a Burkha.
Turner also seemed to think 500cc was the optimum displacement for a twin and it seems he would have liked to restrict performance for the sake of practicality.
It was only through pressure from the US (a massive export customer for Triumph)that the 650cc Thunderbird came to be, the rest is history , God Bless America!
Wednesday 3 June 2009
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