seattle cycle show

[aeronca]

last weekend i went on down to the seattle cycle show and was pretty disapointed.the italian's brought out some cool stuff, but that was pretty much it. i think most of the bikes at the show were your run "o" the mill cruiser's. i could'nt get with in 10 feet of the new f800gs, it was surounded by about 7,452 sweater clad loafer wearin blue hairs all talking about how they would of done it diferent if they were in "long way round".i doubt if 99% of them ever even been off road.and then some snotty highbrow beemer rep proceeded to enlighten me on how much he disliked triumph tigers, as if we were some kind of uncooth subculture. well I AM!.  i see milions of gs beemer's out hear in the great northwest, but never off road,and mostly in the sun shine(dont want to get there tour tech box's dirty on there way down to the wine shoppe).  i guess it's like all the suv's driving around. thank god for the KTM display. at least those guy's were wearing hiking boots.nice bike's too.  triumph had two - yes, two motorcycles at the show, a 1050 tiger and a 675 triple. the tiger kind of sat a lot like a vstrom - not to bad,not great, not out of the question. but the vstrom was really nice. maybe next year. i wish yamaha was bringing the xt660 to the states, but like the new transalp - it aint happin'n. oh well, piss on you BMW and your over priced and rated machines.

[Stretch]

Heh.  Pretty funny, a BMW robot dogging Triumphs.

BMW:
Final drive failures, CanBus failures, right cylinders seizing, clutch splines stripping, rear crankshaft seal failures, ABS problems and failures resulting in NO BRAKES...

Yeah do us a favor... keep all the posers on your brand, leaving the Tigers for those of us who actually ride.

[aeronca]

you know it brother. on the up side, if i did buy a gs - i would get a really nice sweater and loafer collection. the sad thing is that the f800gs is a really nice bike, and i would'nt kick it out of the ol' garage. i just cant stand the snobery from either camp(harley or beemer). it's all good in the big pic, ya know.

[TigerTrax]

Look at it this way....
If Starbucks had a 'bike show'  it would be Beemers and Scooters
clammering over 'cranberry coffe' and some berry-nut roll.

Heaven forbid you show up with a dead bug on your jacket! ( You low life bug killer! )

[Stretch]

Which is why I love Tigers and the Tiger crowd... they're independent, even from each other.

There are no lemmings, no posers, no "collective".  You either ride a Tiger, or you do not.

Some prefer dirt, some only the road, some both... and it's all good.

God Bless John Bloor!

[HappyMan]

Interesting.  I'd never put together the Cruiser crowd and BMW Adventure bike crowd connection but I think you are right.  Quite frankly there are probably a lot of correlation's like that you could put together.

I've been riding Beemer's for a number of years.  I never got together with another BMW rider during all those years.  At least not for a ride.  I met some of the nicest people though through BMWST.com.  People I have met by chance that ride Beemers, very nice people.

I've heard of the snobbery that you speak of and quite frankly I've never run into it.  I don't doubt that it exists though I've found most snobbery to be more perception than real.  I'll admit that I'm a bit harsh when it comes to people that ride because they think it makes them look cool versus someone like myself that rides out of sheer passion.  So in my own way I guess I can be a snob too.  When I take my DR650 out for a ride I find that people riding "real" motorcycles don't wave at me.  When I'm on the Beemer I get different responses.  On the other hand I've found that 95% of the time, regardless if they are on a Harley or a Scooter, if I wave early enough they all wave back.  So when I think that someone is a snob because they didn't wave at me I remind myself that I didn't give them enough time or I myself didn't wave.  I have found people that own BMWs to whine a lot more than any other brand......

I'm actually glad to buy the Triumph.  I really like the passion you guys have for your bikes.  Triumphs have always been on my list of bikes to have.  I suspect I'll buy another BMW someday.  It was a great bike.

I'm looking forward to meeting some of you Tiger riders.  You appear to have the passion for riding that I have and can relate to.  I'm glad to "almost" be one of you!

[TigerTrax]

Happy Man....
.. you said it yourself, you never hung around other BMW riders... when you rode a BMW. Now you have a Triumph and feel better...and you haven't even ridden with us!

Just think, all those years of riding while constipated!
Even though there were 'berries & nuts' in those rolls, it ain't enough to push the frustration and guilt that was building up inside.

I'd bet you can actually run faster and jump higher now!

Next thing you know...... you'll be staying at a Holiday Inn Express.

What a life. You and GEICO lizard.

[HappyMan]

Happy Man....
.. you said it yourself, you never hung around other BMW riders... when you rode a BMW. Now you have a Triumph and feel better...and you haven't even ridden with us!

