TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE

Only needs to lose another 60kg, and it will be proper light...

Have to say that I prefer the look of Mrs Bigtree's bike to the new one.. cant be doing with the new 'style' of chopping bikes off at the rear, looks bloody awful IMO.

Nice engines, but im still puzzled by this 'retro' look , that actually isn't like any bikes from any era.... and don't start me the new 'back wheel in the front ' look.
 
Retro now is just a term for naked bikes which is seen by some as old fashion, I think there is a lot of riders who are bored with the race rep look of which I have always been a big fan, but now I fancy the "retro look" myself, seems to have come since I stopped racing! After looking around many dealers there were no race reps that stood out apart from the Dukes. makes me laugh because we used to take naked bikes & turn them into race reps in my yoof:rolleyes:
 
You cant buy a CBR600 any more in Europe, because they sold so few , it wasn't worth type approving. What you are seeing is a shift in the bike buying demographic, nobody under 30 has a pot to piss in, so aiming bikes at that market is pointless, the only people left to sell to in any numbers are DINKY's or born agains, who cant get on a superbike that is designed for a 65kg dwarf.

MX is the same, biggest class is over 40 .. no youngsters coming in means its only the old guys keeping the sport afloat.
 
PhilG said:
its only the old guys keeping the sport afloat.
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On the CB500X forum, I think most are retired, many in 70s. The bike suits us of course but more important we still have the will to live life to the full.
 
I don't think its just a money thing Phil we seem to be breading wimps these days, My brother was killed on a pushbike but my parents never ever wrapped us up in cotton wool or stopped us from competing, looking back as a parent they were outstanding, it must have been so hard for them, But these days little Johnny mustn't do that it 's dangerous, better to play a racing game on a PlayStation, The few that aren't wimps go into "extreme" sport, Base jumping etc

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I think its more money than you realize.... a new R1 is £13k... that's a lot of dough in anyones books.. especially to do 3000 a year on if you are lucky.

Motorcycle racing is the original extreme sport, speed, excitement and risk of death.. now there are so many random 'sports' that none of them stands out , and its to the detriment of all of them .

I don't ride on the road , as the risk/reward thing is way off now, its not my thing , but I will race as long as I am competitive, and there is someone to race against.

If I was going to do anything , it would be to buy a KTM 990 and go Adventure riding, but its too selfish, we race and ride as a family.
 
PhilG said:
I think its more money than you realize.... a new R1 is £13k... that's a lot of dough in anyones books.. especially to do 3000 a year on if you are lucky.

Motorcycle racing is the original extreme sport, speed, excitement and risk of death.. now there are so many random 'sports' that none of them stands out , and its to the detriment of all of them .

I don't ride on the road , as the risk/reward thing is way off now, its not my thing , but I will race as long as I am competitive, and there is someone to race against.

If I was going to do anything , it would be to buy a KTM 990 and go Adventure riding, but its too selfish, we race and ride as a family.
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What series do you race in?
 
RowleyBirkinQC said:
What series do you race in?
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He's a nutter look :rofl:
xup-jpg.134071
 
I'm probably of the old school, BOF, but race reps hold no appeal to me. I once took a GSXR750 out while my Wing was being serviced. Bloody hated it. Rode it 4 miles to the next village and parked it up until it was time to collect my bike. Before you scoff about the Wing ask John @Jaws what his opinion is.
Something that always sticks in my mind is when we pulled into the ferry terminal at Santander, fully loaded, music playing. A group on sports bikes were already there and they couldn't suppress their contempt for the Wing. When we disembarked at Portsmouth these other bikers made their way to the front of the queue and set off as if it was the start of a MotoGP. Within about 20 miles of motorway cruising we caught the tailenders who were already stretching their legs and passed the front runners a short while later. They had knocked off their speed to a more acceptable level for them while we serenely wafted past at a comfortable 80+ish.
 
PhilG said:
What you are seeing is a shift in the bike buying demographic, nobody under 30 has a pot to piss in, so aiming bikes at that market is pointless,
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Enword said:
I don't think its just a money thing Phil we seem to be breading wimps these days, My brother was killed on a pushbike but my parents never ever wrapped us up in cotton wool or stopped us from competing, looking back as a parent they were outstanding, it must have been so hard for them, But these days little Johnny mustn't do that it 's dangerous, better to play a racing game on a PlayStation, The few that aren't wimps go into "extreme" sport, Base jumping etc
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The other thing that is stopping youngsters getting into riding is the ridiculous faff they have to go through to get a full licence:

CBT
Theory
At age 19 they can get an A2 licence which lets them ride up to 47HP, usually a 500cc.
The test is in 2 parts: The Part 1 is manoeuvring and control taken off road in a compound and then the Part 2 is the road ride.
Then two years after passing A2 they have to do the whole lot apart from the CBT all over again on a marginally bigger bike if they want an unrestricted A licence.

To go straight to unrestricted you have to be at least 24 years old.

No wonder young people aren't riding any more. I don't think I would bother if I had to go through that lot.

My lad, Joseph, is 16 at the moment and rides a lawnmower moped. Once he's 17 he'll probably switch to a 125 because he can do that without doing another CBT but he's more interested in getting a car licence. We've spoken about it and because he knows what's involved in getting a full bike licence he'll more than likely only bother if I push him and I suppose pay for it :rolleyes:
 
TheTwoOfUs said:
ask John @Jaws what his opinion is..
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I don't have to, he left me over the Brenner pass. Anything that huge should not go into mountain hairpins like that, well it should go in, but I would not expect it to come out. It was one time I did not have my camera on, real shame.

He has sold it now, back to the beemer "adventure" bike. Still got an adventure in him yet.
 
