All Change in My Garage

So I have been having some thoughts since I got back from Ireland about the tiger 660 sport. I’d had it serviced just before I left for my Ireland trip so I was confident that the oil level was correct. After approximately 1200 miles into the trip the oil level had dropped from the top mark on the dip stick to the bottom mark. I topped it up to get me home. When I got home I booked the bike into Triumph to get it checked over. Basically the dealer couldn’t find anything wrong and contacted the factory. The response from the factory was that the loss was normal and that the industry guidelines is that an engine could loose up to a litre of oil in a thousand miles. I have never had a new modern bike (and I’ve had a few) use this much oil and since this time this loss of oil has been playing on my mind.
Anyway I was out for a ride about three weeks ago and called into Staffordshire Triumph. I was wandering about and one of the sales guy’s asked if he could help. Without thinking about it I said yes I’m interested in a Tiger 900 GT Pro. We sat down at his desk and he confirmed the pricing for the bike. I asked him for a trade-in price for the 660 and to my surprise it was more than I had anticipated. I asked how long I would have to wait and again to my surprise he said they had a Graphite and Black one coming in the next couple of weeks. For a small deposit I could put my name on it. A quick phone call to the wife and I was back at his desk with my debit card in my hand. The final price with the panniers and crash bars added was agreed; I paid the deposit and got the final payment agreed. As a throw away comment I said to the sales guy I have a 1200 Thruxton R would he consider taking the two bikes as a straight swap for the GT Pro. After a bit of investigation on his computer he said yes that would be fine.
So yesterday I picked up my new bike.

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What’s this " A quick phone call to the wife" all about :rofl: is that down to a single bike now Steve? Enjoy your new Trumpet, at least with this one you won’t have cyclists passing you when you’re running this one in :see_no_evil:

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So really pleased with myself I set of for home. To my horror about 10 miles into the ride the tpms warning light came on. A quick check and yes I had picked up a puncture.

I nursed the bike home and called Triumph Assist. No surprise when I gave the agent the registration number that he could not find the bike and without it he could not process the recovery request. I was very pissed off at this point. Anyway I ended the call and rang back and used my existing RAC account to log my recovery request. From this point forward the RAC were brilliant and were at my house in less than 50 minutes.
The guy removed a bolt, yes a bolt from the tyre.

He advised that it was unlikely that a permanent repair would be possible because of the angle that the bolt had gone in. At best he could plug it from the outside to get me to a tyre repair shop. So while he was doing the repair I started to ring around to see if I could get a tyre fitted that afternoon☹️. After couple of failed attempts I hit lucky with a company called F & B Motorcycle Tyres. They had a new tyre in stock and if I went straight there they could do the repair immediately.
The RAC fella said he would follow me to the shop to ensure no issues along the way. and he did. He stayed with me until the guy at the shop confirmed the tyre was a write-off and he would replace it. He asked me sign his ticket and got on his way.
30 minutes later a £149 lighter but with a new tyre I headed for home.
My day had started with delight and my new bike, moving to total disappointment thinking it would take me days to get the bike back on the road, to again total delight and relief to be back on the road within a couple of hours.

Who would believe I had too write-off a brand new tyre on a new bike in less than a few miles.

5 stars to the RAC and F& B Motorcycle Tyres. I ended the day in anticipation for a proper ride on Saturday.

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Thanks Ade, yes running in is a joy.

The phone call to the wife is about brownie point gathering. Keep her involved even though I was going to do the deal anyway lol.

And yes down to one bike.

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So today I started out for my first ride at 06:45hs. I managed to get about a 100 miles on the clock. The wife and I then went out for breakfast and some shopping. When I got home I had a read of the user manual and then connected my phone to the bike and at 16:00 hs went out again. By the time I got home I had put 216 miles on.

I think I am going to enjoy this bike a lot. :grinning:

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My theory is that SWMBO only agreed on condition you traded the second bike in as well…

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Actually she was up for me keeping the Thruxton, but my aging body was the deciding factor in the deal. I must admit I am a little bit sorry to see the Thruxton gone, but will get over it quite quickly. :grinning:

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Looking on the bright side that bolt didn’t scrap the wheel as well. I’ve seen photos of bolts piercing the wheel rim too!

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Congratulations on the new bike.

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Congratulations…!
What a day…! Highs and lows of motorcycling …!

Enjoy the new one …!

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Happy New Bike Day, Steve! May you consume more miles than tyres. :grin:

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Lucky B’stad probably got a distance bj too… :kissing_heart:

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Happy new bike day Steve! That Tiger looks brilliant! Is that a Tourance Next tyre that’s on there?

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Yes mate. Never had them on a bike so will be interesting on how they perform.

Nice one Steve happy new bike day!

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Happy new bike day mate :sunglasses:

So, 1050 Sport, 660 and now back up to a 900! At least they’ve all been Tigers.

One bike though. I’ll give it 6 months and there’ll be another one in the garage :joy:

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Thank god they’ve got rid of that shite dash display mine had - sadly they gave it to the Street Triple :rofl:

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I have them too. Did 11.000 kilometres with them on my previous Tiger, and not nearly worn out. Good grip, confidence inspiring.

Thanks Steve and yes you can never say never.

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I’d be interested in your thoughts of the pro & cons of the Tiger Sport 660 now you’ve swapped it. The Sport 660 is one I may be interested in at some point.