Triumphrat

johnsime · 08-06-2006

I think I'm in the minority, but I prefer the blue pipe thing. I'm a new T100 owner and I think they make the bike look used/lived-in .
I meet Bonnie owners over here and some of them only ride about 500 miles a year! All they do is polish the ***** thing and sit in the garage admiring it.
One guy I met bought one 3 months ago and confessed he's only done 50 miles. The proceeded to tell us all how he planned to modify it and add all sorts of things - why?

I bought mine 2 months ago and have clocked up 1200 miles - just weekend riding and some evenings after work taking in the sun going down over the corn fields here in Cambridgeshire, UK.
I for one, am not going to spend hours fitting new exhausts, changing the ignition switch, changing the needles, changing the air filter and all the other stuff.
I much prefer to do what the thing is intended to do and that's put a smile on my face and thank God I'm alive and enjoying the ride.

stevent · 08-06-2006

I don't mind blue pipes either, I did re jet and add pipes and aircleaner and what-not because it wakes up a few more horsepower and sounds much nicer. I ride the wheels off mine as well, it's the perfect bike for the backroads where I live.

:upthumb:

mecscc · 08-06-2006

Well. John, join a small but decidedly brilliant group of us who bought the bike we wanted and ride it as is. There may be a few more of us but they won't likely speak up since that is not by any stretch of the imagination the mantra around here.

Good on you.

Monte

badrufus · 08-06-2006

Hey John,
I agree wholeheartedly on the blue pipes. No problem--that's the way they should be. I'll admit that I spent some polishing time at the beginning getting the mechanic's d*mn fingerprints and some cosmolene streaks off the pipes, but the blue, bronze, purple is fine by me. I will however, speak up for those of us who enjoy modifying the bikes. I don't usually make a modification because of a deficiency in the bike, but because I enjoy the process of figuring out what I want, how to do it, where to get the parts, and then accomplishing the mod. For me, it's just plain fun to go out to the garage, start wrenching, grab a beer (which I can't do if I'm riding), sit and ponder, wrench some more, screw it up, fix it, have another beer, and look and the finished mod--most likely one that no one but me can even really notice. One of the reasons I bought the Bonnie over several other bikes I looked at was its "wrenchability," in other words the bike is accessible, the aftermarket is good, and you don't have to be a professional mechanic to work on it. To put it in your terms, wrenching, as well as riding, "puts a smile on my face."

Paoli · 08-06-2006

Quote:

I think I'm in the minority, but I prefer the blue pipe thing. I'm a new T100 owner and I think they make the bike look used/lived-in .
I meet Bonnie owners over here and some of them only ride about 500 miles a year! All they do is polish the ***** thing and sit in the garage admiring it.
One guy I met bought one 3 months ago and confessed he's only done 50 miles. The proceeded to tell us all how he planned to modify it and add all sorts of things - why?

I agree with you on the blue pipes issue. They don't bother me one bit. My Harley had blue pipes but you couldn't see it because they were covered.

stevent · 08-06-2006

I look at it as just realizing the full potential of the bike. Air cooled twins are noisier mechanically than water cooled multies so their intakes and exhausts are more effectively silenced. By removing obstructions like snorkels and virtually plugged exhaust systems the engine is allowed to breathe better, increasing jet sizes adds more fuel to take advantage of improved flows and generates a little more power. I am after all an engineer by trade, I can't help but try to optimize combustion efficiancy...it's in my blood for pete's sake !

Any rate, to each his (or her) own. I never bothered messing around with the Trophy, Bandit, VFR, Ninja, CBR, BMW, etc because they were very officiant from the start, I did add Corbin seats and bar risers to some to increase comfort but didn't give a thought to performance because they ran strong out of the box. I think if your satisfied with your bike as is then by all means.enjoy yourself with it, you'll get no derision or complaints from me.

:upthumb:

Christov · 08-06-2006

I agree!!! I love the blue pipes too. I blued mine the first day. I revved the bike in neutral until the pipes were the same color as my paint on the tank. Perfection!!!!

ChrisV · 08-06-2006

Quote:

On 2006-08-06 12:38, badrufus wrote:
Hey John,
I agree wholeheartedly on the blue pipes. No problem--that's the way they should be.

Sorry, but dont buy this false nostagia about old bonnie pipes being blue,
I had one and knew many others back in the late 60's and early 70's, Pipes were generally pure shiney chrome

JMV2006 · 08-06-2006

Quote:

...many others back in the late 60's and early 70's, Pipes were generally pure shiney chrome

Absolutely correct!
Check:
- 1959
- 1967
- 1970
- 1977
- Not sure

Nevertheless I also like my Bonnie to remain as original as possible. All the extras I apply are from Triumph origin (I hope it to become one day a “Classic”).
As far as engine/mechanical is concerned, I only had the AI immediately removed to avoid having the pipes turning blue further than the neck (unavoidable) and because I was told that the engine runs smoother at low RPM.
For more power…
… I’m planning to buy the 2007 Tiger to complement my riding “needs”. :wink:

road_dog · 08-06-2006

Well said ChrisV.

You see, most of us bought the bike we wanted, and then we soon realized that the bike has quite a few inadequacies and restrictions (due mainly to obtuse regulations). So we fix em, or at least we fix what we can. So what's wrong with us increasing our smile factor anyway? You value yours.

Sorry, but IMO the headers are a sad example of the bikes shortcomings. Hondas, Harleys, etc. aren't making such thin, single wall pipes. They don't start to discolor the first time they get hot. The blue discoloration doesn't look half bad.

But the piss-stain yellow that precedes the blue, really chaps my a$$. :asb:

[ This message was edited by: road_dog on 2006-08-06 15:53 ]