About Friar

I’m an IT professional in my 40s and I came to motorcycling in my mid-30s. I bought my first bike in March 2002, a brand new Triumph Bonneville America (named “Bollox”). Since then I’ve designed and fabricated a few parts, tried out lots of gear and accessories, put on a custom paintjob and racked up about 52,000 miles (as of 03/2011). I’ve been to British Columbia several times, I made the obligatory Sturgis trip in year one, toured all over western Montana and Idaho, and taken longer trips to southern California, Prescott, AZ and Seattle, WA.

In 2011, I added two more bikes to the stable, a second 2002 Triumph Bonneville America, christened “Reboot,” and a 2007 Triumph Rocket III Classic Tourer. The first bike has more or less been retired and will become a dedicated custom.

All of the content prior to 2009 was originally posted on my personal blog at JohnBedard.com, and migrated over here where I will posting all future motorcycling related content. I will constantly be evolving this site over time. I don’t believe in “the big launch.”

My nickname was given to me by a friend and fellow motorcyclist the first day I had my bike home. Basically, the formula goes something like this: fat guy + British motorcycle = “Friar.” He said if I bought a Japanese bike it would’ve been “Buddha.” Somehow the nickname stuck. As nicknames go, it ain’t bad.

In 2011 I inherited BonnevilleAmerica.com. I’ve been involved with this site in various capacities since 2002 when it was started by fellow Triumph motorcycle enthusiast, Robert Wade. Late in 2010 I took a much more active role in running the site, being promoted from moderator to administrator. When Mr. Wade expressed a desire to pass the site off to someone who could take a more active role than he had been able to in the past few years, I jumped at the chance. The homepage has been replaced with an all new WordPress installation and the forums are due to be upgraded.