97' Bimota Mantra, which I would sell for 8K, BTW. Great bike, unique love it or hate it looks, 900 two valve Ducati w/39mm pumpers and lightened flywheel, weighs 370 dry, great handling and performance.
The new Triumphs leave me cold, plus the old Triumphs are still cheaper, appreciate rather than depreciate over the years, and (no offense) are actually Triumphs.
I don't know why Triumph didn't build on their past better than they did. They should have at least built the Bonne with the same idea that Kawasaki had with their little knock off. If Kawi's bike had Triumph on the tank instead of Kawasaki, they'd have sold like hot cakes. Instead we get motorcycles that barely resemble the symetry and balance of engine, frame, and tin that Triumph was in days of old.
And their ads(!), it would have been so easy to play off the past. The ad comes on, old films of Triumph dirt trackers and roadracers racing, victory circle, Gary Nixon kisses the trophy girl (remember them?), and the voice over says, "Remember us? We're back", and then they show a new Bonneville or something.
And their new Scrambler is a disaster. My buddy bought one and couldn't wait to get rid of it. He said it had absolutely no character, plus they didn't even put the 360 crank in it so it didn't even growl like a Triumph. To me, they're very ungainly looking, a total mish-mash mismatch. He sold his Scrambler and now has a 69' Bonneville which he loves and is bringing up to snuff.
You want a real Triumph, buy a real Triumph. And I'm not saying that the new Triumphs are bad motorcycles, I guess their 675 got bike of the year and they're all nice machines, but where Harley hit the ball out of the park with the nostalgia thing, Triumph hit a pop fly.
Dgy
