Hi guys!
So, Devilgrl wisely talks me out of buying a Hayabusa, and into buying a TT600, which is a MUCH better bike for me at my skill level. I test rode one at Moto Italiano in San Mateo, and just loved it. Also test rode a Aprilia Mille, but it's just too much bike for me.
Once I've decided on the bike, I start deciding on the color. I really really like the Yellow/Black 2000 color scheme, but Moto is completely unable to get one for me. So, being the hardcore born and bred nerd that I am, I hop on the net, and find a brand new 2000 TT600 in Yellow/Black in Simi Valley (LA) for <$6800! Gave them a call that night, got the details, and put a deposit down immediately.
I live in SF and needed to make a trip down to LA for business, so I caught a ride down there so that I could ride the bike back. We got a flat tire about a mile from the bike shop (on the rental car), but that wasn't too much trouble. Stayed the night in Simi Valley so I'd be fresh for the ride in the morning, and picked the bike up when the shop opened.
Just as advertised, it was brand new and perfect, I had them heat cycle the bike a few times in the days before I got there, and asked for the latest ECU tune, #10 to be loaded, and had the kickstand re-torqued. Then I took off, and rode it around LA for the first 100 miles, keeping it under 5000 RPMs.
To break the bike in properly, I decided to take Highway 1 all the way back. Total trip time was about 10 hours (from 1:30PM in Burbank to 11:30 PM in SF), and was, well, rather eventful.
Everything was going just great, I'd planned to stop every 100 miles or so to rest, relax, and grab some much needed fluids. Grabbed a drink and some basic eats at Carl's Jr. in the Santa Barbara area, read through the entire owners manual, cover to cover, and then hit the road again.
I guess my backpack wasn't closed quite perfectly, because while regularly checking my rear-view mirrors, I noticed the contents of said backpack airborne behind me. Not good. Pissed as can be at my own stupidity, I pulled off to the side of the highway, well off the pavement in a safe area, and parked the bike.
The bike of course would have none of this, and promptly fell over in the quicksand!! Ouch. It LOOKED like solid ground, it FELT like solid ground riding over it, but too much pressure from the kickstand in one localized area seems to have been too much. Scratched up the left side of the bike fairly minimally.
Now, I'm a fairly strong person, and getting the bike upright is generally not a problem at all for me. But trying to get good leverage while standing in quicksand is pretty darn tough. (Ok, it wasn't really quicksand, maybe it was a distant part of the La Brea tarpits). I did get the bike upright, and of course lost my footing and dropped the bike again, resulting in more scratches to the right side of the bike.
Great, I've had it for what, a few hours, and I've already dropped it on both sides. Oh well, might as well get that part over with early. I then proceeded to walk up and down the sides of the freeway collecting what I could of my personal belongings.
My organizer was in the backpack, which holds the following: My cellphone, all my cash, all my credit cards, and proof of insurance (among other things). Also in my backpack was the registration for the bike, owners manual, my spare key, and more.
I lost about $100 in cash, my drivers license, gas card, my ATM debit card, and all the documentation from the bike. I was able to retrieve my proof of insurance, some of my cash, and other credit cards. My cellphone was annihilated. Note: I declined to play Frogger, and did not run across the freeway with cars barreling down upon me at 70+MPH. Hey, I screwed up, but I'm not THAT stupid!!
Ok, unplanned stop #1 out of the way (only took about an hour and a half), I got back on the road and headed north. Being the smart cookie I am, I made SURE to fill up with premium unleaded before leaving Los Angeles, and after reading up on the TT600, I expected about 20-30 miles of highway driving once the low fuel light came on. No problem, right? WRONG! The light comes on at about 30 miles out of Lompoc, the sign says gas station <--------- thataway, I go thataway, no gas station. I go into a full tuck, draft behind a truck, and cruise slowly trying to sip gas as slowly as possible.
