As some of our regular followers might have picked up, I am an avid biker. I even commute 50 miles every day into London on my motorbike. Often when I tell people this their first reaction is “Are you crazy?” or “ Isn’t that dangerous?”. However, not only do I find public transport into London unreliable, expensive and uncomfortable but I genuinely enjoy riding to and from work. I am sure that there are not many people who can say they enjoy their commute as much. I also own a growing collection of motorcycles too, almost all of which are in pieces in my shed waiting for me to attempt to put them back together.
That being said, I am also incredibly unlucky with motorcycles and this trend of bad fortune has recently lead to my biggest British purchase so far.
I recently broke down on my way home from work only to spend 2 and a half hours on the hard shoulder of the motorway waiting for the AA to turn up. The issue was simple – a snapped chain on my 18 month old Italian bike (I will not name the manufacturer as this story gets worse and I do not want this post to be about having a dig). The AA eventually go the stricken bike to garage (yes – I could have repaired something so simple myself but the bike was still under warranty so I did not want to touch it) and some time later I received a call from a rather solemn sounding mechanic. He proceeded to tell me that there were multiple issues with the bike and that repair was going to cost me £1500, the repair was not covered by the warranty… and they could not use British made parts.
This bike was simply not worth the investment so I have had to trade it in and count my losses (which were considerable). I spent some frantic hours looking for a suitable British made replacement straight away. The choices were limited. CCM and Norton do not make practical commuters so it was going to have to be a Triumph. Narrowing the search down further I decided upon the Triumph Tiger Explorer which is being billed as almost bullet proof! If it lasts more than 2 years in my hands without blowing up, melting down or generally falling apart I will be very willing to agree to this being fact, for the time being however, I am sceptical. Anyhow, this was about my best option from a very limited list to choose from.
I took delivery of my new motorcycle on Monday and I must admit that it is a fantastic machine but I am conscious that I do not want this to become a review of the bike itself so I will stop there.
If you were to ask me if this is the bike I would have chosen if it were not for our project, then I would have to honestly answer no. I would likely have gone for a Yamaha and certainly something far cheaper.
However, this is our most extravagant British purchase… so far.
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Congratulation. 🙂
it can’t be worse than the other foreign bikes you have had apparently, so good luck with it, think positive !.
I agree with Tinyeco uk. Well done! I don’t Twitter so can’t follow you completely. Do email to your blogs however – you are really inspiring – and as before wish you well – I live in small village Derbyshire (where born) – Peak District – wonderful – and commuted in London for 22 plus years and it was sheer hell. Twenty plus years!! Go motorbike James, go!
You really are inspiring in your achievments!
Nice! Did you know Yamaha’s
first bike was a BSA made under licence?
So pleased someone else feels the same as me.Ive found the Germans,French,Spanish and the Greeks, buy far more of there own products than us. Those in charge of supermarkets seem to buy far more European products than they should be.British farmers are getting less and less. Not many farmers producing ,milk ,veg etc. Thankfully there are a few farmers markets, but we need more, and people to support them.We need to be more like Germany,France,Sain who look after themselves a lot more than we do. I say we should be doing the same as them.the very best of luck with your massive task, I for one am 100% with you. PEOPLE START BUYING BRITISH OR I’M AFRAID WE ARE GOING DOWN THE SWANNY RIVER
Conratulations on your new purchase. Superb Bike. I had a Triumph Daytona 955i for three years and 25,000 trouble free miles. It was a fantastic bike, never failed to put a smile on my face and I am in the process of trying to decide which bike to buy from there present range. Also if you get a chance go on a factory visit, they really have been an against the odds British success story.
Love the bike ~ so, a week on, how are we getting on with it?
Triumph make great bikes and have come a long way since their troubles in the 80s. A brand new factory and range of bikes and new owners determined to make them a success mean they are now competing worldwide and exporting bikes bringing money into the country.