Since selling the beloved Moto Guzzi life has moved on apace. 6 months ago I honestly would have called you mad if you had suggested a future without the big red beast lurking in the shed. However – life never moves in straight predictable lines and sometimes things fall off during sudden and unexpected turns.
People will tell you never to get attached to vehicles – they are just machines but Moto Guzzi owners will never tell you that. You go through a lot with Guzzi’s, a total emersion project really but one thing about the old Guzzi was that it wasn’t going to change its basic nature and my life was changing. So despite people telling me ‘You can’t sell THAT” I did. It came down to did I own the bike or was it owning me? And I was starting to resent it. No longer was I standing gazing at its glory but rather dark mutterings about its failings. It was time for someone else to enjoy her charms. Frankly it was an easy sale within hours of going onto TradeMe to a gent who had met me at a rally and knew the bike – in fact I could have sold it 3 times over to people who knew the bike – flattering but I think it went to a good home and he seems happy.
The sudden liquidity allowed me to solve a few pressing issues. Enough so that all the little issues resolved themselves like magic and all the while the two youngest daughters have been moving through the late stages of pregnancy (1 born one to go) and Vicki has worked her way through a voluntary redundancy to a satisfactory end (not really but close enough).
Suddenly – after weeks of furious activity and big decisions we found ourselves out the other side, a space in the garage next to the TR6C and with a few dollars in our kick. Vicki just told me to buy whatever I liked and what I liked was something more modern that I wouldn’t have to fuss after but was capable of taking us about the landscape in style. We wanted something ‘sporty’ and silly as with the weight of ages starting to press a little harder on our shoulders we wondered just how many hard riding years we had left in us – time for one last tip at the windmill though!
I was going to build a café racer but one look at the jobs I need to complete around the homestead told me I wouldn’t have time for both so something modern and effortless. That left a pretty wide open field so a bit more thinking was needed to narrow it down. Basically we agreed that we had been spoilt and had become brand snobs – tragic but true and helpful in deciding. So it had to be another Guzzi or a Triumph.
We settled on a 2000 on 955i Daytona or Speed Triple but despite reaching agreement on price with several people and then having them sell it out from under us (meh – what are you going to do) or revealing flaws in themselves or the bikes we found nothing we liked enough to buy. Basically any Daytona needed to be cheap enough for us to justify purchase due to the mods to make it more comfortable. We widened the scope and shock horror we have purchased sight unseen and having never ever ridden one a 2005 Triumph Sprint ST 1050…. I’m not sold on the looks but everyone raves about how the go and what the hell can you tell about a bike like that in a 5 minute test ride? Sometimes you just have to say ‘its only money’ and step off into the darkness hoping for wings. Damn stupid thing to do but frankly so is riding a motorcycle in the first place. It will arrive at our place sometime soon and then I will find out if we made a sound choice or not….
So far – its been a great ride…
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Originally Posted by Big Dave
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