Triumphrat

Archimedes · 10-23-2005, 02:20 PM

My dog was with me today as I cleaned my T100. He was sat on the back seat as I polished the tank. Despite it being cold he would not wear his winter coat. He's a tough old dude.

After a short while a Harley rider walked by with his dog on a leash. His dog had a tailor made leather coat with patches.

Both rider and dog ignored mine. He didn't wag his tail or bark at my dog. My pooch is now fretting that he didn't get a bark. Should he go see a therapist or just take it as one of those things that happen in life?

Should I buy him a leather Triumph coat for Xmas?

:razz:

Roadglide · 10-23-2005, 02:24 PM

My 15 year old dog died 3 weeks ago.

Archimedes · 10-23-2005, 02:27 PM

Sorry to hear that Roadglide. We become very attached to them and they are never forgotten. They are real friends.

convict · 10-23-2005, 03:01 PM

funny you should mention the troubles your dog is facing. my cats are often teased because i ride a triumph. but you know this is there own doing. all the other cats seem to stand their ground everytime a poorly tuned hd roars but my go scrambling. damm this animalosity.

Diego · 10-23-2005, 03:46 PM

I have no animals, living in this tiny apartment, but my neighbor's dog likes to hang out with me.

When I bring any of the Triumphs home from their distant garage, he will start ambling over to my place as soon as he sees or hears one of them coming. How he keeps track of the four very different machines, and how he knew that the Thruxton which went by yesterday wasn't one of mine, I find hard to fathom.

He won't leave his hillside perch for a Harley, but will sometimes feel the need to get up and mark his territory afterward. Rice rockets don't interest him at all, apart from one that went by yesterday with no baffles and the engine wound up to at least 14k. That one he regarded with an unmistakable look of disgust.

Lest anyone think I am anthropomorphizing, I know that look from a dog all too well.

The friend who introduced me to motorcycling back in the Seventies had a massive German shepherd whose favorite rubber toy was a motorcycle tire, still mounted on its somewhat damaged wheel, that he found in a ditch near the highway. His favorite game was to have somebody heft the wheel overhead, throw it so that it would land on the tread and roll, and then he (the dog) would chase it down and bring it back. Then the human was supposed to wrestle it from his jaws (if you didn't, he would drop it on your foot; repeatedly, if necessary to get your attention) and throw it again.

One day his master was too busy to play the tire game when the dog decided it was time, so I filled in. Usually, he was satisfied with eight or ten throws...but not that day. The game went on for nearly half an hour, and my muscles were complaining mightily. It ended when I got the tire over my head and started to throw, but my fingers refused to grip any longer and the tire dropped to the ground right in front of me. The dog looked at the tire, then at me, and you could picture the sarcastic thought balloon over his head: "well, if that's the best you can do..." as he turned and walked away.

50yrDream · 10-23-2005, 07:49 PM

I used to see a guy here in Carson City whose little dog rode a pad on the tank--always wore his doggles! Another older fellow rode a restored older BMW with his dog on the tank-was always a favorite in the Nevada Day Parade til dog passed away a couple of yrs ago.

Copper · 10-23-2005, 08:39 PM

I'm pretty sure my dog approves of my ride...She tries to chew the tires!

Rodent · 10-23-2005, 08:47 PM

My pal Stan just bought a Goldwing with sidecar (off ebay, no less) just so his shepard-husky mix could ride along! The things we do for our animals. :-D

billstokes · 10-23-2005, 09:03 PM

My cat likes to sleep on the seat of my T100, especially when both are heated by the sunlight soming in the garage window. It makes her a warm little *****.
Bill

FattRat · 10-23-2005, 09:31 PM

Cleo and Patra, my cats, seem to care less if it's one of my buddies on a Harley who drives up, they don't bat an eye (or twist an ear) when the fellas show up on their BMW's, and could care less when it's an in-line multi-cylinder.......

But when Nor Cal Rider Randy showed up on his piped T-100, they showed a little confusion that I was simultaneously sitting at the computer and pulling into my driveway.

They know bikes and the sounds they make, and they know that these are all my biker-riding buddies. They show no preference, and they're equally aloof with one type of rider as they are the next.

But they seem to like joining me in the garage MORE when I'm working on the BonnieBlack. They either sit at the kitchen door watching me intently, or hang with me in the garage. They like the Bonneville.

But I'm away so often on the weekends, that they have become rather accomplished at operating the computer. They now have power at their paws, and they're threatening to use it. If they find that what I post on the computer has no real purpose, they delete it. If what I author is outside the realm of the forum at hand, they're little paws Ctrl D it. My cats only want me to engage in good things on the computer....... otherwise, they'll lower the boom and hastily censure not only what I have written, but others as well.

Cats, you gotta love 'em.
Motorcycles, they create trouble even for the unsuspecting.