More Power!

As all of you probably know by now; my ride is a 2007 Triumph Bonneville T100.

Besides the added tachometer and chromed pipes & transmission covers, the designation "T100" is representative of the fact that back in the day when these bikes were popular as café racers, the benchmark was to break 100 mph; otherwise known as “The Ton” and hence the saying “Ton Up”.

I’ve yet to achieve “The Ton” with my bike. I blame this more on the fact that my excess weight brings me closer to “Two Up” riding and not on the bike's ability.

For the most part the Bonneville does everything I need it to do. The only times that wish I had more power is when trying to pass on the highway or trying to keep up with more powerful bikes, riding over the speed limit, on long straightaways.

The link below leads to an article put out by Roadrunner Magazine regarding the writer’s choice of a 2005 Suzuki DL650 V-Strom. I can sympathize with his lament about the attitude given to him by riders of larger bikes.
http://www.roadrunner.travel/2013/11/16/group-riding-keepin-up/

Mike Demers worked a Suzuki Demo ride that was held at Motosport Nation in Planifield in 2012. He suggested that I try the 650 V-Strom stating that he preferred it to the 1000 cc model because it had plenty of power and was lighter to handle. I tried both models that day and came away with a preference for the 1000 cc bike. Perhaps my weight demanded more power than Mike’s or perhaps Mike, being a more accomplished rider, could feel the difference in handling more than I did.

On a separate note; this was the first “Thumper”, single cylinder engine, that I had ridden and I don’t think I could ever get use to the heavy vibration throughout the bike. This is another reason why I preferred the larger bike; its engine was bit smoother.

My brother-in-law, Rob, got bit by the motorcycle bug after I bought the Bonneville. He rushed out and picked up a Kawasaki Vulcan 500. I wished, and later he too wished, that he had talked to me first.

I had been fortunate when looking for a new bike to have the guidance of another bother-in-law, George, who is one of those guys who really investigates all the angles before making a decision. I chose the Bonneville with his advice and it has been a very good fit for me.

Rob on the other hand looked like your father trying to ride the tricycle you had when you were five years old! He had back problems, knee problems and perhaps most importantly, image problems.

Rob lives about an hour and a half south of Lake George, NY. So we’d cruise on up to Americade every Summer and test ride all the bikes we could get on. I was always eager to try the Sport Touring bikes and he the Cruisers. So we’d invariably end up riding bikes that we weren’t initially interested in. This was good because it gave us a chance to really find out what we liked, and what we “thought” we liked. Every year Rob would drool over the Victory’s. He test rode them all and kept coming back to the Crossroads model.

After a few years (and a few arguments with my sister!), he bit the bullet and traded in the Vulcan 500 for the Crossroads and I’m so glad that he did. On the Vulcan 500 Rob had to make frequent stops and avoided many of the back roads. One trip we took together through New England was sponsored by Backroads magazine.

It was a very laid back event that made for a really good time. The idea was to book a room at specific hotels, on specific dates where we could all meet up. They provided route details via GPS waypoints. Not having a GPS myself, I relied on Rob to handle navigation.

The first day of riding was from Southbridge, MA to Boothbay, ME. We rode I95 almost the entire way and were some of the first to arrive. Later that evening, catching up with some other riders, I learned that they had followed different waypoints that took them down numerous “Backroads” (as the name of the magazine suggests!). I quickly made friends with a couple of guys and told Rob that we’d follow them the next day. What a different experience!

Rob, Vinny and Mike at a gas and bladder stop.

Following these two sport touring bikes (a Suzuki Hyabusa and a Yamaha FJR1300) Rob did have a tough time keeping up. We did make frequent stops (partly due to my Bonneville stalling in the rain, but that’s another story) but Rob continued to have aches and pains that effected his riding.