I remember linking to it from a Triumph dealer's site, but I don't know which one. Was interested in the SM, and more interested in Honda's VTX - 1300 by then (was still at that time thinking the VTX 1800 was the coolest looking production cruiser available, with all the CCs as icing on the cake). A none rider then (this SM is my 1st), I was wanting something big enough for 2-up, figuring shaft drive, radial tires, and water cooled engine would all be necessities, and no way was I going to risk buying too small a bike, and then wanting to trade up soon thereafter.
The 1300 had been unveiled, (but not yet released at the time), and it was certainly going to be big enough. As Cycle World had said, a great bike for the novice. I had just discovered the AMERICA and SPEEDMASTER, but that 1300 was looking good.
In one of the first posts I read here,(2nd?, 4th?), someone asked about the 2-up capabilities, the long distance tour possibilities, power, and the like, and I wish I could remember who that was. I remember Greybeard, and Grump, among others, who replied in that thread - overwhelmingly - about how much fun and capable these
machines are. I had stumbled upon a very new post from someone asking the exact questions I had been asking. I never looked back at Honda again.
What impressed me was the factual and believable responses posted. Convincing. The fact that the whole forum seemed "active", and "a-buzz" intrigued me to read more posts/threads, thereby aquireing answers to more questions, but asking more still. That was the Fall of 2003, and I had just found MY FAVORITE CHANNELL: BA.COM
My name here was "17697" then, the NASCAR fan I am, and after 3 years+ of window shopping Honda, I had made up my mind that the SPEEDMASTER was the bike for me. Got me stirred up enough to go take the MSF class that Spring, and buy the bike.
Like TV stations we tune our lives into, this is a channel I enjoy a lot!
And the SPEEDMASTER is SWEET!
