Well, I guess I know what my old man bike will be whenever I get tired of them infernal crotch rockets...
Ah, who am I kidding. Maturing isn't likely. Ask my wife.
In all seriousness, Rob, you are absolutely right. Last year, 675s were bikes for TT600 riders looking to go a whole lot faster or 955 riders looking for less weight. As the year went on, more and more younger riders started buying them. They were probably upset about being spanked by a Triumph ridden by a geezer. At the track over the weekend, I saw three yellow, one red, one black, and two gray 675s. One of the gray bikes might have been older than me, but the others were all ridden by people in their 20s and early 30s. The second gray bike and the black one were both ridden by people who looked like they were in their early 20s. The two other yellow bikes are friends of mine who bought theirs after seeing mine, and they are 29 and 36. The red bike is about to become a race bike, and I would guess the rider is right around 30, but he might be younger. All of the other riders probably considered Japanese bikes or Ducatis, but bought a 675 instead. The bike has created a whole new awareness for Triumph and a presence in places Triumph hadn't been since the early 70s. It is a track enthusiast's bike in a way no other Hinkley Triumph had been, and while some of the new Triumph riders may go back to Suzukis or Yamahas, many will stick with Triumph from now on.
I expect the same trajectory for Street Triple sales. Those of us who already know how good they are will be the first buyers. Then, our bikes will gather attention wherever we go, the less enlightened riders will notice our bikes, then notice the press likes them, then test ride, then buy. And so it goes.
Triumph nails it again!
Linear Mode
