It’s been an interesting fortnight. I took my Harley into the shop and I was all set. Money in the bank, Harley to be fixed, Honda to be my reliable bike. The Harley shop still haven’t got back to me. Then I clipped a road sign in my truck at work, so I’ve been off work, without any pay, for 12 days while I wait for them to put me in with the driver trainer for retraining. Then we had a beastly hot heatwave, so I wasn’t sleeping and I was tired and grumpy. I got bored and started perusing bikes again. I saw a (modern, -2010-) Triumph Bonneville for sale. Only 22 miles away. £2,650. Over a grand cheaper than similar bikes. I was up after 3 or 4 hours sleep on the longest day, reading bike reviews for models of Bonnie. Everything said this was the one to get. It was so cheap because it had done 54,000 miles, but everything I read said that as long as you changed the oil and checked the valve clearances on time, modern Triumphs are good for well over 100k. They are a well engineered bike, that is under very little (67bhp) stress, so they keep running. This one had a full service history, so it met the criteria.
I was losing sleep obsessing, so I tried to convince myself my VFR750 was a superior bike. I was awake from before 03.00 so I got up at ungodly o’clock and rode to Keswick (230 mile round trip) for some pasties.
The bike was awesome and the pasties were nice, but they didn’t remove the taste of Bonnie obsession from my mouth.
Then the guy updated his advert. He said he’d just done a 200 mile run out to a Hairy Biker run thing, and he dropped the price to £2,390! Which means the bike is a good ‘un. Nobody sets out for a 200 mile ride on a bike they don’t trust entirely. And it was a steal.
It will come as no surprise that I cracked and gave into my my obsession.
So, no money, VFR750 that nobody is buying, no work to make more money, but BONNIE! Yay!
Look at the attention to detail. They are trying to do a modern, fuel injected bike that’s also supposed to look like a 1970s classic.
Just look at it. Air cooled engine (with a radiator for an oil cooler, presumably), with fuel injectors hidden inside fake carbs! On the other side their is a fake choke lever that is the enricher for start up (so basically it is a choke).
I drove to the bike, in Bury, then rode back. Wendy followed me in the car. Which was awfully nice of her seeing as she’s so scared of motorways, and driving in general. It was raining most of the way home, and I was keeping it slow for Wendy’s sake. It seemed like a weird bike to ride. A very low seat height and high bars. It’s an odd position. But just listen to it! It’s glorious.
I liked it but I wasn’t sure. Then Wendy went out to bible study so I took it for a spin across town to my sisters’ house to show her. It had stopped raining and I didn’t have to wait for Wendy. Suddenly the bike clicked with me. It’s like my mate’s Harley from the 80s, low revving, clunky gears, roaring attitude without much in the way of actual speed. It is a hoot! I am looking for reasons to ride it now. As great as the VFR750 is, I only roll it out when I when I have to go somewhere. Now I’m looking for somewhere to go so I can ride the Bonnie. I rode it to drop off a parcel today. I took the long way back and blasted through the gears at every opportunity. It’s got enough oomph to be fun, but it would be cruel on the bike to thrash it into automatic-ban territory. And, having no fairing, it would be deeply uncomfortable to hold it over the ton for any period of time. But it will sit you back in your seat (unlike the beautiful, but tediously slow, Kawasaki W650), and has a glorious soundtrack every time you open it up. It’s great.
It’s practical for me. It has mag wheels (not spokes and chrome that going to rust and flake off, like the Harley). I got it cheap because it has miles, thus wear and tear, so I don’t have to worry about keeping it pristine or it losing money if the paint chips. It’s already there. It has enough power but not too much. It’s a (modern) classic Brit, so I get all the brand coolness and don’t have to push it home at night. And, bottom line, it’s a freaking TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE!
I’ll soon have a Harley and a Bonnie on the road.
I am actually living teenage biker me’s dream.
Now I just need someone to buy my VFR, work to get me get back to me so I can start earning some cash, and my Harley back.
My worry with work is that they have said they don’t want me back but the agency don’t know. I rang the agency last Friday, then on Monday, and they say I’ve not been sacked, that they are just waiting for the retraining. I’m sacked or not. Either/or. I just need to know. There are well paid jobs out there, but I don’t want to leave this one if I don’t have to.
As soon as the money is rolling in, either way, everything will be GROOVY!