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It seems the days of the Parallel Air Cooled Twin is about to end....
This season brings some new designs from a number of manufactuers.... Motorcycles that I think have been around in Europe for awhile....
I just read the review about the Kawasaki Ninja 650 which has all the modern acutrements like Fuel Injection and liquid cooling system.
I will always have a great ride with my Speedmaster, however it represents a bygone era. Part of it's success stems from it's romantic design concept, solid reliability and 'tried and trued' motorcycle architecture.
To me it represents the pinnacle of the Triumph Twin Concept, along with it's bretheren.... However, these are romantic snapshots of what could have never been built in times past.... Brought to life to fuel our romantic fantasies of times when motorcycles were just transportation not ICONS to be worshiped.
I personally welcome the new crop of motorcycles... Just as I've welcomed the evolution of Motorcycle architecture for the past 40+ years... (My first motorcycle as a young 10yr old being a Honda 50 SuperSport that's probably still running today!)
I commend Mr. Bloor and Co. for their dedication and foresight in bringing the "Worlds Best Motorcycles" to the marketplace... Truly, only the British have codified the very essence of riding a motorcycle. This happened many years ago in the '60's and early '70's. (I speaking to the OVERALL handling and performance of the motorcycle design... not reliability... which was questionable at times.... Honda set the bar for reliability in a motorcycle engine design.)
I hope to be able to ride my Speedmaster forever....
It may share some garage space with one or two other siblings down the road... But I'm sure they'll all speak the same language of Triumph Values... the engineering dialog that links the past to the next generation.
--Clark
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