Triumph Bonneville

Good friend Greg and I went out for a spin last week-end. We first met at the shops, since I had some parts to locate and buy. I couldn't find what I came there for, but we already had a foot in the Trumph dealer so why not to give the Bonneville a try. I must admit that was a long thought trap as I had this in the back of my head for quite a bit of time and did not mention Greg when talked about having a Saturday ride.

Anyways. I didn't know what to expect really, but utterly loved it. The ride position is relaxed, and the suspension is on the firm side. The bike is not wobbly, it's actually even stable in fast corners while being nimble in town. Engine is not the most powerful unit in the world with 70ish bhp, but it's enough to pull strongly and sounds great. And then there's the ergonomics - everything seems so easy.

Good looking motorcycle that brings fun at reasonable speed. That's certainly what I truly loved about it. Go try one yourself before telling I'm turning chopper style.

Yam' XS

Nice Yamaha XS from Bubble Visor.

Riding Trooper

Found this the other day on a real Internet gem : The Star Wars Culture.

Random from the archive

Abstract :

This picture was taken back in 2004 at the Brussels Motorcycle Show. This is Honda VTR SP2 (or RC51, it depends on what side of the planet you live) in a colour scheme you don't cross very often.

Random from the archive

Abstract :

Back in 2003, I thought I'd jump from my lovely Honda CB600 Hornet on something bigger. I had been offered by a friend this 2001 Honda 929 CBR he was rebuilding. This is how I saw it the first time.

Homologation process

Today, Greeny and I went to the vehicle inspection center so to put an end to the homologation process. We had an appointment at 10am, arrived at 9.50 and were taken cared of at 10.45. Enough to read old magazines from the waiting room, much to the dentist way. 

Our turn came and the tech guy immediately said he could not go against what Triumph had put on the partial homologation notice, because they do not receive homologation instructions for bikes that had undergone the European reception process. "I guess the only thing I can do is to trust what Triumph has put on this piece of paper ...". Well, ok then, sounds good to me.

Greeny waiting its turn in the sun

All in all, it didn't take more than 5 minutes to be said the complete homologation statement would be sent to me by mail tomorrow. I guess it means I won't be allowed to ride with that british plate any longer ... too bad.

Rossi back to Yamaha

Could Rossi have already signed a contract to return to Yamaha ? Reading from several sources, he apparently has.

It all started two days ago with a piece of news in La Gazetta dello sport stating Rossi may have signed a 3 years double agreement with Yamaha : 2 years in MotoGP, then 1 year in WSBK. 

Later that day, Niall Mackenzie - former GP500 racer, BSB champion and current Eurosport consultant -  twitted something about a surprise in the blue team for next year.

Today Ducati MotoGP team confirms the break up with Rossi at the end of the season.

There are a few more things to learn from that new contract with Yamaha : 

- Andrea Dovozioso who was hopping official Yamaha support for next year might not get it and would probably have to stay with Tech 3.

- Yamaha will be back in WSBK for 2014 as an official team supporting Valentino Rossi.

Want to fast forward to 2013 ?

Random from the archive

Abstract

This picture was taken in the Paris Motorcycle show back in 2003. The bike is a preproduction Voxan Black Magic. People drooling enough to accept the 15 000€ bill (which was a lot of money back then, compared to rest of the bike field) were asked to place an order on Voxan's website. As a restarting company, Voxan did not have a dealer network any more, so they imagined that (at that time) revolutionary way of selling their bike.

While being a beautiful motorcycle, the Black Magic and sporty-derived version Charade never sold enough to save Voxan.

KTM 690 by Ruleshaker

Yet another KTM ? Tell me you don't want to try one of these ultra light bikes on a sunny afternoon on your favorite twisty road ... This one's been built by French dealer Ruleshaker.

Longer leg

With longer shocks installed, the big S needs its side stand lengthened. Guys at Metal Machines have offered to handle the job for me as it needs a bit more than 3cm of extra length welded. It surely is going to be much cheaper than an OEM part. At 180€ unmounted, a long side stand for Boxercup Replika models must be made out of titanium.

It took me a bit of time to figure out how to remove the side stand, but it's now ready for the mod.