A little backstory here: I had to ride a motorcycle all through high school because it was all I could afford. Riding a motorcycle in high school is generally perceived as cool, and in many ways it is, but when you have to do it it's not all it's cracked up to be. I grew up in Northern California, and winters on a motorcycle in the rain and sleet are no joke. Perhaps that's why I haven't owned a bike since.
Yesterday I became aware of a very special motorcycle. I've always been a fan of Triumph and their engineering, and I told myself if I ever owned another bike it would be one of theirs. Back home in New Orleans, every middle-aged dickhead and his half-retard brother rides a Harley. I have nothing against HD because they make a great bike, but if I'm gonna become an organ donor at 90mph, it's not gonna be on the same goddam sled every other jamoke is riding.
It's not important how I became aware of the special edition Steve McQueen Triumph, what is important was my reaction to it. I literally had to have that bike. Those who've seen The Great Escape will know what I'm talking about. It's the bike McQueen used to escape the prison camp by
while being chased by a Nazi horde.The motorcycle was formally announced in April, but I didn't think there would be much demand for it in the States. On top of that, I figured I could save a couple grand by buying it in the US instead of at the Triumph dealer across the street from my house. So I called the Triumph dealer back home in New Orleans (once I recovered from the shock that there's a Triumph dealer in New Orleans). I actually had my credit card out and ready to pay for the bike when I called, and I was gonna have my father-in-law come down and pick it up in his truck.
The guy answered the phone and when I told him what I wanted he said, "Brah, come on. They only made 1,100 of them. I'm one of the top dealers in the US and I only got 3. And they were sold in November. You're not even gonna see 'em on eBay for a couple years. And they won't even get shipped until next month."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I connected with that bike. That bike has a solo seat, so it represented my escape from the wife and kids and everything else that can be a drag in my life. That bike was my alone time. And I was too late. It was almost more than I could bear.
"How much did you sell them for?" I asked.
"I don't know. I think ten grand was the MSRP." he answered.
"What if I offered you twenty right now? Right this minute with a credit card?" I was desperate for that alone time on a sweet bike.
"There's no chance, man. I sold them to collectors, and the guys I sold them to probably won't ever sell them. Sorry, man."
I was heartbroken.
I've since recovered, but now I know that I have to have one. And if I have to wait a couple years I will. That's just a beautiful bike.
And of course, there's this:
My condolences. I'll ride a HD Night Rod with a Batman suit on in your honor this weekend.
Triumph is a great company, though. The last thing my grandfather did with his life was rebuild and restore a TR3 (not sure what the relationship b/w the motorcycle co. and the motor co. was). Now it's sitting in my father's garage. Beautiful machine.
Definitely a sweet bike. I'm also a fan of the street triple that Triumph makes.
Sorry to hear you couldn't get one.
And here I thought your heart was broken just like mine...Miley Cyrus got engaged....absolutely gutted
Beautiful bike indeed. Tough luck for you, but keep searching!
Cool bike...
On a side note, have you seen On Any Sunday? it's a 1970s documentary on motorcycle racing. Steve McQueen is in it. Good to see that he actually loved and raced bikes.
I am sure that it can be found somewhere still. Keep searching!
The title had me wondering if ratinamaze was back.
The Great Escape was awesome, it was one of the first movies I ever saw from that period of time and it blew me away. Maybe you can convince an owner to sell? Sometimes people buy stuff just because it's hot at the moment and then you can capitalize on the buyer's remorse?
is it weird that i miss ratinamaze?
Great bike. I love my Scrambler.
Faster is the greatest motorcycle documentary...the 500cc two strokes were utterly insane. As for the Triumph, I hear ya. It's a great nostalgia product and I'm surprised they didn't make more. You'll find one on ebay or craigslist or cycle trader within the year. The desmosedici was sold out and on ebay within months.
Yep, all well done. Please, for the love of Allah, start on a 250. Take it to the track, flog the hell out of it and you'll be infinitely better than anyone starting on a 6 or 1000. I'd recommend starting on dirt as you learn more technicals and will probably have more fun than on street. I'm on my 13th motorcycle and can't get enough of em.
I can totally understand. No really. I ride a sporster. Light, nimble around the corners, but nowhere near the coolness of this one.
Get a Ural with sidecar (you can do groceries lol..), Enfield (used to be British, now Indian, I think they export to US, 300cc).
Sorry. I know nothing would make you feel any better. How about a triumph or ducati classic until you wait for this one to pop up on ebay?
That's a fun bike.
Triumph has always been the Jaguar, maybe the Aston Martin of bikes. That said, I like the Daytona a lot more:
crotch rockets
The lesson is don't be a Stu. Be a Steve, if it's even possible to just BE a Steve.
Nice bike though, only 400 will be distributed in the US.
have very little experience with triumph, considering a street triple for weekend riding (I have no desire to commute in Manhattan on a bike). had a ninja 500R before college, but haven't owned a bike since then. this one seems like a good deal and should let me easily sell it and trade up to the speed triple if I find myself doing more track time than road time.
v rod is an option as well, but being from the midwest I never really had that much respect for 90%+ of the members of the harley club.
^check out the m109r, much better than the vrod in my opinion. you might like it too
Fuck my life. The Triumph Daytona konked out in midtown yesterday. Literally, the entire bike just shut down- tach still stuck at 5K. I rolled to a stop; checked the battery; checked the fuse, worried it's probably the voltage regulator. (TERRIBLE problem on Triumphs).
Thankfully, I was 5 blocks from home. Unthankfully, it was 6PM on a Saturday and all of the dealerships and repair shops were closed until Monday.
Eddie, maybe missing the Triumph is a blessing in disguise. Stick to a Big Four motorcycle or a Harley/Buell. The exotic bikes have terrible engineering and maintenance snafus.
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