Not convinced by that weird upright screen, although it works well.
10k miles, which means it is shortly due for a big service bill.
Goes like stink, though. And it's very clean and tidy.
Still haven't mentioned this to Anna.
Perhaps tomorrow.
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Anna does not monitor your blog?
ReplyDeleteOccasionally, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course if she reads this she'll already know and I won't have to tell her.
Oh Lord.
Richard
ReplyDeleteGo on, go on, go on you know you want to, listen to your heart.
I was in the same dilemma over a Honda Fireblade,can't tell you how pleased I am with it.
We are only here once, enjoy it.
And it's British.
Right. I'm going in. Wish me luck.
ReplyDeleteCovering fire, please, and if I'm not back by nightfall, tell Maisie I love her.
Code word for success -
ReplyDelete"Black Dog"?
We are all pacing around the Ops centre nervously awaiting news...
Now you've decided, tell the salesman your significant other won't let you spend that much. (Because the house needs decorating / double glazing / new conservatory etc, etc)
ReplyDeleteThank him for his time, turn round, walk away. Slowly. He may reduce the number of beer-tokens needed.
It's now brinkmanship - your desire vs his need to earn commission.
955i verses Hinkley Bonnie, no contest, if you want a modern paralleltwin BMW and Yamaha make them ( and so did MuZ ) the triple is a much better all rounder than the twin.
ReplyDeleteNikos - your message duly Rogered.
ReplyDeleteJoe - negotiations were more like a mill-wheel grinding corn, little by little, but the deal was OK in the end. He didn't shift on price, but I got tax, MoT and a service out of him and a blinding offer on some luggage if I choose to take him up on it. As NewsboyCap pointed out, we're only here once, and I wasn't going to miss this one for the sake of fifty quid.
Johnnyrvf - yes, there are many twins around with better power and performance than the Hinckley bikes (Endo? Versys?). That doesn't make the Triumph bad, but I take your point. Funnily enough, a triple is just about the only engine configuration that I have never had. Oh, and a straight six.
Anyway, Anna didn't hit the roof, just the walls, and the deal is done. Thank you all for your encouragement.
Sounds like a good deal, Rich. Nice.
ReplyDeleteRE: Johnnyrvf's point - I've said before I think the Bonnie's quite a capable machine, even if it didn't do anything for me excitement-wise: an everyday bike, yes, but not really trying to be a genuine all-rounder. The Sprint's quite simply a completely different ballgame: I don't think there is a meaningful comparison to be made between middleweight retro upright and big sports-tourer.
I think it's kind of implicit that you don't look at parallel twins if you really care about outright performance anyway. The Bonnie isn't embarrassed in the engine department by modern-styled equivalents: same torque and just a couple less horse than a Versys, and about 10 horse down on an ER-6F or a TDM850. It delivers peak at much lower revs than any of those, so they all feel livelier on the road, but it's pretty academic when compared to what a half-decent multi of the same capacity will do.
The serious difference - far as I'm concerned - is that those all come with a fairing and therefore have the aero needed to use more of the available power harder and for longer. Real-world, it does make them viable all-rounders (and have done plenty of comfortable touring/distance work on two of them to back it up), but they're still based on engines that are only ever going to fit into the cheap, compact and easy-to-use category. That's something they all - including the Bonnie - exploit very effectively, and why I like them as utilitarian vehicles. It's also why they're primarily the mainstay of my commuter/winter riding, not the weapon of choice for real thrills or rapid transit.
I think comparisons can meaningfully be made; after all, any bike can do almost any thing if you put your mind to it. Look at Nick Sanders, or the guys who do Europe on C50s. It's a question of what limitations you are prepared to accept. As far as the Bonnie was concerned, the limitations of the engine in terms of outright power did end up as part of the dissatisfaction, as did the lack of wind protection, despite my liking for naked bikes. 60 was a very happy cruise, but 80 was hard work - not for the bike but for the rider. How anyone manages these big nakeds with 140 mph top ends is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteThat's why the XT is such a good utility bike for me. The engine's at its happiest around 65, and that's an easy speed to keep up from a comfort point of view. Adding more power would make it a bugger to hang on, and adding wind protection would show up the limitations of the engine.
More on this in the next post, probably.