Triumph Street Triple Motorcycles in Chicago, page #27

Moto blog

South West Motorcycle Show 2010, August 28th & 29th

Need something to do on August Bank Holiday weekend, then read below: "Although the South West Motorcycle Show has been running at the Westpoint Arena for the last sixteen years, 2010 is the first year that the show hosts the all-new Vertical Trix European Stunt Championship. The show contains all the usual attractions that have been delivered to motorcyclists from over the south-west and further afield since 1994 – including all the appropriate trade stands, and with strong support from local dealers – plus attractions such a a dyno on site, restaurant, bar, bike displays, live music and of course the live action arena. Although the action in the show arena has previously been stunt displays, rather than a full-on competition.

Brits Abroad

It's a rainy Tuesday evening and I'm trawling the information super highway for my parallel twin fix, when this little gem pops up. It's a teaser for a film called 'Brittown' featuring vintage Triumph motorcycle racer and mechanic Jeff "Meatball" Tulinius from the Hell On Wheels bike shop in Anaheim, CA. Enjoy

Bikes, beer, BBQ's and racing

Trip Facts Trip Duration – 7 days Total miles covered - 1200 Total spent on fuel – £137 Average distance per pound - 8.75 Miles Total spent on ferry £45 return Dover to Calais Total miles to date 7500 Last month I took a week out and headed over to Liege in Belgium for the 2010 International Police rally. I jumped on a Ferry to Calais, turned left to Dunkirk, Brussels then on to Liege to meet up with the British team. Triumph sent a tank bag specifically made for the Speed Triple to help out on the trip.

2010 Triumph Speed Triple exhausts tested

Over the last month I’ve been busy trying out some of the exhausts available for the Speed Triple. Apart from being very easy to fit, they all claim power gains of around 8bhp and give substantial weight savings. It’s worth noting at this point that Triumph only recommend Arrow cans and discourage the fitting of slip on exhausts especially if they are not mapped to the bike.

A weekend of Lawn mower racing, Big Ed, Muc Off and Carlsberg

Around this time every summer the BMF hold the Garden Of England Motorcycle Show otherwise known as GEMS. The show happens to be round the corner from me so event sponsors MCE Insurance kindly sent me some passes so I could have a look around. Apart from the usual trade stands and crazy arena antics one of the highlights was the national lawn mower racing championship.

Speed Triple gets new boots

Since the spark plug incident last month resulting in the premature demise of the factory fitted Metzlers, I’ve had to find some new rubber for the Speed Triple. With the Triumph’s punchy engine Commuting 1800 miles a month on motorways and city roads, I need something that will cover decent miles but also be up for some frequent country lane antics. With the BT023’s Bridgestone claim longer life with solid wet weather performance for touring riders whilst satisfying the demands of the keen sport bike riders.

Triumph Speed - A City Tool

The Triple and I have covered 2500 miles now and most of that has been commuting through London. Last year I was riding Kawasaki’s ZX-6R and the constant gear changing, braking and acceleration was taking its toll. After 5000 miles the Kwak was feeling loose, rough and generally hard to ride smoothly.

Triumph riding experience

Just got back from a sunny Silverstone where we’ve been given the chance to sample Triumph’s Riding Experience. Very nice it was, too. It’s not a track day.

Speed Triple exhausts

The Speed Triple sounds quite throaty with the standard pipes, on the overrun it pops and farts to its heart content but it could be louder. Also standard pipes are usually quite heavy, on the Triple they weigh 9.3kg!!! Triumphs preferred exhaust manufacture is Arrow and they offer side and under seat options as official Triumph accessories.

Riding in groups

Saturday morning was a stonker wasn’t it? A group of us ranging from neighbours, brothers, mates and girlfriends got up and headed down to the coast for a spot of bacon and eggs. We had a real diverse selection or bikes actually with a GSX1400, XJR1300, Triumph Speedmaster, MT01, A Yamaha R1 and my Triumph Speed Triple.