The Golden Van

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Lost Youth

A reprint from August 2009 when I tested a Triumph with clip on handlebars and decided I prefer my standard Bonneville. That was seven years ago too.

"The past is another country- they do things differently there." I have always had a hankering for a Triumph Thruxton under my bum, to more accurately reflect my nostalgia for my very well spent motorcycling youth. Something like this:

When I was a kid I never quite understood who bought the "Touring" models of the motorcycles that interested me. My first bike, after my moped years, was an MV Agusta 350, with clip on handlebars, just like the 2007 Thruxton pictured above. My next motorcycle was a Moto Morini also the 350 Sport model with stubby little handlebars and a crouched riding position and another flame red paint job. After 200 miles on the Thruxton pictured above I admire my long lost youth more than I would have thought possible. How the hell did I ever ride Europe from one end to the other crouched like that? I can't do it any more, that's for sure!

My wife said to me out of the blue one day last week "I've been looking up motorcycle rentals in Ocala but I can't find any..." and she then announced that when our little road trip stopped at Nancy's place in Ocala I would have the day off while they went shopping and would I like to rent a bike to go for a ride by myself...? Like proverbial wild bear crapping in the woods I got to work with Google figuring my wife just couldn't find what must be there- a rental in Ocala. Well, there wasn't but I did come across Modern Classic Motorcycle Rentals of Orlando and I started to figure how far Orlando was from Ocala. It seemed do-able so I called Frank.

Clearly a man after my own heart he gushed about his Triumphs for rent-he's owned a Bonneville since they were first imported in 2001- and at $69 for eight hours I easily talked myself into a day on a Thruxton. For $49 I could have had a Bonneville or Scrambler! With insurance and stuff the total 8 hours on the red rocket came to just about $100 an excellent deal by any standard. I was real happy to find my way to Frank's house and pick up the Thruxton, a brand new carburetted 2007 model with just 280 miles on the clock. It looked incredible.

The Thruxton (or more properly as Frank would have it the Bonneville Thruxton) is based on the Bonneville 865cc engine and frame with just a few modifications to give it the factory café racer look. It has a smaller 18 inch front wheel, clip on handlebars, and upgraded front forks. The foot pegs are rather fancier than the Bonneville's sturdy rubber clogs and Triumph has used some rather nice hardwear to attach them to the bike:

The rider's feet are pushed into a toe down position and the brake and gear controls are substantially lower than the Bonneville's... which combined with the truly tiny handlebars makes you feel like a boy racer as soon as you fire up the docile and easily managed engine.

Look at those big white clocks (tach included!) and those stubby little handlebars and that thick white stripe down the back of the tank, which tank is the same identical to the regular Bonneville's, but just looks different thanks to all the other subtle changes around it. The side panels are the same too, but the writing is different and more aggressive on that gorgeous red background:

The whole package looks a million bucks parked on the refurbished main street of De Land, a satellite community north of Orlando:

After I signed the paperwork for the rental and insurance I found myself alone in downtown Orlando, maneuvering this red jewel through unfamiliar streets and onto the I-4 interstate highway with no time to get used to anything. It was a strange sensation, the controls are as smooth and light as I am used to on my own Bonneville, the engine which supposedly puts out ten more horsepower than my own Bonneville's modest 65, pulled smartly and the cone exhausts gave a pleasing though very civilized rumble as i moved through the five speed gearbox. Handling was firm, just like my own machine with any lightness produced by the slightly smaller front wheel amply compensated for by the short low handlebars. Looking over my shoulders at lane changes was much tougher than I am used to, and though I am short, 5' 06" (168cms) and I have short legs, yet I still was able to clasp the cylinder heads with my knees if I wasn't careful. For taller riders Triumph has added wire guards to the cylinder fins:

