What Bike Would You Absolutely NOT Buy?

[Sir Not Appearing]

Originally Posted by rocker59

What is your point?

I just don't see many of them either, but they are out there. I still believe the reason you aren't seeing many Triumphs is simply a matter of how many were/are imported into the USA vs. Jap Big Four, or HD.

I see a few Bonnevilles, a few girlie Tigers, a few older triples when out on rides here in my part of the country. Every now and again, a Daytona.

Steamer Tigers and Daytonas exist in the hundreds in the USA. Bonnevilles are the largest import and they're numbers are in the thousands, not tens of thousands.

I guess if a person lives in an area with a good Triumph dealer, the sightings will be more frequent. I used to work at a Triumph/Ducati/Moto Guzzi dealer (now out of business) in my area and sightings of those brands were very common in our area at the height of our sales in '99/'00/'01. After the dealership closed, the sightings of those bikes on the road locally began to fade. Mainly because it was over 100 miles to the nearest dealer and people just don't want to "risk" owning something without dealership support.

There are several guys who still ride Triumphs everyday around here. I see several guys on Ducatis, then there's a couple of us on Guzzis. This is in the sea of thousands of HDs and metric cruisers, and metric sportsbikes.

So, what was your point? I guess I don't understand it.

First off, sweet Guzzi, but.....those poor, poor Daytonas.

Secondly, I've bought my '98 T595 Daytona new in '00 and I still love the bike after 12 years and I would have no problem going out and buying a new Triumph. Albeit, I would drive/ride 80 miles to Joe's in Dayton, OH instead of 40 miles to Falcone in Indy but I've already bitched about that elsewhere in the thread.

However, I can see how someone who hasn't owned a modern Triumph could be apprehensive about purchasing one at least in my area. Twelve years ago, we had a much better dealer network in Indiana. When I purchased my Daytona there were dealers in Greensburg, Terre Haute, Evansville, Fishers, and one up north (Merrillville?). I purchased it new in May of 2000 and by the spring of 2001 when I went to get my 6k service, the dealer that I purchased from (Thompson's in Terre Haute) dropped Triumph and was only carrying Hondas. Greensburg had dropped all the cool stuff (Bimota, Triumph and Guzzi) and the dealer in Fishers (Guzzi, Triumph, Laverda....oh, the Laverdas) was gone....crazy stuff in just 10 months.

Now it looks like we're down to only Indy and I'm sure other states have had similar situations where there was a decent dealer network and now they're down to one or two dealers. For me I try to stay as far away from the dealer as I can unless I'm ready for a service that includes valve adjustments so I don't care if my dealer is 80 miles away. However, I know some people are obsessed with dealerships and sperg out about every little detail:

• Is the dealer within 5 miles of my house?
• Can I hang out in their parking lot on Saturday morning instead of doing something productive or fun?
• Do they have [insert coffee brand here] in their service area's waiting room?
• Does the dealer sell my pair of tires for $400 because I'd rather not pay $250 for them elsewhere
• Do they handle walk-in service appointments in case my mirrors go out of adjustment?
• Can their staff pass a limited background check so that I can bring my children into the dealership?

So if someone like this wants to purchase a Triumph around here, they had better hope that Falcone can meet all their ridiculous criteria or they can mark Triumph off their list. And that is fine for me. One of the reasons I bought my Triumph was because I didn't want to pass myself on the road all the time.

My suggestion to Tall Man is to buy a Harley if you want to make sure you "fit in" and have a bike just like everyone else on the road.

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by Sir Not Appearing

My suggestion to Tall Man is to buy a Harley if you want to make sure you "fit in" and have a bike just like everyone else on the road.

Send him to me. I can help him either way and we have good coffee.

[Tall Man]

They breathe, they vote, but they sure as hell can't read. Or comprehend.

OK, you win. I'll purchase a Triumph, or H-D, just because you think I should. Should I get the 1200 Explorer or the XR1200? What color is best?

