What To Look For On Purchase

I've got a gentleman looking to trade his 1996 Trophy 900 for my H-D sportster. I'm tired of people breaking into (well, trying, two have gotten caught already) my garage to steal parts or the bike itself so I'm thinking of trading bikes with him. He wants to trade a '96 Trophy 900 but I have zero experience with British bikes.

I'm something of a "loose woman" when it comes to bikes. I've ridden numerous bikes over the years. Everything from a 1955 H-D model F to my last bike was an H-D Ultra Classic. Between them, I've had 3 Kawasaki Concours ZG11000 bikes and this looks similar to those. I've had Goldwings from 1100 to 1800 cc versions. I had a KZ1000E that actively tried to kill me once. I've ridden "Thumpers" and even rode a Honda CBX (and made the mistake of grabbing a handful of throttle at low speed. Here's a tip, DON'T.) However, except for a former coworker who had a Triumph with the 2000 cc engine (I think) I've just never had occasion to deal with them.

Here's my quandary, what do I look for in specifics on the '96 Trophy triple? I know from the picture it will need a front tire. There is almost no trade and the edges are cupped indicative of running low pressure. I expect the rear tire may have a chicken strip. Yes, I know about high speed rubber for Sport Tourings. What should I look for mechanically?

Any trouble spots to look for in the engine or transmission that Triumphs are prone to? How difficult is it to spoon new rubber on these puppies? What's a good tire combination for these? On the Connies I rode, Metzler had a good pair to run until they were discontinued.

I did visit the UofY (Youtube) and watched some videos on maintenance so it looks pretty straight forward. The mechanic was British but he was able to make a decent video without being too esoteric.

Any other suggestions on what to look for are welcome.

 

Thanks for the advice. I talked to the owner last night. To say the bike has had an interesting life would be an understatement. He is willing to add a bunch of stuff to the deal so I won't get hurt.

The bike has 46,000 miles. Some parts that are made of unobtainium have been replaced with parts that might not be stock but work. The owner is a retired military helicopter mechanic. The bike runs good according to him but the fairing has a spot where it's been down. I might do some modifications like I did on the C-10 Concours I used to ride. (GTE1000 in Europe) The absolutely FIRST thing after title transfer will be maintenance. I'll change the oil, coolant and such so that I know for ure when it was done last. Then I'll address the tires as they have 6000 miles on them and I know how long "spirited" riding makes them last.

Once I get it to my specifications for riding, then I'll look at what to do with the fuel tank. It has an "issue" you usually won't find in Great Britain or most of Europe. The owner got the bike from a fellow who was well watered when he left a bar and when it wouldn't start, he shot it. The hole in one side has been patched and there is a dent on the other side. I may or may not fish the bullet out of the tank. It still rattles around in there and I don't want to restrict the fuel pickup. I'm heading up to lay my eye balls on it once the ice and snow clear a bit. Right now it's a bit chilly. The digital thermometer show 1 degree F. He's about 100 miles north of me.

 

I dealt with a bunch of meth heads up at my farm before the town started expanding out there. Mostly police officers live up there now and on the remote road to my farm there is a Federal Marshal. He has cameras on the road so no more labs in bottles. The road by my house is heavily traveled by both the city and county police officers. I'm well known to them (I used to work with them) and if they see something, it's not uncommon for them to stop. I was out in the garage until nearly 2 a.m. one morning trying to get an engine put together and I didn't pay attention to the time. I had a Deputy knock on the door to check on me.

Since I'm not going to do anything with the Harley the fellow wants to trade for, I'll be glad to have it out of the garage. A friend had his Harley stolen several times. He finally got bike cover with the BMW logo on it. No problems in 15 or so years.

 

The Connies I used to ride needed a lifter adjustment about this mileage I figure it hasn't been done since a previous owner shot the bike while drunk. If I get the bike, I'll check at the U of Y for a video on procedure to do this. (Youtube) I also expect to catch up on regular maintenance. My first Concours had 6000 miles when I got it and 110,000 when I sold it and was still running strong. Just rattley.

 

I have a concealed carry permit. The state legislators removed that requirement, so I don't HAVE to have one. However, if I go to a reciprocal state, I still do. That doesn't mean some of the people packing don't scare me. Not that they will attack, but because I was trained early in safe handling. A lot of the people packing aren't.

 

Got up to look at the Trophy today. It's definitely going to need a lot of love, but once we got the battery charged up, it fired off. I also ended up with a camping trailer.





One thing I noticed was a red exclamation point on the dash. The bike will need a lot of work. I just wish parts were easier to find over here. I think I'll be making quite a few myself.