The Thruxton invites acceleration, I leaned over the bars, the bright chromed headlamp shell reflecting the sunlight and shining in my face like a beacon. I opened the throttle and the café racer pulled smoothly away. Some people think these modern classic Triumphs are short changed in the horsepower department, as though anything less than a hundred horsepower on a 900cc bike is somehow wrong! Perhaps this style of riding is incomprehensible to a twenty year old looking for a 14,000 rpm deadline on a modern water cooled four cylinder 600cc crotch rocket. The Thruxton is a very different ride and for my money much more pleasant. A few Harley riders waved as they passed in the opposite direction, some of them apparently recognized a classic air cooled ride. I got a second glance from T E Lawrence's doppelganger riding a Ducati 1099 on the freeway, helmetless with his middle aged dyed blond air flapping uncomfortably in the wind. He should have been friendlier as I was closer to a Brough Superior than he was on his Italian exotica. (Lawrence of Arabia loved his Brough Superior motorcycles in the twenties and thirties until he died on one).

I don't know the Orlando area very well and though Frank tried to direct me to some twisties I wanted to try to get out of town and take some country roads well away from the traffic of the big city, and make no mistake, Mickey Mouse's home town is sprawling like you wouldn't believe. Florida is not known for it's great winding motorcycle roads but I gave it my best shot. Every time I saw a side road I took it and ripped up lanes and back roads big and small. I found a failed housing development deep in the woods and spent a happy five minutes snicking through the gears and weaving around my own private race course past the undeveloped housing lots. The bike was brand new so I wasn't pushing anything but I enjoyed the performance I did squeeze out of it. Very calm and middle aged of me. Besides my wrists aren't as resistant as they used to be and the heat was truly astonishing. It was hot as Hades out there, so much so I took off my gloves for a while for relief from the relentless fug of hot air to air my sweaty hands out and let some air up my sleeves.

By the time I got back to Frank's place I had put 203 miles (305kms) on the clock and I think I got around the upper 40s in terms of miles per gallon from two tanks of premium gas that I used. For some reason my own Bonneville returns about 43mpg in the Keys and around 47mpg when I ride the mainland. Perhaps it has to do with the longer straighter, less varied roads:

Frank says he finds the Thruxton's seat more comfortable than the standard Bonneville, though that may just be a function of what you are used to. For me the riding position was just too low.It was great fun for sections of roadway that demanded your attention, and it was much more involving to ride head down and crouched over the front wheel with those delicious clip ons grasped in your mitts, but I found on the ling straight stretches I tended to adopt the more upright position you'll see youngsters take up while riding their crotch rockets at a leisurely pace. I put my left hand on my thigh and stretched my aching lumbar regions from time to time.

There is a reason I guess why so many staid riders in north central Florida, where motorcycles abound, ride those steady old Harley cruisers. I did meet a few fans of those old Triumphs though, people who come up to you when you ride a modern classic and reminisce about the good old days. This dude picking up a 24-pack of Bud for a Sunday afternoon in front of the boob tube took a few minutes to tell me about his 1960s experiences with a Thunderbird. Personally I like the modern part of the classic thing- reliable vibration free riding on a machine that starts every time.

So what about my eight hours and 200 miles on the Thruxton? This is a motorcycle for someone more limber than me and stronger in the wrists, the newer Thruxtons have lost the clip ons and have rather higher, adjustable bars,much to Frank's disgust. I loved getting to ride the bike even if I now know I did the right ting by being sensible and buying the "regular" Bonneville, upright seating position and all. I'm not 19 any more and it's time I realized that. If I had room for a second bike in the garage I don't have, I'd love one of these for my occasional blast around the mountain rides that don't exist in the Keys...

It's stupid and sentimental of me I know but I love this bike. Before I took it back to Frank I sat and stared at it for fifteen minutes. I know its a factory café racer which is a contradiction in terms for the people who used to build their own in the 1960s but Triumph have really hit the nail on the head with this machine, no longer directly produced with carburettors and clip-ons, and thus so much more precious because of it.

