I was at my dealer's this past weekend and was shooting the breeze for a few minutes in the back shop area. I noticed an olsd Triumpph parked among a few other bikes, and I walked over to peek at it. It was an early 70's model 750 Tiger Twin that had been "modified" with a sissy bar, a two-into-one exhaust, and a cheap black paint job. I had once owned a 750 Tiger Twin, so I was a bit surprised to see one in Arkansas, since you don't see many NEW Triumphs here, much less a classic like the 750. Anyway, as I looked the bike over, I noticed how different things looked than what I had remembered. The thing looked a bit skinny, the tank and tires looked little, and the front brake looked REALLY small. As fondly as I remember my classic 750, I think the modern series of Bonnies, SM's and BA's look much nicer and better balanced than the old school Triumphs from that era. The REAL proof that it was a genuine classic Triumph was when one of the other guys in the shop tried to start it - and it wouldn't tick over at all. Ah, the memories...
On a sad note, I also learned that my dealer will be selling out his assets of Triumphs and Vespa/Piaggios to another area dealer and will be going into another line of business (construction). I can't say who the other dealer is, since the contract hasn't been signed, but the buyer already carries a line of high end European motorcycles and has won several awards for service and customer support. While it's sad for those of us in Little Rock to see our old friends go out of business, it's heartening that they didn't just sell out to whoever had the money and that Triumph will (hopefully) be handled locally by people who care about custmer satisfaction. I was also glad to hear that the two technicians will be moving over and will be retained by the buyer to work in the other shop.
Progress and changes.