NickNic said:
Once he's 17 he'll probably switch ............ he's more interested in getting a car licence.
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My daughter just got out of intensive care after asking how much to put her 17 YO daughter on her policy. Totally ludicrous price.
 
hilldweller said:
Car. She's no interest in bikes. Boys on the other hand......
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I had a similar conversation with Joseph the other day. He's got no concept of how much the insurance even for some old wreck of a car is likely to be.

His scooter insurance is in his own name and wasn't actually too ridiculous so I'm hoping that he won't do anything daft and by the time he gets a car will have nearly a couple of years claim free that we can persuade someone to recognise.

Of course he's probably going to decide he wants a bike as well and we'll be back to square one trying to insure a car for him :rolleyes:
 
PhilG said:
I think its more money than you realize.... a new R1 is £13k... that's a lot of dough in anyones books.. especially to do 3000 a year on if you are lucky.
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£45.000 - 50.000 (more with bells & whistle's) for a complete new F1 Sidecar £20 - 25.000 for a good second hand one, I'll always be poor:D2
 
NickNic said:
We've spoken about it and because he knows what's involved in getting a full bike licence he'll more than likely only bother if I push him and I suppose pay for it :rolleyes:
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That was the conversation we had with our sons. We said we wouldn't stop them getting a bike licence but that they would have to do it and finance it themselves. If they were prepared to do it then we would know they really were enthusiasts rather than just going through a fad. Neither of them did it but went straight to a car instead.
 
TheTwoOfUs said:
rather than just going through a fad.
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I had a year of bikes at 16, first accident at 16 but after getting a car license did not own one 'till about 50 but since then I've made up for the lost time. I guess I was lucky to avoid all the crap bikes of the 60s, born again bike was an FZ750, it blew my mind, if I'd had that in my teens I'd not be typing this.
 
It took me until November 2015 (at the age of 31) to finally get my licence sorted. So glad I didn't have to go through the A2 nonsense etc.

Bought a brand new VFR800F before I passed my test though. Expensive mistake! Far too uncomfortable so ended up chopping it in for a VFR800X Crossdresser in Summer 2016

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hilldweller said:
I had a year of bikes at 16, first accident at 16 but after getting a car license did not own one 'till about 50 but since then I've made up for the lost time. I guess I was lucky to avoid all the crap bikes of the 60s, born again bike was an FZ750, it blew my mind, if I'd had that in my teens I'd not be typing this.
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Pretty much any modern 47HP bike would be mind blowing for an 18 or 19 year old who's never been on anything more than scooter.

Joseph's angling for a go on my Bandit but that wouldn't end well, especially if I let him and his mum found out :whistle:
 
GreenHell said:
Bought a brand new VFR800F before I passed my test though. Expensive mistake!
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But not as expensive as doing it with a MH. I ran a VFR750, the carb one for years, that was something special. But by late 60s my body was not in tune with it.
 
NickNic said:
Pretty much any modern 47HP bike would be mind blowing for an 18 or 19 year old who's never been on anything more than scooter.
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47HP is all that's needed in this "safety camera" age. It easily gets into big fine speeds. But it can run all day in the 80s and deliver 70 mpg and over 200 miles to a tank. So light and nimble hairpins are a joy. Perfection for Olde Fartes.
 
hilldweller said:
But not as expensive as doing it with a MH. I ran a VFR750, the carb one for years, that was something special. But by late 60s my body was not in tune with it.
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I had a 1990 VFR750.. nice bike, toured on it for 2 summers and then binned it off to buy another race bike.
 
hilldweller said:
Will you tell me what adventure riding is so I can decide if I need one.
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Long distance off road.. hard to do here , need to get into Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia really.. look up RacesTo Places on YouTube.
 
hilldweller said:
47HP is all that's needed in this "safety camera" age. It easily gets into big fine speeds. But it can run all day in the 80s and deliver 70 mpg and over 200 miles to a tank. So light and nimble hairpins are a joy. Perfection for Olde Fartes.
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I quite agree (y)

I've only really got the big Bandit because I'm quite tall and also a fat bastard so I look stupid on a physically small bike :D2
 
TheTwoOfUs said:
I'm probably of the old school, BOF, but race reps hold no appeal to me. I once took a GSXR750 out while my Wing was being serviced. Bloody hated it. Rode it 4 miles to the next village and parked it up until it was time to collect my bike. Before you scoff about the Wing ask John @Jaws what his opinion is.
Something that always sticks in my mind is when we pulled into the ferry terminal at Santander, fully loaded, music playing. A group on sports bikes were already there and they couldn't suppress their contempt for the Wing. When we disembarked at Portsmouth these other bikers made their way to the front of the queue and set off as if it was the start of a MotoGP. Within about 20 miles of motorway cruising we caught the tailenders who were already stretching their legs and passed the front runners a short while later. They had knocked off their speed to a more acceptable level for them while we serenely wafted past at a comfortable 80+ish.
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Yyyyeeeesssssssss
But as Brian ( @hilldweller ) will proly testify I rented to treat the Wing like a sports bike anyway !!
 
PhilG said:
need to get into Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia really.. look up RacesTo Places on YouTube.
Click to expand...

Over the winter I've read a few books on folk doing this, "Adventure" is not the word I used. Balls too big sums them up, like in Mongolia with little hint of a road, little fuel and just going on a prayer. Adventure for me is guessing where the next Formula 1 is and will there be a room.

However, against my better judgment I am heading for Mach 2 in a tent in Wales. Or should I say I've booked, if the forecast is for Standard Welsh Weather I'll give it up as a bad job.

http://www.eventgoat.co.uk/machynlleth/mach-2-the-motorbike-festival-2017/

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