Your face would have looked like you had a night out in Wetherspoons but at least you wouldn’t have needed to clean your visor.
A well written and thought provoking piece you wrote Tim. We are all different and our choice of motorcycle, the same goes for the riding kit we wear, I would not criticise or judge anyone's preference to what kit they choose to ride in for whatever reason. What I can remember was the time seat belts and helmets were not compulsory, if a person was suspected of driving/riding whilst intoxicated, all you were asked to do was walk in a straight line, however would you dream of going back to those days, personally for me a resounding no. I was in Raceways a while back and a guy was looking at some kit and a helmet for his wife, he was stood next to me discussing what to buy with Wendy the wife of Steve (owner of Raceways), he was saying "well my wife only goes on the back occasionally, so I don't see the point of spending much", he had rocked up on the MT SP he bought from them, complete with one piece leathers, quality boots, gloves and helmet, he asked me my thoughts, my simple answer was this "how much do you love your wife", the penny had not dropped, I said what if that occasional ride out saw you involved in an accident through no fault of your own, even say 10 to 15 MPH hitting tarmac and gravel, he said he had not thought of it like that, he bought his wife kit that afforded her the best protection, I guess he really loved her. It is fact that should you be unfortunate to go down the road, the heat build up is very high indeed, certain fabrics cause that much heat to be generated it causes massive friction burns to the skin, I very recently saw a bike fall over at a standstill onto the rider, we helped pick his bike up and off him, however the hot exhaust melted the outer of his fabric trousers, to say he was shocked would be an understatement. From a personal point of view I only wear 1 piece leathers that have L2 protection, with a friction resistant under suit, quality leather gloves, boots and helmet, my 2 sons are the same with their riding kit. It's a very personal thing our riding kit as I mentioned at the beginning, as long as a person is happy with what they choose I respect that. Regarding the Triumph lifestyle this is not unique to them, almost all manufacturers try to get people to buy into their particular lifestyle (Harley Davidson) have been doing it for years and are exceptionally good at it, even recommending cleaning products with their logo on (polishes and cleaning products for example), saying other products may adversely affect the finish (what utter rubbish), the same goes for coolant and brake fluids, and engine oil, in most dealerships it's Oh Sir anything other that XYZ if not used may invalidate the warranty, many really do buy into this marketing ploy and end up spending much more than they should. Ride safe all.
"You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda" said Soichiro's boys.............. early to mid-sixties i'm guessing
Is Triumph a lifestyle brand? For some yes, for me maybe. Certainly after buying the bike I ensured that a few suitably branded/styled t-shirts followed and a Triumph-branded leather jacket was a must as I was given £500 to spend on kit when I bought the bike. As for the open face lid, yeah, I'll probably go down that route too on sunny days. But the important thing is does all this detract from the fact that my Bonneville is a great bike? No. With or without the retro accompaniments, It's a fine motorcycle and that, ultimately, is why I own one.