As for Modern Classic Motorcycle Rentals you need to call Frank the next time you are in Orlando and he will deliver your bike to your location anywhere around the city, for as long or as short as you want it. He loves these bikes and wants you to love them too. Check it out at Modern Classic Motorcycle Rental (LINK) or by phone at 407 583 6988 and I know you will have as much fun checking out your dream bike as I did.

Saturday, November 26, 2016

95,000 Mile Bonneville

I was looking at oil dripping over the lower areas of the bike last week and wondering if after 9 years and 95,000 miles my favorite motorcycle ever, had blown a serious gasket. So by way of emotional compensation I went to look up past rides and found this, one of my favorite pictures of the Bonneville in action on the Overseas Highway. I remember stopping for a cup of tea and enjoying the bright summer sunlight and the color and the ride aong the only road through the Keys.

I bought the bike brand new in October 2007 from the late lamented Pure Triumph of Fort Lauderdale for exactly $8,000 including the center stand and tax and delivery. I got a short test ride and I thought to myself "This feels like a scooter with gears" so light and easy was it to ride "I must have this." There was no doubt in my wife's mind when I got back to Pure Triumph that a "new" Bonneville was coming into my life. "Is it as reliable as your Japanese bikes?" she asked, and all I could say was that the reviews were excellent. A week later my bike was ready for pick up. I made a reputation for myself at the dealership as I showed up ready to ride 170 miles home. The mechanics in the shop called me "the rider."

Perhaps I had been taking my motorcycle for granted but the catastrophic oil leak manifested itself as a puddle one day, thus saving me from running the engine dry. I envisioned a future of expensive repairs and with one Vespa to be released shortly after a fourth (or is it fifth?) round of renovation with the other Vespa needing to go into the shop for refurbishment I faced the prospect of having to drive the car all the time.
I wasn't sure what to do so I did what I could. I changed the oil filter and the oil and hoped the non name brand filter had sprung a leak. A week later the oil remains in the sump so it appears that a crisis was narrowly averted. We ride on. One thing I like about the Bonneville is the lack of bodywork. The oil change is easy and the filter just falls away dripping on nothing. The final drive chain needs no adjustment between tire changes when I let the mechanic change the tire and thus adjust the chain. I use a Loobman oiler to keep the chain lubricated and it gives me no trouble at all and last 40,000 miles...I like riding not wrenching.

I put a windshield on and some luggage and I called it good. I ride on original suspension and burn original light bulbs, I clean it from time to time with S100 and Brasso for the chrome but I'm not fussy. It only has value for me as my daily rider and for sale I would get nothing. The rectifier burned out at 75,000 miles and $150 later we were back in business. One side panel broke its plastic mounting hole which i covered with a washer and is now sitting tight. I just keep riding and filling it with mid grade fuel which returns 43 miles per US gallon, and never varies unless I ride the freeway.

We've ridden some freeways the Bonneville and I. I went to visit Jack Riepe in Pennsylvania and he polished the windshield for me with some proprietary toothpaste only to have it rain cats and dogs all the way to the Autotrain in Virginia the next day.

I've ridden all over Florida on the motorcycle I call "The Bonneville" or "The Triumph." I have never found any reason to name inanimate objects in my life and I find the need to give human names to lumps of metal rather quaint. It's just a Bonneville and I invest it with sentiment after so many hours in the saddle.

It's hard to articulate why I like the Bonneville so much but after half a century of looking I found the one I like. To me it looks like a bike should, even under dust rust and grime. It runs impeccably even though I know suspension, clutch and sundries will need replacement soon. The speedometer makes an annoying whirr for the first mile in temperatures under 60 (rare in South Florida) and I changed the valve guides a few years ago when Jiri the Mechanic took off the head to de-coke the combustion chamber. He blames ethanol for the crud in the combustion chamber.

