Triumphrat

TigerLilly · 05-14-2008

A colleague has been off bikes for a decade or so and contemplates some up-date training. He also drolls over the Street Tripple but to wait for Triumph would be to waste a season. What would be your suggested alternative? Hes looked at some TT 600's and a Ducatti

Lil

welshrob · 05-14-2008

I`m sure the opinons will fly thick and fast on this one but you need to be more specific. A "Ducatti" could be anything. What sort of riding will he do? How tall is he? What previous experience does he have?
Before we give advice on which manufacturer, we need to know what sort of bike is best for him/her.

StaggerLee · 05-14-2008

If he is after a racer then the TT600 can be had second hand for very little money. They are a very underrated bike IMO

13 · 05-14-2008

Getting feeling of combo- waiting for next year model release vs. getting a warm up bike vs. wanting to see if biking's the thing 10 years after?

A nice dual sport is what I'd get to find the old sensation...

TigerLilly · 05-14-2008

Ok bit brief before: Ducatti is the 696.

Profile is typical 40 ish. about 5ft 9 in, not sure of sum total of past experience however due to the time laps think novice but not raw reccruit. We are in Northern Ireland so we are talking rural 'A' road and twisty with a bit of motorway thrown in. For the moment think local runs not touring.

13 is right the choice is

1 wait for dream bike and the season goes by
2 buy an equivalent something and perhaps fall in love all over again, perhaps sell the equivalent
3 buy an intermediate to help make the jump

Thanks

Lil

RevMatt · 05-14-2008

There are a few ways your friend can go.

1) Buy something used that is at least four years old to see if he still has the bug. Ride it for a season and either way -- if he decides to continue riding or not -- he can sell the bike for about what he paid for it. Here in the States a dual sport -- dirt bike with headlights, tail lights, -- can usually be had for less than $1,000. Where you live perhaps some other type of bike is the most likely to be had on the cheap. This is the easiest way to go, IMO, with the least amount of risk.

2) Buy his second or third choice new. He would get an entire season in on a new bike. The risk is being stuck with a bike payment on his second choice and always be nagging himself that he settled for second best -- they depreciate the moment the tires touch the street. Also, he riding this season may only remind him of the reasons he stopped riding ten years ago. Then he would be stuck with a payment and would get clobbered with the depreciation if he tried to sell it.

3) Wait and buy the dream bike. The advantage is having what you want. The risk is getting what you want but not really liking it all that much.

I would suggest the first option -- something cheap for a season, then trade up to the dream bike.

HiDesert · 05-14-2008

I'd recommend used at this stage. Sounds to me like he needs something from the Bonneville family, or a Honda 599/Hornet/whateverthehecktheycallitoverthere. Or a Nighthawk. Any of those should be fun but not overwhelming reintroductions.

trypcil · 05-14-2008

What did he ride before? Perhaps it would be an interesting suggestion for him to get the bike he like most when he did ride, back when. Shouldn't cost a lot of money, unless he likes the inline 6 Honda jobbie, or an NSU racer or something daft. Then he could feel the difference in technologies when his Street triple comes along - even write a nice little dissertation on the subject and we could all slather over it and rhyme whimsically in a sophistic manner.... or not!

BigDummy · 05-14-2008

You can all stone me for this one, but for the price, weight and power the Kawasaki Versys is really interesting. They're new this year in the States and some places are already discounting them down to $5699. Fuel injection, decent tank size, cushy seat and it comes in one pound under the four hundred mark. It might be a tough call between this and the Triumph Tiger Cub.

Okay, commence beatings.

HiDesert · 05-14-2008

Beatings will continue until morale improves, naturally!