Triumphrat

throbenotoid · 03-28-2009, 12:25 AM

Kinda stumbled upon a '96 Trident 900 with 20,000 miles, original owner, nice condition, appears well maintained....new tires, chain, tune-up, etc. Dealt with that faulty alternator bolt thing, all in all, could be a nice fall-back bike for leaving at a winter place down south. I haven't found much info online about this model. Any experience with it out there? Don't seem to be many many specimens around, and I think the price is right. Any upside potential for becoming collectible or appreciating in value? thanks much. oh, and new sprockets, too.

KitNYC · 03-28-2009, 12:47 AM

They sure don't seem to be appreciating in value, but that tends to make them a great buy if you actually want to ride them.

Cheers,
-Kit

throbenotoid · 03-28-2009, 12:52 AM

Point taken, Kit. Guess I was comparing its upside potential to another bike in my sights, a '96 daytona 1200...an altogether different ride, I'll grant you. So, speaking of a good buy, what would be a good buy for a nice '96 Trident. Btw, I used to hail from Astoria-Queens!

KitNYC · 03-28-2009, 03:06 AM

Wow! KBB says $2800 for a '96 Triident, NADA says about a grand less!

I would've said anything under $3k was probably a good deal.

I was just in Astoria yesterday. I used to love running up Vernon Blvd at slightly over the limit, but the city has destroyed the road surface in the last couple weeks so that's no fun any more.

Cheers,
-Kit

throbenotoid · 03-28-2009, 08:49 AM

I'd be looking at $2,500 for the Trident, $3,500 for the Daytona 12, but where I already drive a sport tourer in the Futura and the Trident has the more classic and pared down look...not to mention the triple over the four!...I'm looking hard at the Trident. Do you know roughly how many mid-nineties Tridents made it to the States?

Bob

throbenotoid · 03-28-2009, 08:56 AM

By the way, Kit, I'm out in farm country now, maybe a hundred miles northwest of Minneapolis on the way to South Dakota....long straights and sweepers. There's just about no limit to speed out here, it can get hairy, especially at night. Very few sight lines or points of reference, can be very disorienting first few times out, sort of like scuba diving, can't tell up from down and intersections sneak up on you, not to mention deer. I hear of guys getting stopped doing 150, 160, and more crack-ups than you'd think. Huge snowmobiling sport here, too, with machines that easily top a hundred.
Bob

KitNYC · 03-28-2009, 03:11 PM

I would take the triple over the four any day, & $2500 still sounds like a pretty good deal to me. You could try to talk him down with the NADA pricing, but if someone tried that with me I would tell them that NADA couldn't afford my bike.

Also, the Trident helps keep your speed down. You really start to feel the lack of a fairing around 75-80MPH.

Cheers,
-Kit

MarkShelley · 03-28-2009, 03:17 PM

Over here in blighty they are much cheaper. My `92 Trident 900 with 16K miles in very tidy condition cost me £1100 a year ago. They are great bikes with superb comfort and that engine is a peach!

throbenotoid · 03-28-2009, 03:45 PM

Thank you for the feedback, gentleman. I'm going to visit the current owner of the Trident next weekend. We'll see how it goes. Out this part of the US, one is hard-pressed to see anything un-Harley beyond the occasional victory. Pretty easy to stand out in the crowd. I must tell you, I've had some dealings with the new Triumph corporate since buying my Daytona, and I have been very impressed with the customer service....not just as bike manufacturers go, either. I'm liking this new company very much.

MarkShelley · 03-28-2009, 03:54 PM

Get yourself a decent set of cans and you will have one of the nicest noises on this earth at your beck and call!