I went to the motocross track at Dargle to watch Daz and Rob and Daz\u2019s kid race their dirt bikes. Boris and Branko were there.\u00a0 I parked the V-Strom between the 2018 Triumph T120 Bonneville Boris was reviewing and Branko\u2019s thirty five year old Honda VF750 Sabre. Actually, it might be a Magna. \u00a0He\u2019s modified it a bit.<\/p>\n
I had half a dozen 500ml cans of Oettinger in the top-box, which made me very popular. It didn\u2019t take long for a beery brotherhood to envelop the proceedings. \u201cTake the Triumph, Al\u201d, said Boris after about 800ml.<\/p>\n
We walked over to it. \u201cI must warn you\u201d, he said. \u201cIt might seem hard to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last Bonneville I rode was decades ago. It was, I think, a 1972 model. You had to turn on the fuel tap under the tank, then you had to push the tickler button on the left hand Amal carburettor until fuel dripped out and stained the engine cases on its way to joining the oil on the ground under the engine. Then you pushed the kickstarter a bit until you felt the compression start to bite, turned on the ignition, leaped into the air and descended on the kickstarter. The second time you did that last thing it usually started.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes\u201d, said Boris as he handed me the keys to the Triumph, \u201cyou press the starter button and nothing happens. If you just hold the button down, it will start.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s probably waiting for the fuel pump to pressurize the fuel injection system\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess\u201d, said Boris. He drained his beer. \u201cLet\u2019s go to lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fuel pump theory was an easy one to test, so I did. It seemed correct. I followed Boris in to Windsor.<\/p>\n
I was in the mood for retro. I\u2019d just bought a Vostok Amphibia. The Bonnie is a delightful bike. All the torque is delivered low. It\u2019s very rideable. I can\u2019t remember riding a fuel-injected motorcycle with more perfect fuelling. \u00a0It has a low seat height and feels way lighter than the V-Strom, even though it isn’t. It could do with a bit more ground clearance though. My boots were brushing the tar a few times on the way in, and twice I grounded the footpeg feeler on the right before we got to that new bar in Windsor.<\/p>\n
I commuted on it on the Monday. The GM noticed it in the car park. \u201cNew bike Al?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cPress bike\u201d, I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeez, it looks small compared to your one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is small\u201d, I said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to get through traffic on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore power than your one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLess\u201d, I told him. \u201cTwelve hundred cc, but only eighty horsepower. It\u2019s everywhere, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked out the living room window the next day at rain. \u201cThe sky is crying\u201d, I said to the girl-child\u2019s cat. \u201cCan you see the tears roll down the street?\u201d It looked out the window too, and thought of nothing, because it is a cat.<\/p>\n
It stopped raining. My commute is not long. I rode to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must be loving that new Triumph\u201d said the GM. \u201cIt\u2019s raining, but you still ride to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay\u201d, I said. \u201cThere\u2019s a button on the right handlebar to push when you ride it in the rain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it do?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d, I said. \u201cI didn\u2019t push it. I think it\u2019s for if they sell the bike to women or Qantas cabin stewards.\u201d<\/p>\n
The styling grew on me daily. The engine is styled to look like Turner\u2019s old leaky four-speed thing, the fuel injection units are styled to look like the old Amal carburettors, and the transmission covers are styled to make the transmission look like a separate unit. The tyres are old-style Pirelli Phantoms. I noticed on Friday when I came out of the pub that it looks great parked outside a pub.<\/p>\n
I gave it back on Sunday. \u201cI thought Triumphs were supposed to have a bit of animal in them\u201d, I said to Boris. \u201cThat is one civilized motorcycle. I always felt under-dressed when I was riding it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are a gentleman\u2019s conveyance\u201d, said Boris. \u201cThey\u2019re my favourite Triumph.\u201d<\/p>\n
I got back on the \u2018Strom. It felt top-heavy and uncivilized. The Arrow exhaust sounded coarse and vulgar. I gave it a bit when I left, in case some of Boris\u2019s neighbours were shift workers or invalids. It boomed and backfired and crackled.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t care. I was in a hurry. I was wearing a Charles Tyrwhitt chambray shirt with a button-down collar.<\/p>\n
I felt a sudden need to put on a black T-shirt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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