[Mercury264]

Originally Posted by Tall Man

They breathe, they vote, but they sure as hell can't read. Or comprehend.

OK, you win. I'll purchase a Triumph, or H-D, just because you think I should. Should I get the 1200 Explorer or the XR1200? What color is best?

Get the Triumph, Harleys suck

[#46]

Originally Posted by Tall Man

They breathe, they vote, but they sure as hell can't read. Or comprehend.

OK, you win. I'll purchase a Triumph, or H-D, just because you think I should. Should I get the 1200 Explorer or the XR1200? What color is best?

Get the XR1200 in white.

[Tall Man]

Originally Posted by #46

Get the XR1200 in white.

I checked H-D's website, because I've only ever seen the XR1200X in white...at the dealership, and on the road, Even the homepage for the model on the factory website has it pictured in white. It was a surprise to learn that white isn't the only color. That said, I like white on the bike better than I do the other color ("Black Denim").

[#46]

This, too me, was the best color scheme.

[mrbreeze]

I wouldn't buy a race replica sport bike (GSXR, etc.) Something like a Bandit is about as "sporty" as I will ever go. I'm not likely to buy anything with a feet forward riding position either. I have rented a couple of them and I was worn out in a couple of hours from just trying to keep the wind from blowing my feet off the pegs. Give me something in the middle. The bikes I can think of with the ergos I like best are the BMW R1200RT and the Honda NT700V. My old DL1000 was really comfortable too - but I have had 4 new Suzukis and I just don't think I want another one for a while.

[Sir Not Appearing]

Originally Posted by DAKEZ

Send him to me. I can help him either way and we have good coffee.

You get the sale and he gets the coffee. Sounds like a win/win situation.

I have been to some decent HD dealers around here. Not my thing, but they really have the dealership thing down pretty well. To me, dealerships are like dentists. I don't care how inviting it is, I just want to get in and out.

[rocker59]

Originally Posted by Sir Not Appearing

First off, sweet Guzzi, but.....those poor, poor Daytonas.

Ridden hard by two very good riders. They may not be pretty, but they're durable and reliable and over a dozen years old. Here's one of them with a 1/2 fairing mod, awaiting paint:

[AZbiker]

Originally Posted by rocker59

Ridden hard by two very good riders. They may not be pretty, but they're durable and reliable and over a dozen years old. Here's one of them with a 1/2 fairing mod, awaiting paint:

I dig it. Put some bedliner on it and call it a day.

[Johnnie5]

Originally Posted by stubmw

That's right.

These dunder heads can make fun of Harley and their dealers all they want. Fact is Harley is light years ahead of the other makes when it comes to professionalism at the dealership. The Jap bike dealers are still operating under the Moe's chainsaw and small engine repair shop business model and BMW aint far behind. What it really comes down to is Harley treats their product like a viable form of daily transportation and as such there shouldn't be alot of bullshit getting it fixed or parts in stock. Jap/BMW consider their product a toy for adults, so who gives a fuck if it takes us three weeks to fix it or get you a part, it's just a fucking toy.

its funny you should say that

this topic is about what bike would you not buy and a lot of people have come along and said brand x and most times its because of the dealer or service available

things have changed a lot since the old days and there is actually very few 'bad' bikes out there anymore

it comes down to service

back to my point , the HD importer in sydney was NFI along with ducati and a bunch of other brand of bikes and its true they were called NFI for a multitude of reasons ;)

it didnt matter what brand that you owned their parts counter was all the same NFI

fact is its all about service

service and depreciation are prime reasons for not buying a new bike

[AlanCT]

I can think of all sorts of bikes I wouldn't own, but I'd happily take anything for a spin if someone tossed me the keys.

[woodnbow]

Originally Posted by AlanCT

I can think of all sorts of bikes I wouldn't own, but I'd happily take anything for a spin if someone tossed me the keys.

I'm with you, I'd enjoy RIDING almost anything, what I'd keep is another matter entirely..

This one: