What Have You Being Doing With Your Non-triumph Today?

Bastid

 

New MOT on the ZZR today. Another test and another lockdown, just like last year! Just over 1k miles since the last test although that is partly due to the love affair with my new Street Scrambler! The guy at the test station did mention he's testing a lot of bikes with very little use over the last year.

 

Had a great run on my favourite loop, Blair, Sma Glen, Loch Earn, Loch Tay, Aberfeldy, Dunkeld & home,it's about 115 miles and great if you just have a morning or afternoon to spare. The GS was brilliant and just made me love this bike and the loop even more.

Glen Ogle



War memorial in Killin


I took a little detour to see the Rumbling bridge near Dunkeld, I've never been as i thought once you had seen one rumbling bridge you had seen them all. i took photos but they couldn't capture the height. i looked over one side of the bridge, rough rapids upstream and a waterfall below the bridge, it was maybe 40 feet below, then i looked over the other side it was at least 200 feet, maybe more, I'm not good with heights .it must have been one huge drop underneath the bridge but i couldn't see it.. here's me on the bridge

 

Not sure this counts here, as it’s not what I’ve done, but over the weekend I phoned the mechanic doing a major service on my MV F4 to see what progress is being made. It’s been with him for a month or so.... It’s having a major reconditioning as it’s a 2004 model and it’s been off the road for 4 years or so. New tyres, a top to toe full check over, valve check, new fluids across the whole of the bike. New braided hoses etc etc.....I should have it back in time for the release from lockdown. I’ve not asked him what it’s going to cost but I know it will be 4 figures.....ouch . But it’s one of those bikes that is under my skin, having owned it since 2005 and if I’m going to get out on it again I need to know it’s as good as it can be.

 

Quote of the day, Dougie!

 

Yesterday I followed Mr. Sandi and two of our riding buddies down to Patagonia, AZ in my non-Triumph--non-motorcycle Mustang Bullitt. I'm hoping to be able to ride again in two or three weeks but for now I can drive! Thankfully my shifting arm is my healthy one.

I brought up the rear behind the 1998 Honda Valkyrie and two Harley Street Glides. I'd rather have been on one of my bikes, too, but I have to say it was great fun to get my car out for a proper drive. And the 150 mile round trip to Patagonia and back from Tucson is beautiful--twisty open roads and beautiful scenery. It's one of our favorite ride routes.

It didn't really occur to me to drive down with the guys as they rode their bikes but Mr. Sandi invited me and I'm glad I accepted. There's something about hanging out with family and friends (in a Covid-sized group of course) on a Sunday morning over Mexican food on an outdoor patio. Oh yes, with a blue sky and the temperature hovering right around 70ºF.

 

Well done Sandi. I love to drive nice cars as well. Not as much as I like being out on the bike but anything with petrol in it works for me. Apart from the lawnmower....! Good choice of road music as well . I’ve just been back to a couple of late 70’s albums by the band Boston and really enjoyed them all over again. Gawd that does make me sound old....

 

Nice pictures @Sandi T and it looks like you had a good drive. Good taste in music with Dire Straits as well

 

@littleade
That's a great question, Ade, and a quite understandable one. The short answer is that, no, I don't ride pillion...any more.

Here's the long answer. When Mr. Sandi and I started dating, he had a 2001 H-D Fat Boy and we'd go for two-up rides together which I loved. I found it not only fun but also relaxing and romantic. After doing that for I'd say about a year, I decided that I wanted to ride my own bike. After taking the MSF class and getting my first bike, I commented to Mr. Sandi that I'd still ride pillion with him sometimes. He responded, "No, you won't". After some back and forth yes---no--yes--no "debating", it turns out he was pretty much spot on. In the 11-ish years that I've been riding my own bike I've ridden on the back of his bike a grand total of two times. Those two two-up rides happened in the first couple of years and were just riding home on the back of his bike after dropping my bike off for service at the dealership.

I found that I really didn't enjoy riding pillion like I had initially for a couple of reasons. The main reason is that I really prefer riding my own bike and the second one is that once I piloted my own machine I found it tough to sit back and relax but instead focused on the road as if I was driving. These days one of the first mods that both Mr. Sandi and I make when we get a new bike is to remove the passenger footpads. Which makes me suspect that Mr. Sandi is as happy as I am to ride solo.

 

I'm with you on your current attitude to pillion riding Sandi T. I can count the number of times I've ridden pillion in the last 40yrs or so on one hand. The last time was back in the 90's when a mate gave me a lift back to the dealer to pick up my bike following a service and I was informed, in no uncertain terms, that I was a terrible pillion! The fact I was around 250lb and he was 140 may have had something to do with it!

 

Beard suits you mate!

 

Gorgeous on all accounts. I'm curious about the mud guard on the rear tire...looks like it's just floating with no support. What am I missing?

 

Beemers have had those for a while now as have a few others. The new Trident has one. They probably work quite well but they just look a bit naff.

 

I'll probably shave it off once things get back to normal,mind you it's great not having to shave everyday

 

It's due to the EU I think, the number plate has to be the furthest thing on the bike, it does look a bit odd,but you get used to it

 

I knew it!
A taco and sun!!!!!

 

Maybe it's not such a bad thing to be a terrible pillion, @Pegscraper. It might lead to some finding alternate modes of transportation for you. I think I'm ok as a pillion--I raced tandem bicycles with my ex for many years and I learned to basically be "neutral". But...streamlining and simplifying my bikes is not the only reason I always remove the passenger pegs. My ulterior motive is so I can avoid having a passenger on my bike!

 

I suffered through it, Dawsy.

 

Well, somebody's gotta do it, littleade. It might as well be me.

 

@Ducatitotriumph
You WERE right, D2T! Well, close anyway. Sun for sure although it clouded over on the drive home. But I had a breakfast burrito, not a taco. Eggs, potatoes, chilis, and cheese in a homemade flour tortilla served with tomatillo salsa and a side of refried beans for good measure. Delicious! I did nibble on the roasted jalapeño but it was HOT! An icy margarita would have been a perfect accompaniment but it was a Sunday morning and we were riding and driving. Well, and the place doesn't serve alcohol.