Never Say Never....

Phil Tarman

Phil Tarman

Site Supporter
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
3,499
Age
83
Location
Greeley, CO
Bike
2010 Silver NT700VA (ABS)
I've been saying for the last couple of years that I'd be riding Dudley till one or the other of us died. Then last fall, when my local Honda dealer's service department told me that I needed new cylinder heads and gave me an estimate of $3500 for the repair, it sounded to me as if Dud had died. And I realized that I wasn't ready to stop riding. I suggested a different way to make the repair and they were able to do it for a lot less. Then this year, it was a water pump. Still, even after all that and with a total of 137,000 miles, the bike was running as well as it ever had (maybe better) and still doesn't use any oil.

There have been a couple of NTs for sale here on the Forum that I had been tempted by, but given my short, stubby little legs, I needed a bike that was lowered and the process of swapping the lowering link and the sidestand and moving/repairing/replacing my Rostra cruise control made them more trouble/expense than I thought I could afford/justify. So I continued to believe that I would ride my good old NT700VA, SN 00079, until one or the other of us died or was just not able to ride any longer.

BUT THEN this happened!

Frosty wrote:

I was on my way home and pulled into a dealer that I normally do not visit. I looked thru their used bikes and found nothing that I would be interested in. A nice mature, petite grey haired, woman staff member was telling an older gentleman that she rode a lowered 800 and did not like it, but the 900 was totally different. I wandered over and she told me to get on.

What magic is this? An "Adventure" bike that I could flat foot wearing sports shoes and it seemed to fit me? It is a 2020 Tiger 900 GT LHR. Three cylinder, 93.9 hp, 64.1 ft lbs torque, 426 lbs, cruise control, heated grips ... The lowered suspension felt much lower than the advertised 29.9 - 30.7 inch seat height.

She said that I should take it for a ride ... I managed to flee just in time. This one may haunt me.

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Well, you know what happened next:

I took the NT to the Triumph dealer to test ride their 2020 Tiger 900 GT LHR. I rode it for 30+ miles, but decided that I liked it very early on. It fit me and was very smooth and responsive. Since I rode the NT down, by comparison, it felt very light and quick. It was late by the time the paperwork was done so I just rode it home.

It is Magic! I turned my silver NT into a red Triumph.
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Sorry about the bad photography.

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With a 7" tablet instead of gauges, I was afraid it would feel like riding a cell phone. Not so, very easy to use.
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Just when my day could not get better, free (???) Triumph Swag: Backpack, zipper portfolio, lock tumblers for luggage, key fob. :giggle:
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"Never Say Never...." Part 2:

Frosty posted a picture:

The bike was a trade-in and is at Empire Cycle now.
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I looked at that picture and started thinking. "Frosty has short little stubby legs like I do." "I know that he put an McCruise cruise control on that bike." "It's got a trunk. It's got an OEM undercowl." "It's got big lids." "It's at Empire Cycle now!" "I'll bet they've got a web-site!!"

And sure enough, they did!

www.empire-cycle.com

2010 Honda® NT700V ABS | Empire Cycle

2010 Honda® NT700V ABS
www.empire-cycle.com www.empire-cycle.com

I looked. I thought. And today I called. I sent them a picture of my bedraggled old 137K-mile bike. I had decided that if I could get the bike, I'd ride to Spokane (Joanne didn't want me to fly), swap out a few items from my bike over to Frosty's old bike, and ride it home. And his bike is old: it's SN 00063. Dudley is SN 00079! 15 bikes built between the two!!

The sales manager first invited me to "drop by" and ride the bike in Spokane and give them a chance to take a look at mine. Then he realized "dropping by" wasn't exactly practical. I sent him a picture, disclosing the pannier latch issues, mileage, etc. He asked what I'd need to make the deal and I said I'd like to have new tires and the best offer he could make. In a little over an hour, he was back on the phone. He gave me way more than I expected and we've got a deal!

I'll make a trip to Spokane sometime toward the end of August or early in September to make the swap. I'll ride up, swap a few things (my V-Stream windscreen vs the +2" Clearview, the tank bag ring so I can use my SW-Motech tank bag, my HeatTroller, my GPS mount), spend the night with Frosty if he's home, and then ride the new bike back home.

I'm giving up the Fenda-Extenda, heated grips, my deer kill decal, my semi-coveted 50K and 100K mileage stickers, my OEM tank pad, and swapping fender-mounted Denalis for Denalis mounted just below the headlight. Oh, I'm also going to be giving up about 117,00 miles of wear and tear.

I'm excited to make the move to a "new" bike and I'm excited and relieved that it's an NT that was built for a short, stubby-legged person like me.
 
A SILVER FOR SILVER SWAP OUT. NOBODY WILL EVER KNOW??????? congrats on a refreshed NT
 
Did Frosty mention anything about any issues...like oil in the anti-freeze? Asking for a friend..... 😂 😂 😂
 
No. All he mentioned was that the throttle cables might need lubricating. I'll see if I can con the dealer into doing that while they're mounting the new tires..
 
Great news! Plus Frosty knows now it's is going to a good home. Can't wait to see Dudley II.

Mike
 
Congrats, beautiful bike. The new technology will help you be a safer rider. That 94 HP will increase the fun factor by a lot.
 
Congratulations Phil
hope we can meet when you pick up your bike
 
Warren said:
Like me I think some of you thought Phil had bought the Triumph. That's what happens when you speed read. ;)
Click to expand...

Thread title is "never say never". He still has to make it through that dealership and walk around all those Triumphs. One of them might "grab" him.

On second thought - Phil is OLD and old people don't readily change their minds.
 
JimTid said:
Congrats, beautiful bike. The new technology will help you be a safer rider. That 94 HP will increase the fun factor by a lot.
Click to expand...

Jim, the 94hp beautiful red bike is the Triumph Frosty bought. I'm buying the silver NT that Frosty has owned for the last 10 years or so.

This is my old bike:
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This is Frosty's old bike that will be my new bike:

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I'll pick it up in Spokane in a couple or three weeks.
 
Phil, trading for that NT makes a lot of sense. It looks almost new with low mileage and you know the previous owner. Can't get much better than that.
 
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