I have read where the Bonneville is considered overweight at 500 pounds ready to ride compared to an early model machine built at Meriden which weighed in 60 pounds less. Some people want more horsepower than the 67 said to be churned out here. All I know is I can outrun most family sedans easily, headwinds are no problem and cruising at a steady 75 may use fuel at 38 miles per gallon but you get there. Sure the tank could be bigger, 160 miles will run you dry- I know. The seat works for me though some think it's a plank, the riding position is neutral and the bike is easy to throw around corners not like a boy racer but respectably enough. In traffic it cuts and weaves like a scooter.

I rode a couple of Iron Butts, ridiculous long distance rides, great fun very tiring and very satisfying too, though doing them late in the year was absurd, especially riding to Binghamton in Fall, I froze in the fresh New York air. The bike ran fine of course.

I figured maybe I should lust after a Harley or a "proper" touring bike like the Yamaha 1300 pictured above. But 600 pound motorcycles feel unnecessary to me espccially as I am not touring most of the time. I see a regular commuter on an FJ1300 Yamaha on the Overseas Highway so what doesn't work for me works for others. I tried renting an Indian Chief for a day to see if "the other" cruiser company had got the format more comfortable for me.

Nope, I rode around Central Florida with my arms thrown wide gripping the huge handlebars, my feet splayed like a whore on a couch and my ears ringing to the incredibly loud sound of the factory mufflers. I missed my nimble, silent Triumph. Especially as this beast had six gears and I was shifting all the time and it drank gas at the rate of 30 miles to the gallon. Next week I'm renting a Scout in Las Vegas just for fun but I have no hope of a motorcycle better suited to my needs coming along.

I like the new water cooled Triumphs, especially the 900cc Street Twin (above) in red. It has less horsepower than mine but it gets sixty miles to the gallon, has tubeless tires, lower seat height and weighs 25 pounds less; all for around $8,000 factory dollars. The simplicity and absence of chrome makes it appeal to me more than the "proper" water cooled Bonnevilles with 1200cc to their name and much greater performance. I also like the longer oil change and valve inspection intervals. But in the end my old air cooled ride has plenty of miles left to go and I plan to ride every one of them. Rusty permitting.

The hardest thing about dog ownership is leaving the dog, Rusty now or Cheyenne (above) then, behind. So what am I to do? Get a sidecar? Not yet. But when I become too feeble to ride on two wheels I will consider that and I can't think of a simpler more reliable motorcycle to hack than a Bonneville. I am not an engineer so I don't understand the desire for a Russian combination driven by an engine that needs to be rebuilt every thirty thousand miles. I'd rather be in the wilderness with a Bonneville and a come-along, than a Ural and two wheel drive to get out of a hole. Besides I can't conceive of putting myself that far from civilization in the dirt that you need two wheel drive on a motorcycle prone to failing.

I suppose in the end the fact that I ride instead of repair is a big draw to this motorcycle. Good looking unlike modern standard motorcycles, reliable and easy to ride the Bonneville is perfect for 59 year old me. So easy I am always tempted to jump on at the least excuse.

Triumph Bonneville, Parabellum windshield, Long Key.

Friday, November 25, 2016

Las Vegas

In discussing our recent four day trip to Las Vegas a friend who likes the place described it as "Disney for adults" which was funny because I had the exact same thought while I took my early Thanksgiving dinner with my wife seated at the edge of the lagoon at the Bellagio resort. A perhaps less flattering comparison came to my mind as we strolled the famous Strip: this place is how Key West should be if it got it's public spaces properly organized. To my own surprise I liked Las Vegas very much.

I have visited Las Vegas over the years and have never much enjoyed the place allowing its reputation for sleaze to prejudice my own objective observations. This trip we stayed at a Hilton resort which was smoke and gambling-free, we failed to feed the slot machines and we took advantage of what Las Vegas had to offer with open minds and we enjoyed it tremendously. I want to go back.

My wife who hasn't been there in forty years was horrified to discover the slot machines take a minimum of a dollar at the airport...that put her off completely which is funny as her father was an accomplished and profitable poker player. I have no interest in throwing money away, unless it's on motorcycles or travel so we both saw eye to eye on that. On the surface and from the 19th floor Las Vegas is just a collection of random buildings...

