I am still here…

Scrambler with Arrow Exhaust

Triumph’s retro offroad bike has the same basic engine as the cruisers, the America and Speedmaster. But it also has available an Arrow 2-into-1 exhaust. I can’t remember where I found this sound file of a Scrambler at full song with that exhaust, but it gives me a major gearhead chubby every time I hear it.

Triumph Scrambler with Arrow Exhaust (mp3, 589kb)

Vintage Triumph Factory Film

Well these are a blast from the past…

And two more…

More Pictures

I’m still adding pictures occasionally to my two gallery pages, one for what I consider to be cool bikes (mostly Triumphs-not that there aren’t other brands that are cool), and the other for my own scoot. As far as the latter goes, I’ve added a few separate galleries toward the bottom of the page showing some of the minor fabrication work I’ve done, brackets for relocating the battery, brackets for some quick-disconnect Ameritex bags I used to have and a custom lightbar bracket I created to replace the one that came with the factory Triumph lightbar kit. I’ve got a few pictures of my Harley Hardbags in the main gallery on my bike page, but no real good one showing how I combined them with EasyBrackets to mount on my bike. I’ll see about taking some snapshots of that next time I’m in the garage.

Freedom Rides Again

Okay, he won’t be riding for a couple months at least, but he has a new steed. Dale from Billings, who some of you may know as Roadtrip, is selling all his earthly possessions and moving to Kosova permanently. When I heard he was selling his low mileage 2007 Speedmaster, knowing that John (“Freedom” on BA.com) wanted a Speedmaster next, I played Chuck Woolery and hooked them up. Yesterday John came through Helena to pick me up and we went to Billings to pick up his new bike. It was a killer deal, even without all the accessories. If John didn’t buy it, I would have.

We got back to Helena around 8:30 last night and John crashed (oooh, bad turn of phrase there) in my spare room. After a little Helena hospitality at Steve’s Cafe this morning, I shot some pics and sent him on his way.

[mudslide:picasa,0,friarjohn,5427757040241574033]

2007 Speedmaster, approx. 5600 miles, 2 baffles drilled out, driving lights, clearview windshield, Corbin seat and backrest, K-drive quick release sidebags, Biker’s Friend rollbag, Kuryakyn tourbag, Haynes manual, etc. etc. etc. Poor thing isn’t even broken in yet. Heck, Dale even threw in a gallon of oil and a filter. John is set up for a while. Needs to ditch that AI, though.

Engine Eye Candy

Very cool. Some nice old hardware in there and some nice new hardware. My engine (probably the Thruxton version) and the Rocket III (not the most aesthetically pleasing beast). Make sure you click the “full screen” button in the lower right corner of the slideshow.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Lust

Triumph England

Triumph England © Grail

FriarsRide.com Mentioned on Biker Radio Magazine

A few weeks back Ken asked about doing a Triumph show and asked if I could help find some guests. Episode 71 is the Triumph show. I helped point him to Jeff York (thanks to Dwight Argo on BonnevilleAmerica.com for pointing me in his direction), Kevin Cook (Midget11 on BonnevilleAmerica.com) and Big Al of Bitter End Choppers (Ken already knew Big Al but didn’t know he builds Triumph choppers). Links mentioned during the show:

• MotoMyth
• Triumph Performance USA
• Bitter End Choppers

Episode Description

The Triumph Bonneville is a name that we have long been aware of as bikers and the Triumph chop has been coveted by many. If you can find an engine that hasn’t been mashed to bits over time you too can build a very cool looking ride or you could choose a newer model and take the engine from that. This route has it’s benefits. This week, Ian Huntly who gives us Isle of Man coverage and info tells us how new pictures will help us get the feel for this year’s IOM-TT, Jeff York who works on and builds Triumph bikes, Kevin Cook with a great looking chop and ‘ Big ‘ Al Wilkerson of Bitter End Choppers with insight on this build and how to deal with a shop when you need parts made. This is Edition 71.

Thanks for the nod (just before the Jeff York interview), Ken. Looking forward to my interview when my bike’s makeover is done.

Biker Radio Magazine

This is so good it deserves more than a link on Delicious or a mention on Twitter.

After my favorite radio station in LA changed formats and my two favorite radio shows evaporated, I was casting about for something else to listen to. I found Biker Radio Magazine, and despite what you might think from the title, it’s really really good. Sure there’s plenty of stuff about Harleys, mostly customs, but there’s a lot about motorcycles in general. It’s pretty much just one guy interviewing different people in all facets of the industry, from high-end custom builders like Kendall Johnson and Russell Mitchell to a bike tour operator in British Columbia (who rents Triumphs, BMWs, Guzzis and Aprilias) to a guy in Chicago who fabricates parts from carbon fiber. A lot of good stuff here and I’m only on episode 19 of 68. Despite the one-guy-and-a-mic/phone nature of the show, it has pretty good production values, too.

Give it a listen: Biker Radio Magazine.