Picked up a new America on Thursday. A big change from the Tiger 1050 I'd had for over 2 years :wink: The Tiger was an excellent bike but I was finding it too big and wanted something a little more laid back. The America is a fine bike but, as always, there is plenty of room for improvement. Nice to find a UK rather than a Stateside forum.
Hi & welcome to the forum. Make sure you post up some pictures of your America. What sort of improvements are you looking to do mate?
Hello chaps, thanks! I do around 500 miles a month right through the year (I did 17k miles on the Tiger in just over 2 years). Two 150 mile trips up to Essex every month and maybe 50 miles a week leisure. I only stop riding when there's ice or snow so my mods will address that first of all A screen - I'm looking at Givi and MRA at the moment Heated grips and maybe even some hand guards for the worst of the weather I also do a European tour every year of 2 to 3000 miles so a rack, top box and hard panniers (although the panniers will stay in the loft until needed) - Hepco and Becker look favourite at the moment if only because they're the only people I've found who do a frame for panniers for the America (let me know if I'm wrong). I won't entertain leather panniers, too small and not secure. A centre stand - wtf don't manufacturers put them on anymore? How the feck are you supposed to clean and lube the chain? A paddock stand is all very well but not when you're touring. Footboards or relocate footpegs - not a priority but I'll see how I get on over the summer Norman Hyde seem to do a lot of what I need but I'd welcome thoughts and suggestions on any of the above. Actually reading all that I wonder why I didn't buy a different bike :wink: Pics will come when I've sorted my camera (duff battery) Cheers Dick
I have fitted an center stand to mine it helps and is more steady when parked on grass,fitted a screen as you can see on my pics ,footpegs on mine is triumph ones and are very comfortable on long trips :biggrin:
I have a Triumph Roadster screen for mine which is currently off the bike, great for keeping the wind off your chest & your head. Hepco & Becker are good quality, Norman Hyde is a good place to go, they are actually on the same industrial estate as the company i work for. If you didnt want to fit a centre stand you could always give the chain a thorough clean before going off touring & install a Scottoiler to keep it lubricated. Ive got the Triumph footboards & find them really comfortable whether im riding short or long distances. Custom Cruisers in Derby or Triumph stealerships will do most of the extras you want, ebay regularly has screens & footboards listed. As for the hard luggage they do some nice ones on newspeedmaster.com but they aint cheap & they are overseas also so there is shipping costs to consider too.
Thanks one and all! A centre stand is a must as far as I'm concerned. I've had Scottoilers before and never had a lot of luck with them. If they're not spraying oil everywhere they stop working halfway through a trip (at least that was my experience with the 2 Scottoilers I used :wink I checked out the footboards on ebay and they are for the earlier carbed model as far as I can see. I'll see how I get on before making a decision. @Richard - 17k on a Tiger convinced me that I didn't need one :wink: A brilliant bike that I never warmed to for some reason. I'd had a GS for 11 years when I decided I wanted to go back to cruisers (I'd had 15 years or so on various flavours of Guzzi Californias) and visited the Triumph dealer to look at the Thunderbird and the America. Somehow I ended up with a Tiger (go figure) and regretted it almost immediately. There were too many issues for me with the Tiger (screen, fuelling, gearbox, luggage) to make it a bike I could really love. Always did its job but not for me. Despite the mods I'll have to make to the America I'm already much happier with the bike than I was with the Tiger. Different strokes and all that!
Thanks chaps, I thought I'd replied earlier but the message was apparently under moderation and it hasn't appeared yet. Nothing controversial - honest :smile:
Hi dude, hope you enjoy the forum! I had an America 3yrs years ago and had a Dart flyscreen fitted which was great... Dart Flyscreen for Triumph America/Speedmaster Heres a pic of what it looked like on the bike...
Thanks for the info and pics. Possibly a little too small for sustained motorway and winter riding but it looks good. My reply from Saturday still hasn't appeared. Why do some posts appear to be moderated and others not?
We have been having a lot of spam recently so it's possible the site is just running it's anti spam protection.
Thanks. I just found it weird that I've managed to make a number of posts without a problem but then I get a message saying it's being moderated. One post on here and a new thread in the general forum are still in limbo.