I was looking through craigslist checking for deals, bits and pieces, and ran across an ad for a 96 Trophy 1200. Out of pure curiousity I contacted the seller and arranged a time to check it out.
The Trophy 1200 was my bike of choice when I was looking for a replacement for my Sprint ST when I came across the TigerTriple web site and started looking into the 955i Tiger as another option. I found a good Tiger before I found a Trophy, bought it and have been happy ever since..... but the lingering question has always been there; what would a Trophy be like?
My wife's unhappy glare followed me as I left, I headed over to the seller's house and see the bike on a battery charger with no license plate. It's clean, not dusty, and partially burried in the very full garage. He tells me he's the second owner, bought the bike back in June to learn how to ride, but a friend of his was injured in a bike accident a week or so later and it scared him out of his desire, so it's sat until now.
I inspected everything as best I could, put half a gallon of gas in the tank, primed the engine and fired it off. It ran, but very rough, so the carbs will need some attention and a good cleaning. The cables and chain are very dry, but in decent shape, and the Conti Road Attack tires are at about 80%.
The seller was asking $3000, I offered him $2400 and he took it. Even threw in a brand new, still in the box, Scorpion EXO700 helmet, an MRA tall touring windscreen and a battery charger/tender.
A little polish, some cleaning and general maintenance and I have another sport touring machine unlike everything else out there on the road. I figure if I decide I don't like it or need it, I can easily sell it off for what I'm into it and keep the wife happy (is that possible...??) by at least breaking even, if not making a few $$.
Fortunately I have 1700 sq/ft of garage space, a bike lift and lots of left over valve shims from the T-bird, Sprint and Tiger.
That makes 3 Triumphs and 2 Harleys in the garage... is there a cure for this addiction?
Pics to follow after I pick it up on Saturday Morning......
RIGHT ON - BROTHER :D
Quote from: "Tom Herold"1700 sq/ft of garage space,
:icon_salut
And only 5 bikes?
Congrats.
This thread is worthless without pictures! :twisted:
Quote from: "Tom Herold"That makes 3 Triumphs and 2 Harleys in the garage... is there a cure for this addiction?......
nope it just keeps getting worse , you kid yourself that you are no longer addicted and you sell a few and then one day b4 you know it the garage is full again .............................
It's hopeless......
Yes, 1700 sq/ft and only 5 bikes...... a full motorcycle lift...... and a classic Chevy truck under full restoration..... and my 94 Impala SS garage queen/Saturday Night cruiser...... and my wood working shop......
It's a tough life, you should all feel sorry for me..... :P
Pics will follow after I pick it up on Saturday :thumbsup
Quote from: "Tom Herold"... is there a cure for this addiction?
Yes, death :roll:
Congrats. I've always been intrigued by this bike. I'm anxious to hear what you think of it.
..... and Charleston ain't a bad place to live either..... (whether you have a bike or not)
Nice purchase! I was looking at a 1996 Trophy 900 in British Racing Green. I always wanted a Trophy, but well preserved examples are getting harder to find. They are bullet proof motorcycles, and almost as do-it-all as the Tiger.
BTW, my wife is the same way. No cure for it. Just live with it.
My garage is a 1/4 the size and doesn't have any of your creature comforts. You lucky prick. :P
Yes.... it's a burden I carry without reservation...... I love living in Charleston; practically year-round riding. The problem I'm running into is which bike I should ride to work or to the beach...????
Tomorrow's Trophy Day!!!!! :mrgreen:
you make me sick
:D
You know you still love me!!!
Hey, I'm retired once already and working on my second career, no kids at home, my wife's employed fulltime and enjoying her career, so I'm living the wretched life of excess and my second (third.... maybe fourth...) childhood.
The wife's not neglected in anyway either, so I don't have to listen to her bitchin' at me about my toys. The bonus is she enjoys them too!
You can't take it with you, so why not?
Good man, lucky dog
Here she is! No drooling on the paint boys and keep your grubby fingers to yourselves! :D
:D :D :D
Sweet
Quote from: "John Stenhouse"Sweet
+1
Thats purty. Nice find.
So whats the 1200 in these? Just a bigger triple or something else?
that thing's sweet - - - - you still make me sick :D
by the way, can i come over and play?
aeronca, I have plenty of toys and I don't mind sharing, come on over! :mrgreen:
The inline four in the Trophy is the same engine as the triple in the Hinckley Classics, Trophy 900, and I believe early Tigers, which are 885's, they just added another cylinder. Triumph is known for "parts bin" bikes, which is something I appreciate because a lot of parts and pieces are interchangeable and, in theory, more accessible.
The 96 Thunderbird I restored has the 885 in it. When I pulled it apart to rebuild, I found it's simplicity refreshing and the working parts to be of a very high quality. That's why I didn't have any reservation when the deal on this Trophy popped up, the engines are known for their durability and longevity. This bike is 13 years old and only has 19000 miles on it. That's only around 1500 miles a year. I put 1500 miles on a bike in a month!
Over the next couple of weeks I'll do the valve shims (the tool Mustang sold me's getting a workout this year!), and other stuff needed to ensure it's healthy then wring it out and see what she's got.
The problem now is the wife sat on it with the side stand down and stated it fit her nicely, she can flat foot it at a stop and is already looking forward to giving it a spin. She already adopted my T-Bird as her own and now she's eye balling my Trophy...... :BangHead It's a good thing the Tiger's so tall that she can't even beging to think about getting on it or I'd probably lose that too!