The £1,400 British Built, Over Engineered Triumph
The £1,400 British Built, Over Engineered Triumph
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caution to buying triumph tridents, as they suffer with failed starter clutch,s!!!! 1991-1995 750/900 triples it,s a case of remove starter on top of engine and undo plate underneath to get to part….
1996-1998 models, its engine out of frame turn upside down and split crankcases to get to the same parts…also not sure if you even get the new clutch parts???.
5:08 Hi Freddie, I was very shocked albeit quite late to find out that Colchester Kawasaki aka Global Moto closed down last Saturday.
A massive dealers with RE, BSA, Guzzi and other brands.
Coffee, hair and a lot of old memorabilia and used bikes.
I suspect the way forward will be online purchase of new bikes, considering I have done this myself to get the right bike/deal.
Sorry state of affairs…
I had a rare beastie , a 92 Triumph Daytona 1000/4 cylinder , it went like the clappers for a big heavy bike , i think they only produced them for 2 or 3 years before concentrating on the triples.
More bad news. Just seen on FB that Edinburgh Harley Davidson/Kawasaki are giving up the HD franchise in April 2025. $$$
Only a few months after losing Saltire motorcycles (Enfield, KTM, Indian).
I’ve just got myself a yam fzs1000 2002 in black , and it had been in the gentleman’s kitchen for 12yrs , but unfortunately the man passed. So I started it up done all the checks and to my surprise it had only done 2,600 miles from new. 22yrs old and it’s mint 😊
Freddie, are you aware of charge's to use the Blackwall tunnel and the new Silvertown tunnel. 24 hours a day from £1.50 – £2.50!
Have you seen norton 961 pcp offer? £69 deposit, £69 a month for two years!! This guy got one for £20 deposit £20 a month with a couple of hundred miles on it. https://youtu.be/Ah6_ZCufdbY?si=n6tt5WXUdnt0yi12
No freakin way…! How do you find these kid..so proud!!!!
I bought a brand new Triumph Trident 900 ex California model returned to the U.K. in 1999, it was quite a looker with a fantastic original quality paint job but it was just too heavy and with a full tank of fuel I simply couldn't maneuver it around at walking pace speed, swapped it for a Honda X11 that I kept for several years.
Heated grips and radiator guard and centre stand were never standard in the UK and were always extras. Might be right in the USA though. Cruise control was added to all 2021 models. I would imagine in some states in the USA heated grips would never be needed
Ah, the early Hinkley tridents. Lovely thing, bought one brand new in 1994, and sadly wrote it off 3 months later. I've been contemplating another as they are so cheap now.
I had a 96 thunderbird. I made an error selling it.
The bike market is heading for something not seen in a long time. Its basically crashed and prices are falling hard. Bargain hunting may be back, but biking is expensive today, no two ways about it.
IIRC many journo's classed the 900 trident as a hooligan-esque RD350 wheelie replacement hoot of a machine.
The Solus Dealer Model
Is suicide!! When will these manufacturers wake up…… option A….. a dedicated existing dealer with a customer base and all the right motivation……, option B….. F&CK ALL…… wake up !!!!
The bonneville did get a slight revamp in 2021 I think, some things were taken away but others were added, for example cruise control, also mods to the engine
Hi Freddy, it would be great if you could share your thoughts on motorcycles that live outside in urban environments. I can afford a nice motorcycle; however, I live in the city of Amsterdam where i need to park my bike outside. I am looking for a motorcycle that is affordable enough you can leave it outside (3000 euro's maximum) but not interesting enough for thieves to steal or when the weather degrades the bike. Harleys and bikes with chrome parts aren't an option. I don't like racers and preferably I should be able to cruise to the south of france on it. I can across some interesting examples: Moto guzzi V75 Polizia (I would love to own a guzzi), Moto guzzi California Jackal/carlifornia/Nevada, Honda ST1100/1300, Yamaha FJ1200… What would you recommend?
My dear Brits, Brexit is what you voted for. So stop whining about closing dealerships. Consequences…
Let's face it – soon the only way to buy a brand new bike will be on Amazon.
