I've dropped it already, of course, because I'm a cunt. Off to see a mate who has a steep (even by Wellington's standards) driveway that only gets steeper the further you get down. As I got to the bottom I started to wonder whether or not I should have come down on the front brake, that I would have been better off in neutral so I at least had some options, and why's he parked his car there so I have to go down this absurdly steep bit ... then it was gone. The front wheel, with nearly all the weight on it, with completely all the brakes on it, had hit a convenient patch of wet leaves and teleported off into the distance. The good news is that the crash bungs have lost their virginity, and the bad news is the crank case has too - dinged, not fucked. And I'm unhurt but annoyed. And a cunt.
It's doubly a shame because the bike was just *so* nice before I was let anywhere near it. You see, I did the thing you must never ever do, I bought a bike without even seeing it let alone test riding it. I had been doing the thing all 250 users do nearly constantly, trying to work out what their first 'real' bike is going to be and started out with what I was going to use it for:
* Going to and from work.
* Going for a nice blat in the countryside.
* Occasional trackday usage.
* Maybe going for the occasional tour.
So, basically damn nearly everything. Great. I'd also decided that I wanted to get better at this, and that meant trying; that trying meant failing; and failing meant falling off. When this happens, in addition to being amazed how much it hurts and wondering which bits of me are going to break, I want to have two thoughts: thank god I'm at a track; I'm glad there are no fairings to break.
Given my newbieness then this basically meant a naked 600. Now, quite a lot of these appear to be ex-sprotsbikes with the fairings removed, some kind of remapping done on the engine, and expensive bits of suspension replaced by cheap bits. This last bit being, in my opinion, a real shame. So I was pretty chuffed when I discovered that a Speed Four - aside from being only slightly less ugly than it's 'parent' TT600 - still was a well regarded sprotsbike. Although apparently not the most powerful 600 sprotsbike in the world, which after today actually seems like a good thing.
It was that or a monster (a tad poncy and really quite expensive); doing a "Jim" and putting go faster bits on a Z750 (not a bad plan at all but I really wanted an aluminium frame); or joining the queue for a K6 Gixxer.
Anyway, so this S4 was on fenceme and came with all the bits I was going to have to source from somewhere anyway: Crash bungs; pack rack; hugger; a mesh thing to protect the radiator; a tank pad and film on the sides; oh, and a loud zorst - that I've not fitted yet. After some homework, negotiation with her indoors, getting Coleman's to check it out, shipping it down from Auck, building it a shed and the not entirely trivial pastime of actually getting my license (a break with tradition, I know) ... well, here we are ... dropping an absolutely immaculate 2004 Triumph Speed four with 14000 on the clock.
It was 8k, since you're bound to ask.
I'll do an entirely separate post on what it rides like since it's not a small subject. But I did want to mention the crash bungs. I bought the bike off a guy called Cameron who makes them (http://www.camscomponents.com/) and they're an absolute work of art. I've attached a picture of them too - you want some crash bungs made, I can't recommend him enough. They do the job too, as I found out.
Oh, and my excuse for not having some patience, getting my license, then testing loads of 600's is that I would have had no idea what I was doing anyway. A bit like asking a child to choose a nice pinot gris. With some time on the speed four I'll be in a better position to know what I'm actually talking about. In theory. In practice I don't see me wanting another bike for a very long time.
Yeah, I'm happy with it. Fucking stoked. Apart from dropping it, of course.
Dave
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Originally Posted by Jim2
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