A Triumphs Tale


May 2001 , I pass my motorcycle safety course and get my license.
I have finished the re-assembly of my 1977 Ironhead sportster and I am ready to ride.
After a summer of riding and discovery of things I would have done differently to my
sportster project , I decide to make some changes.
Not wanting to be without a ride I start looking into a new bike.
I new Triumph had made the new Bonneville for a few years I found the nearest dealer
and went for a look.
I had done no research about the bike or Triumph , I knew a bit about the older bikes from
a friend who had at one time worked for Tri-cor.
So I went to the dealer to look at the standard bonnie, I was not interested in the watercooled bikes.
I walked in the door , and right there by the door is this beautiful Cardinal Red cruiser.
I ask the nice salesman , what is this ??
“ That is the new Bonneville America , the first one we got , just un-crated.”
And this folks is the beginning of the end.
“I’ll take it” says I . no test ride , no haggle’n about the price, just sign the paperwork.
Two days later I pick up my new Cardinal Red 02 Bonneville America and ride home.



That was mid-October 2001. A few months later I find this wonderful website of like minded
people with a similar addiction to Triumphs as me.
For nearly a year I do nothing to the bike but remove the Air Injection.
By the end of the summer I have put my sportster back together again, it is now for sale.
Sold the sporty and got over $3k in chrome and accessories from Triumph
and made a few performance mods.



Few changes occur during the next year.
Just some saddle bag changes, first leather bags ( ebay cheap ), then a set of hard sidebags ( older aftermarket ).



This brings us to October 03
Some one has the idea to thank the fine fellow who started this web site by going for a visit.
So there was the “Ride to Roberts town”.
A great event that brought together several of the members to the first of what would be a
growing number of events.



I have to tell you , I did trailer to Indiana but I was there.
Now the problem with the ride to roberts town is the fact that Triumph had the demo truck at
the dealer there and I test rode the new Daytona 600, that was a mistake.
So in december of 03 I get my new silver Daytona 600.



A fast and fun bike that performed well and really stuck to the road.
Now , I am not one to leave well enough alone, so I set out to make a statement .
The first Georgia Rally is about to take place and I want to be ready .
I had some “paint” left over from a project and used it on my bike.
Now I had kept my original sheet metal so nothing I do can’t go back to original.
I was looking to get a reaction, and I did.



And off to GA 04 I went. With Ben ( Benztech ) riding along , he is on his
Trip around the country and it worked out to ride to GA together.
It was a good showing for the first GA rally.



Ok , now I have returned from GA and resumed the everyday life again.
I have noticed though that I keep getting faster and faster on my Daytona.
I may soon end up in trouble with the law. So I think I need to change to another bike.
So I go to my dealer and trade the Daytona for a 04 Thruxton .
A bike just as fun , just not as illegally fast.



And with the Thruxton to ride I set about changing the America back to mostly stock.
Now I start thinking about GA 05, we talked about it at GA04 but the plans have not started on the web site.
So I find a set of Triumph hard bags on ebay and start the mods.



I have the bike ready by spring. But then it happens.
On April 1, go figure, I break my leg and can’t ride for 3 months , but I can drive.
Oh, did I mention that the Thruxton fell on me , helping me break my leg.



So I go to GA 05 in my van , I can’t work with a broken leg , but I can go on vacation!



The GA rally is in the spring and so we start talking about a fall rally.
Hey lets all go to NY in the fall , and off to Canandaigua we go.
I stayed with Pat that year , in the living room with many others ( that will not happen again ).



So now I have the winter to make changes before the next rally, GA06
I now have a top box to go with the side bags and have turned my cruiser into nearly a fully bagged touring bike.




and off to GA06 I go.
And yet another fine event we have , growing each year larger than the last.



Again I find myself in need of a change.
So I decide to sell the Thruxton, and I find a man with a 1974 BMW R60 willing to make a deal.
I get the Beemer and some cash , he gets the Thruxton.



But I have little time to play with my new toy, it is almost NY rally time.
I ride Big Red to Canandaigua and stay at the Lafayette Motel.
Much more comfortable than Pats living room last year.
And the food at the Lafayette restaurant is great.



No time to think about food, it is now into 07 and I need something new for GA.
I know what I can do, I will get another bike.



Then I will remove the touring accessories from Big Red and install them on the new bike,
and get things painted to match.



Now , off to GA07 for another great rally adventure.



I now turned my attention to the 02 bike.
A different exhaust , new tank and cheap paint job, different bars and headlight mod.
Tinker , tinker , tinker.
Ok , can’t tinker now, got to go to NY 07.
Hop on Big Blue and go.



And back to the tinkering, A few more visual mods and the 02 is done, for now.
This is how it will look in GA 08 , maybe.





PS: for more descriptive tales of the rallies see posts by Rob (RobBA05)

Last edited by snekeptp; 02/23/2008 7:18 PM.