I mentioned last week that I met a fellow Triumph rider whilst filling the Trident up. He has a Thunderbird (he was driving at the time so I didn't see it) which he is going to sell. We got chatting - turns out he does up bikes and occasionally cars for a living but is basically bike mad. Arranged to meet up for a ride, which we did yesterday to the Hill Top Cafe near Salisbury. He suggested swapping bikes, so I got my first go on the old Thunderbird - liked it very much, but he loved the Trident. So much in fact he offered me a deal - the Trident and £2000.00 for the Thunderbird. The Thunderbird is a 2000 model in Green and Champagne with 24000 on the clock. Good condition and well looked after - probably need the seat changing but that's all. Trident is 1993 and has 39000 miles on it. Deal or no deal?
having a quick look there aren't many tridents out there for sale, and t/birds , nice bikes!, roughly that age and mileage look to be fetching between 3,500 and 4,500, so what do you think yours is worth? how much does he want without the trade? personally if its in good nick as you say I'd be tempted to make the deal!
PS. having thought about it it looks as though these are an investment! 14 year old bikes going for not a lot less than I paid for a tiger with full luggage and less than 4k on the clock!!
Not many Tridents at the moment crispey, and I agree with your Thunderbird figures. He is going to advertise it for £4000.00 so might get £3800.00 at worst. I paid £1000.00 for the Trident in March this year and always thought I would sell it for what I paid, maybe £1200.00 at a push (there's a 94 on Gumtree for £1100 with more miles) so I reckon I could be between £600 - 800 up on the deal.
I think you should snap his hands off. You have tried the bike out so know basically it is a good un,then again so is your Trident and it is another T3 variant so you know a bit about them. Go for it, as my mate used to say a faint heart never fucked a crocodile................lol. I dont get it either but there you go.
A couple of things spring to mind here ... Tridents are more powerful and better braked than a Thudderbird - is this relevant? Does it matter to YOU? Or are you just wanting a change of style - nowt wrong with that in my opinion. Whilst I freely admit to being biased towards Tridents, I would happily accept a Thudderbird to join my 900! And perhaps that is my point ... if you have the wherewithal to px the Trident for the Thudderbird, you could probably pick up a half decent T/bird to live alongside the Trident therefore enjoying the best of both worlds . Just a thought, as now is the time to buy, before spring is sprung! You may then have the start of a 'collection' (cruiser(ish), road and trials - a good start)!!
I'm grateful for all the advice guys - my conclusion is that it's a deal I can't lose on in the long run, no doubt of that. However, I'm going to stick with my Trident as I enjoy it too much and have become quite attached to it! I would, in an ideal world have both, so I like your idea Steve and may look at what you suggest. However, I miss the Bonneville and always planned to get another one when funds allow and that is the likely route I will take.
Will the tried and tested formulae for the amount of bikes you should have prove itself again? OB + 1 = E, where OB = Owned Bikes and E equals Enough
Yuk, lol I know I am in a huge minority but they have always looked porky to me after having had a 750 Bonnie way back suppose I better get my coat,bag, gloves, slippers,pipe etc
