Shane(Bobbed) being fairly new around here just sent be a PM asking about my "splinter group to the Brit Iron Rebels" response to this machine, and why this seems a "sore subject" around here.
Well, after I composed my reply to Shane, I was so proud of it dripping with sarcasm(gee, ain't THAT unusual for me, huh?!) that I thought I'd "share" it will all of my fellow members here.
(I'm so bad)
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Shane,
A few years ago there came about a little controversy around here on BA.com when the B.I.R.s made an assertive (and to their credit, a somewhat diplomatic effort) to curtail any interest in joining their little group of riders if you happened to ride a Bonneville America or Speedmaster. They stated that their group's interest was NOT geared towards people who rode just any model of Triumph, but(and as far as I know still is to this day) is in preserving the idea of the "cafe racer" or the "classic english" look and feel of riders and their machines, that would most likely be considers acceptable as some sort of updated "Rocker" look. Only those riders and machines that would fit into their narrow idea of what Triumphs and their riders would look like pulling into the Ace Cafe in London back some forty years ago would be welcomed.
Because the America and Speedmaster look much more like an american criuser motorcycle, and/or the way many of us "older guys" here in the U.S. used to customize their Triumphs or for that matter any britbike back then, they felt that it might "weaken their lineage", and thus if they would allow Triumph "criusers" into their little club that gee, maybe what would be next? Letting in those darn HARLEY "criusers" TOO?!
So, after this "news" about their attitute towards the Triumph models that we ride here hit the BA.com site...well, I think you can imagine the type of responses that flowed from the keyboards of the truly dedicated BA and Speedy owners around here, can't ya?!
Most of the people here said something along the lines of..."Well, if they want to be THAT WAY about it, then I say...screw them! We don't need 'em!"...To which I felt kind of summed up my thoughts too.
I say, let 'em go ahead have their little fantasty about droppin' an imaginary coin into that imaginary jutebox at their imaginary little Ace Cafe, and seein' if they could "Do The Ton" and ride those 3 miles around their imaginary London of the 1960's, and get back to their imaginary little Ace Cafe before that imaginary song that they had sellected on that imagainary jutebox of theirs had ended playing.(yeah...I know the "legend" too...I do a lot of readin')
It was no skin off my nose, dude!
Cheers,
Dwight
(Yep! that's ME! I...ahem..."never hold a grudge!")
