Triumphrat

lobo10s · 03-17-2008

The Trophy loaded down and ready to go.

Well it is official! The riding season has started. Four of us got together on Saturday morning and headed up to Mena Arkansas. Jackie, Herman, and my brother Vern joined me for the short trip. For those of us that live in N Texas, it is closer to head to Arkansas than it is to places in Texas, like the Hill Country. The riding is also better IMHO.

We hooked up at Cafe Brazil in McKinney for breakfast around 9:30AM on Saturday. We then loaded up and headed to Mean. The weather was supposed to be i the high 60's to low 70's but I know it never made it to 70. It was a little chilly at times, but nothing we could not handle. Some of the guys (Jackie) had heated grips and a heated seat! So he was fine.

We took off up 75 and branched off on 121 to Bonham. We then slabbed it on 82 to Paris. This is the boring part of the trip, but this route allows us to get up to the better roads much quicker. We head up to Idabel on FM 195. This is not a bad road and actually has some twists in it. We bypass Idabel and fuel up in Broken Bow.

259 is a great road and is actually the moment that you realize that you are not in Texas anymore. Rob had made the route, but could not make the ride as his mother was having some health issues. He had us going up the Indian Highway to Talihina. We then jumped on the skyway and headed over to Mena. That is a great stretch of road. Lots of elevation change and curves, great stuff for motorcycles.

The little jaunt from 259 to the Indian highway had a nice surprise for us. 7 Miles of dirt road! It was not fun as it was rutted out. The Trophy did well in GS mode, but Vern's ST was a different story. He did not drop it but I know he did not have fun on that stretch.

The Trophy playing GS for a few miles

We stayed at the LineTree Inn. It was clean and motorcycle friendly and cheap. A great Combo. We had dinner and just hung out the rest of the evening.

We got together Sunday morning around 9AM and headed up to the Lodge for breakfast. It was cold around 41 when we left Mena. The fog was thick going to the lodge but the sun shined and life was good when we reached the top. We had breakfast and by the time we were leaving the fog had come up and it was cold again. This only lasted 15 miles or so and then it was all good.

before breakfast

We took the same route back home, except we did not do the off road experience. hehehe. The wind was bad once we got back into Texas but the ride was a good one. We all rolled into town around 3-4PM.

The trip was a short good one, and just got us even more excited about our Big Bend trip in 3 weeks or so. You can see the pictures here from the trip

Read all about it and see all of the pictures here: http://motoadrenaline.blogspot.com

M700R · 03-17-2008

Cool! That big Trophy is a good looking bike. You guys should have had a Scrambler for the dirt section!

Catenaccio · 03-17-2008

Great report. Looks like Arkansas is a wonderful place to ride. The Trophy strikes me as one of the best touring bikes ever made. Never ridden one, but the size, the seats, the screen, and the fairing all look of the proper size to keep one comfortable.

Whisperinsmith · 03-19-2008

That looks like a perfect weekend "fix". Thanks for the pictures and report. Looks like a good group to ride with.

LightningJack · 03-19-2008

I hope Triumph eventually re-introduces another Trophy. It looks like it has all the right features for sporty touring. +That looks like a great place to ride. Thanks for posting the scenic pictures.