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

At least it was the fairing that was already cracked....the crash bungs would have saved it if it hadn't been near to the kerb, it caught the edge. I was devastated but actually it came off pretty lightly thank goodness - probably better than your drum kit fared . It is a dilemma for sure as it's a lovely bike as it is but the idea of something a bit different also appeals!

 

This morning Helmut and I went along to The Piston Club at Stag https://thepistonclub.co.uk who have started to hold a bike meet every Sunday from 0930 - 1130 to have a look as it’s a nice ride out for us. I took my Fireblade and he took the Multistrada.

It was absolutely packed but we had got there towards the last half so some people were starting to leave. There’s plenty of parking, it’s well marshalled and organised and although the queue for food and drinks was big they got through it really efficiently and it was tasty too. Most importantly, there was a great atmosphere and there were loads of bikes and cars to look at; it’s definitely somewhere we’d return .

 

So, today was a decent day and managed a good ride round Cheshire and then up to Southport before home. Bike clocked over the 10,000 miles and still good as ever. Got back and gave it a proper clean and polish, as usual, but this might be its last outing this year (though with global warming who knows).




Mind you if it’s only half decent I’ll be taking the Tiger out

 

A mate had a slight mishap in the days of Kawasaki GPX 750.
He decided to go down the custom paint route and matched his white boots with coloured flecks ( pinks and yellows etc IIRC) and it looked ok, he loved it.
When it came to sell it that was a different kettle of fish.
Nothing screams out "previously crashed bike" more than a one off paint job to most folk and I'm in that camp I'm afraid.

Think about it very carefully!
Long term keeper and not bothered about the residuals - go for it

 

Not sure that I agree with the above. The advent of social media influencers, IG, Tik Tok, etc make it much more common for bikes to reflect in individual's brand and image, and there’s also a proliferation of customised paint jobs these days. I don't see the problem.

 

Not sure about that nowadays.
20 years ago maybe, but as bikes have become more of an expensive toy these days, there's a lot more custom paint jobs around now on non crashed bikes.
Even Triumph dealers sell them, done by people like 8 Ball.
My local Triumph dealer uses Triple C regularly for custom jobs (they've got one for sale currently), they did my Street Triple and , I think, @joe mc donald bike, probably some others on here as well.

 

At the end of the day the choice is yours @Mrs Visor, as is shown above, there's two different camps of thought and everyone has an opinion.

Think about it very carefully!

How long you plan to keep it may be the deciding factor.

 

That is one of my main reservations...BUT I think I will turn into a long term keeper as I have fallen for it far more than I actually thought I would. I am erring on the cautious side at the moment but it's nice to have the opportunity to ponder it too!!

 

We also went on to Doms Bike Stop and watched while someone tried to take a picture of a woman (his buddies pillion) on his GSX-R in front of the welcome sign. We knew it wasn't going well when he took it off the side stand and she couldn't hold it up without his help. Sure enough as soon as he stepped away to take the picture it toppled over to the right

 

That looks like great fun, @Mrs Visor! Did it give you any ideas for your paint job on the Blade??

 

And, although it would require a bit of work and money, it's not like you couldn't get it painted another time down the road if it turns into a "forever bike" for you. A paint job is a paint job and not "set in stone".

 

Early morning ride to the office with a bit of rain. The BMW was followed by my wife and her Tiger 900.

 

No ideas, but lots of lovely machines to look at!!

 

Finally got round to getting my Wakasaki Z900RS mot'd today. It was it's 3rd birthday on 4th Sept but with not feeling well and wet days, well it just got left. But today a telephone call to my local bike shop and 30 mins later I was sat in the sun waiting for my bike to be tested. Only 2,040 miles in three years, I only use it for short blasts. For touring and long days out I use my trusty Tracer.

 

I did have one other thought, @Mrs Visor. The simpler your paint job the easier it is to fix any chips, etc. that you might pick up. When I got a big rock chip in the front fender of my orange touring bike, I learned the hard way that that was a "special" color and not just A color. It was a base coat and a top coat. The base coat was named and readily available but the top coat seemed to be some sort of well-guarded secret. Fortunately my paint guy is fantastic and he was able to mix and blend and match my "Scorched Orange" paint perfectly. But that experience has changed my view of paint jobs that are complicated and super unique.

 

Good thought @Sandi T, I recall you mentioning that before. Definitely something to think about because it is stone chip - tastic round here .

 

Have a look on 'Tinterweb for PPF (paint protection film) for your blade Mrs V. As the name suggests it'll protect your new spangled paintwork from stone chips and scratches. I have some on the Tank of my Ditchpump which has matt paint and if it's put on correctly it's hard to spot. You might even becable to get a full kit, already cut to shape for all the bits that need protecting.

 

So I have finally decided on a similar colour red to that which the Fireblade is but a deep, glossy metallic and keeping the black fairing black. The black and silver decals will be replaced with paint with very glossy black and sparkly silver. So…my bike, but more “wow” factor.

I am also going to have a small detail painted on the tail.

I like this red and am just waiting to see whether the person who will be painting it can have that shade mixed.

 

I did an early morning ride to the office. This time the temperatures were more comfortable. 7 degrees celsius at 05:15.

 

On Saturday I did a 100 km ride at wonderful weather conditions. It had up to crazy 24 degrees Celsius.