Hi Freddie, I'm loving your revelations about some of the older forgotten about motorcycles and how good many were. There are also some others that maybe weren't so good and are even rarer than some you have mentioned recently. In recent decades I went on a quest to try and identify what the first bike I ever rode as an 8 year old was. I found the answer last year and didn't even know this British bike came to Australia. I did a video about it on my channel last year but to summarise a long story the one I was given by an old-timer after he saw me admiring it on his back verandah was not in original condition. It had a lawn mower engine bolted onto the side with an exposed fly wheel, the frame was just the skeleton of the original bike and was showing various colours after being repainted many times. There was no clutch and no brakes, the throttle was a thumb control like you get on many lawnmowers, and the gears you changed by turning the left hand grip like a throttle, Forward for second, back for first and neutral in the middle. There were many other quirks to this motorcycle including the rear suspension being springs under the seat and the front was even more unusual with the small spring function down low near the axle. I could go on and on trying to describe this bike. But after a long search scrolling through Google and many YouTube channels including your tour of a BSA museum a couple of years ago, I finally found the bike on a YouTube video about a motorcycle collector in the US who found one in pieces in the boot of a car even though the bike was never imported to that country. The motorcycle in question is called a BSA Dandy which I understand was made to offer a very cheap form of transportation for commuters in the 50s. It wasn't very reliable, was prone to overheating and I've heard the original carburetor was inside the gearbox casing not outside like most bikes. Anyway I could go on but I wonder if you had ever heard of the BSA Dandy and is it still possible to buy one on the used market in the UK. I have not heard of any others in Australia. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the one I rode 50 years ago but you can find some examples of the Dandy on YouTube, Google and other websites. I know this won't classify as a Bike of The Week but would be interested to see what feedback you get from your viewers if you mention it. Has anyone else heard of what I understand is now an extremely rare little bike. Thanks for your time and enjoy the rest of your Sahara trip. Cheers from Grellis (aka Motorcycling Down Under Australia.)
PS – Starting my motorcycle riding journey on that bike with no brakes or clutch taught me a lot about engine braking. I'm sure the original bikes probably had both of those things along with the very unusual gear changer and throttle mechanism.
Dobbs, who is your best Bond?
Hi Freddie
I feel compelled to comment on the ‘less for more’ T120 item.
I’m a 63 year old ex pat, been riding since 1980.
In ‘23 I paid $10K Canadian for a Gen 3 KLR- my 4th KLR and only the second brand new vehicle I have ever owned. I know these are ‘budget bikes’ but I was disappointed from the start by the cheap and nasty fit and finish.
Recently I happened to pick up a 2008 Triumph Tiger 955i- I was lucky enough to get one in mint condition and well maintained although it has 60,000 km on the clock.
The quality of the build is absolutely superb and the Hinckley triple is to die for. I paid over the odds at $4,500.
To quickly conclude – I got a better used bike for half the price of the new one, the accessory level being more or less comparable .
The new bikes are costing themselves out of existence and crammed with techno-crap that many of us have been trying for some time to avoid.
If I can- I will buy another older Tiger and store it until I have ridden the wheels off this one.
Freddie beware – if you import a bike from Germany when you arrive at the UK border there is probably gonna be some UK taxes to pay.
I had 3 ZZR1100s…..On a French backroad I raced a TGV train ..and I was winning. The village level crossing loomed so I stopped. My wife asked the speed..I said "125mph".."No" she said "165mph I was watching "..with wife and luggage.
and the best thing about J.B's bike of the week is that, apparently, @21:52 he rides with Ringo Starr (famous British rock n roll musician)
A round of applause a British Built Motorcycle hooray.
The Triumph story sounds like a mix of Shrinkflation and Spindoctoring…
I would agree about the Early Hinckley Triumph’s I have a 1993 900 Daytona it is definitely a bike of its time being very stable and slow ( by modern standards) on the steering, everything has to be planned ahead but it is fun to ride, the other guy who commented is 100% correction about the starter sprang clutch issue , fortunately mine had the removable top cover above the gearbox. On another subject, when I was in Australia the countryside as you discribe it seemed to be referred to by the locals as the GAFA.
All this doom and gloom about bike sales. The MCIA sales figures for December came out today. Bike sales were 122% up on Dec 2023 and for the year as a whole up by 3% compared with 2023. Something to cheer even if it looks like some big discounts across various brands may be the main cause.