Just think, all those years of riding while constipated!
Even though there were 'berries & nuts' in those rolls, it ain't enough to push the frustration and guilt that was building up inside.

I'd bet you can actually run faster and jump higher now!

Next thing you know...... you'll be staying at a Holiday Inn Express.

What a life. You and GEICO lizard.

+1  Nice response!!

There is some truth to that.  While I never experienced it I'm actually glad that people won't just assume that because I ride a Beemer that I'm a stuck up prick.

I think the people you are talking about are no different than the posers that ride cruisers and expect us to think that they truly ride motorcycles.  They only ride becuase they think it's a cool thing to do so people will look at them and say "oooh!".  The people you are speaking of probably only want others to think that they must be rich because they can afford a Beemer.

I know of what you speak but I never met them.

Now, I've owned and still own many makes and models.  It's not the bike but the people that ride them.

[JetdocX]

My previous bike was an F650.  I found that a lot of the "boxer" crowd looked down their noses at these "chain driven bikes" :shock: .  But I only knew one big GS owner that could ride that pig offorad (and he had the mad skyllz, too 8) ).  Meanwhile, we would leave them to their coffee shop hopping and head down the dusty trail.  

Not the same with the F650 crowd.  They like to ride with anybody who likes to ride.  I still have a lot of F650 friends and none of them is too snobby to drool over my BRG Steamer.

BMW as a motorcycle manufacturer has a lot of stupid ideas about what does and does not belong on a bike and I could literally go on for hours down that path, but I won't.  I will say they have no solid ground to stand on when they badmouth Triumphs.

Me?  I'd probably LOVE an F800GS, but I'm not going to buy one new and definitely not buying a beta tester (first year) model from those clowns.

So what is my point?  I forget. :oops:

[HappyMan]

...So what is my point?  I forget. :oops:

 :mrgreen:  :mrgreen:  :mrgreen:

I think it's just the character of the one riding it.  Poser vs. Non Poser.

[Stretch]

I found that a lot of the "boxer" crowd looked down their noses at these "chain driven bikes"

While traveling this past summer, I ran across two BMW riders at non-BMW shops, hoping that they could get their final drives rebuilt before they ran out of vacation time and money.  I expressed my condolences for their delayed trips and newly-tightened budgets, and went on my way... on my chain-driven bike.

They can look down their noses all they want.  A couple hundred bucks and two hours' time and my driveline is as good as new.  And I can tell when it's approaching the end of its service life, so I can go ahead and do the work before I go on a trip.  Try that with a BMW FD.

Yep, chains ain't bad.

[HappyMan]

I found that a lot of the "boxer" crowd looked down their noses at these "chain driven bikes"

This past summer I ran across two BMW riders looking for a local shop that would rebuild their final drives.

They can look down their noses all they want.  A couple hundred bucks and two hours' time and my chain is as good as new.  And I can tell when it's approaching the end of its service life, so I can go ahead and do the work before I go on a trip.  Try that with a BMW FD.

Yep, chains ain't bad.

Having both chaiin and shaft I would agree with you.  Many people have asked me during past purchases why I would buy anything but shaft drive.  I always told them I was buying in spite of the shaft drive.  Yes, there are some nice things about shaft but I much prefer the advantages of chain, most of which you've already covered.  

I'd prefer to not get shafted...... :roll:

[Stretch]

My last bike was shaft-drive, a Honda V45 Super Magna.  It was bullet-proof... no trouble whatsoever.  But it had a two-sided swingarm... the stress on the hub bearings is minimal compared to a single-side swingarm with shaft-drive.  The BMW bearings are simply too small, but BMW Motorwerk won't change their design because larger bearings would result in a larger, less aesthetically-pleasing final drive.

Fine.  Keep your dainty, pretty hub with the see-through axle.  I'll be out riding.

[HappyMan]

Germans are stubborn!  (I am one...)

I need a break from work so I can take this Tigger for a ride.  How's the weather in Georgia next month?  Any good places to ride?

[Stretch]

Hell yeah, I just walked in the door.  Did a couple hundred miles today, riding with three black-and-chrome cruiser riding friends.  We stuck to mountain roads, crossed a couple gaps, and the related twisties.  A large time was had by all.

One dude hadn't been out with us before, nor had he ever seen a dolled-up ADV bike.  He didn't know what to think of it, especially with the TKC's.  I guess he thought they would have to constantly wait on me, like I was riding an XL250 or something.

After smoking his ass off the line a couple times, I think he got the picture.  The other two dudes who had ridden with me before had me lead in the twisties, so I could lean 'er over a bit.  I would go charging on through a section, then slow up and wait for the low-riders to catch up.

Me getting air over a railroad crossing got his attention also.   :mrgreen: