Hi I am a scooter rider who has always loved the Bonneville since Jean Jaques Bernel from The Stranglers had one in the 70s and going pillion on the back of a US spec T120 queen silver jubilee model (if my memory serves me right!) As I say I normally ride scooters but the passion for a Triumph has always been there burning in my heart. As it turns out my 21 year old daughter rides a sports bike and we often go for rides and I get a bit left behind when I reach the flat out speed of 80 is reached......and on 12" wheels it's more like traveling 160 mph!. I've decided to take the plunge and get myself a speed twin while I still got a few years of my riding life left! I have test driven one and It reinforced my desire to go "darkside" and get a bike, The question I have is, where can I get the best deal on a new one or are they price fixed at every dealer's?
Go round 3 dealers and get best price then go around again and see if they will try to beat each other! Or buy nearly new, save some money that way! Or look for a tidy low mileage bike, lots out there if you search. My 3 year old only had 1200 miles on it and saved nearly £3k on new price!
Try 2nd hand instead there are a few about; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-B...338059?hash=item361c42410b:g:FqsAAOSwYS9ZYVLA
Find out a comfortable budget and work from there. If your coming from a scooter then tread carefully and wisely and don't buy a top end price bike you may not like. There's plenty T100/Bonnevilles at £4K to play with should you not like them. They hold values very well and you won't lose out if you don't like.
I wouldn't buy brand new for a first bike. You are going to drop it a some time and dropping a new bike is heartbreaking, believe me. I wish I had bought a cheaper 2nd hand bike, as my first instead of brand new. If you heart is set on a Street twin, find the cheapest you can, you'll still love it. They stay new for a very short space of time, let someone else take the big initial depreciation. Or as suggested, go for an older Bonneville, they are great bikes and keep there money brilliant.
I would endorse the general view about: 1. Fixing a budget 2. Buying 2nd hand. The modern Hinckley twins are pretty bullet proof. Unmodified with a service history and anything under 20,000 miles you would be incredibly unlucky to buy a pup. If you are realistic about the use to which you will put it you might find you need less outlay than you think. That way you can get some decent riding gear and a quality helmet. Don't even THINK about wearing a parka or you will be toast on here before you can say Baba O'Reilly!
Worryingly, it is probably still possible to own a scooter and a Triumph at the same time, all rolled in to one. Not to be recommended though, as I doubt that it is possible to buy two bigger bags of shite than the Triumph Tigress and the Triumph Tina. Apart from, that is, a BSA Sunbeam which was a Tigress with a different name - actually, on thinking about it, the BSA might have had a 2 stroke engine in it. Please don't bother looking it all up, you'll only scare yourselves and I know how delicate you can be on occasions. And anyway, to quote an esteemed member herein ... DILLIGAF!! Some things are best forgotten/left alone. My mate from my teens - the Tigress owner - would undoubtedly agree.
One of the local lads near me rides a Suzuki GT380, a newish Earnshaws bespoke Kawasaki w800 scrambler and he's a scooterboy! It can be done!
Don't get me wrong, I know I said I ride scooters, but I have lots of motorcycle riding experience, believe me riding a bike is far easier than riding a scooter. After reading all the threads I think I might go the 2nd hand option
Welcome Eddie. Assuming you mean Street Twin and not Speed Triple cos the StTwin is a great entry bike, then it somewhat depends on your budget. There aren't an awful lot of StTwins on the market second hand cos it's a new-ish model. and prices hold up strongly. Choose carefully and you should find decent value on Ebay or Auto Trader. Just be sure to do an HPI check. My StTwin, for instance, cost me £5k, which was £2.5k under list last late summer, as a Cat D write off with a little over 300 miles on the clock - pretty much minor cosmetic damage. You'll pay more second hand at a dealer, but have the reassurance of a Pdi. If buying new you'll get the best deals near the end of a month, and better at the end of a quarter, when dealers are trying to hit volume targets rather than revenue targets. Triumph year starts 1 July.
I've got all the Gear, Shoei gt air, leather bike jacket Kevlar jeans boots. Lol the illusion people have when you say u have a scooter they instantly think of a mod,Parker, chrome.....ive a 300 and do touring on it, been over the French and Swiss alps down to Italy, tour of Britain taking in lands end John O'Groats, don't think your mod type would risk getting their chrome dirty doing them miles, that's even if their scooter would endure over 100 mile ride. I have also got experience in riding bikes. Looks like everyone is in agreement regarding 2nd hand. Thanks for the replies
Them boys on the aging scooters do some serious miles on a weekend !! They'll do 200+ miles on those wee bikes to attend scooter rallies. Met up with a bunch from the south of Englandshire doing a tour around Scotland !!!! They are a bit mental, if truth be told, but all credit to them. I actually got a nod from 3 of them tonight! (WHich was quite weird, but I happily nodded back) I was off on a wee bimble with the missus, they were loaded up and I guess heading for Stranraer to catch a ferry to Ireland, crazy buggers. No way would I trust Italian engineering and electrics more than 20 miles form home @Eddie Ednutt - good luck with the bike search, hope to see pictures of the new bike soon
I get nods all the time from Bikers, yet to get a nod from a Harley rider! When I go to rallies all over the UK and Europe I always get into conversation with traveling bikers who think we are mad, we share stories and there seems to be a lot of bikers who take interest in the scooter itself asking loads of questions, that's why I enjoy touring riding and meeting new people.
I once met an old boy (70+) at St Mary's Cafe near Moffat, loads of bikes turn up there. He was riding a Suzuki Bergman and dressed in full leathers, like he'd been riding in the 1952 TT. As i walked past him, i did smirk a little bit. Got my brew sat down at a table outside and he came along and asked if he could share my table, course I said yes. He passed complimentary comment on the gixxer he'd seen me get off and then proceeded to tell me about his biking life. Well Feck me, he had been seen and done it all, ridden everything and had a great old time. The reason for the scooter - he couldn't swing his leg over a bike anymore form a knackered hip, but he refused to give up biking and therefore the superscoot was keeping him riding. I will never make a judgement like that again!