....some of them strangely beautiful or garish depending on your point of view. But then all of Las Vegas is tasteless and crass, and in that way this place is totally liberating. Las Vegas to me represents the true essence of island time, such as they speak of in Key West. You are completely free to do whatever you want all day or all night. Now they have even legalized marijuana so I don't know where that will lead. Most places have no dress code, and those that do state as much clearly so you can take the opportunity to dress up, so come to Las Vegas be yourself and no one will notice or care. It's fantastic!

I remember when this place was cheesy neon and free shrimp cocktails and so forth, and there are remnants of the old Las Vegas at least superficially but when we went for a walk on the strip for several hours around dusk we found a place where you can walk at all hours with no fear in a place that is kept clean and spotless and not one drunk did we notice.

Imagine the Osmonds still performing to sell out crowds...some things never change!

The half size Eiffel Tower...

...the magnificent and over crowded Bellagio resort where I would never want to stay but where the best of the many Cirque du Soleil performances in town was well worth a jaw dropping visit:

We ate at the edge of the lagoon our last night. Like I said garish and absurd but totally cheerful and welcoming. One thing I have always liked about Las Vegas is that its a union town and the staff we encountered reflected that with long term employment and loyalty to the companies that treat them well. Tips are appreciated but people get paid to stay on the job and grow with the companies:

And in the middle of fake opulence and garish bright lights the inevitable:

Duval Street should boast street performers and entertainers such as we saw. Sober polite and skilled:

And cheerful bums minding their own business. We saw no drunks, the place smelled clean and crosswalks were replaced by pedestrian bridges at major intersections. The strip was manicured and landscaped and patrolled by bicycle police just like ours in Key West.

We walked among crowds who were boisterous and speaking a Babel of languages but no one was acting angry or belligerent. Show girls ready to be photographed with you:

I suppose we lucked out and one could have a completely different experience but we could have spent a lot more time on the Strip people watching and window gazing. I did miss public benches just like I do at home but they do like to keep people moving in these spaces.

You pay a tip and these blonde bombshells will cuff you for the privilege of a selfie with them. There are tons of your favorite (or unknown to you) cartoon characters wandering around ready to be photographed with you. This to me was the part of Vegas that harks back to the more innocent era when women in underwear reeked of quickie divorces and suburban lust. It's not really what this town is about now, they make more money acting respectable.

Who could resist a gondola ride while being serenaded by a chorus of O Sole Mio? Me, that's who. Especially on a 45 degree night in November but they had takers.

The whole place was like a walk in the park and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Extravagance with a precious commodity in the desert:

If you like me always wondered about how they film street scenes in public places I saw this sign nut no sign of actual filming:

We walked past tons of dens of iniquity, boring places filled with blank faces and the smell of burnt tobacco, photographed rather poorly on the fly, the workers keeping things spotless of course:

Everywhere I looked there were wonders to be seen. We left ourselves no time for museum visits and there are plenty...

Beside the themed resorts with their bizarre cultural roots, Egyptians, Romans, Italians, French and so forth there are tons of brightly illuminated tower blocks everywhere. No shortage of energy wastage here:

Lyft was a new experience for me and gave me a chance to engage with half a dozen locals talking about their lives, transplants mostly from California in search of affordable housing and reliable jobs and one guy from the Bronx who evaded a life in a gang by coming here at random, getting married and making a career with MGM. Las Vegas he said saved his life. MGM paid for his schooling and gave him a management position and because he is ambitious for his family he drives on the side. My respect for Las Vegas went up after that enlightening conversation.

Oh and don't forget the silliness and the extravagance. Waste and excess could drive you nuts or you laugh it off. Your choice.

I think I will be back. Perhaps I will find the nasty unpleasant underbelly we should all hate on another visit. Somehow I doubt it, Las Vegas thrives on being a rather nice place to visit even if you don't gamble or want a divorce. Who knew?