This actually worked pretty well, I made it about 35+ miles total once the low fuel light came on, but came to a halt about 2 miles out of Lompoc which brings us to unscheduled stop #2. Ok, status check:
Cellphone - Destroyed
Gas Card - Destroyed
Ego - Destroyed
Call box? - Nowhere in sight, last one I saw was at least a half a mile back.
Lucky for me, a nice couple in a Camry on their way from San Diego back up to San Jose stopped, gave me a ride into town to get gas, and then drove me back. Whew. :]
Back on the road again, it starts to get dark, and the miles just click off really quickly. Highway 1 is an absolutely incredible ride, especially when the sun is setting, with me sitting on a brand new TT600. Minor disasters so far, but OMFG I wouldn't miss this ride for the world!! Someone do me a favor, and make sure that a ride like this gets added to the: List of things everyone must do at least once before they die.
The sun has set, the bike is getting broken in nicely from the twists and turns of Highway 1, lots of ups and downs on the revs, plenty of variation, not much steady state cruising, easy to keep it under 6k RPMs.
Highway 1 joins with 101 in many places, it's dark now, so I decide to make up some time by popping over to 101 now that there's about 400 miles on the bike. Speed limit on 101: 70mph. Traffic is cruising at: 85-90mph.
So, the bike is through at least the first part of it's break in, I decided to bring the revs up a little (heh), and see how the bike handles some speed. The bike is not surprisingly very quick, and within a few seconds I hit 130mph. Nice!! Very stable, could use a little more wind protection, fun. I quickly drop back to a cruising speed slightly faster than traffic of about 95-100mph, varying the revs as much as possible.
Unplanned stop #3. Very pretty flashing red and blue lights in my rear view mirrors. Where the (*&^!@*& did HE come from?!? I get pulled over, shut the bike down, and for some reason the officer asks me for my license and registration. (Strange how they do that).
Uh, uh, duh, uh...Sorry, but I don't have my license, and I have absolutely no proof at all that I actually own this bike that has a dealer paper plate clearly stating: STOLEN FROM SIMI VALLEY CYCLES. (Oh, I *BET* they thought that'd be cute to put on the bike! Thanks guys!).
Luckily he didn't draw on me, and didn't haul my sorry ass off to jail. I have my driver's license number memorized, and was able to rattle that off in seconds. He called it in, verified I fit the description on my license (well, not really, I've lost a lot of weight since then!!!), and we then played 'find the VIN number' for about 15 minutes in the dark.
VIN found, bike hasn't been reported stolen, he decides to be nice to me, and just writes me a ticket for going 95 in a 70 zone. I was actually rather grateful, because literally seconds before he stopped me, I was doing 130. There's lots of times you can gripe and moan about a BS ticket, but I deserved this one, and will take responsibility for my actions.
After that the trip home was pretty uneventful, went back to highway one and took her home slowly and carefully. I knew I'd be *REALLY* sore the next day from a 550 mile ride (as I haven't ridden in over a year when I sold my old '85 Ninja 600), so I hopped in a long hot bath with a glass of really, REALLY good wine. (Christopher Creek Deux Barriques, only 40 cases produced, pretty much impossible to get unless you know the owner of the winery and are talented at grovelling submissively).
Sunday morning sunshine arrives quickly, as I have to get up early to take my old 1974 Rotary Pickup down to Ivan to get the steering box tightened up for a good friend (Dev) that's interested in purchasing the truck, and very rightfully worried that there's far too much play in the wheel. He fixes it in seconds, and I head back north.
The bike is really amazing, simply stunning acceleration even at part throttle and keeping out of the revs. I should have been sore as a (insert blatantly graphic sexually explicit analogy here), but I felt GREAT the next morning. Dev invites me to cruise up to Sears Point for the AMA Superbike Races, and after long deliberation (read: a split second), I say YES!!! :]
The races were incredible, those guys must have a pact with the devil, because they simply defy the laws of physics. Wow. Fun. The weather is perfect except for being a touch warmer than I'd like, but I had a great time kickin' back there in the Moto Italiano booth with Dev chatting about bikes all afternoon.
Wow, what a kickass two days. I don't regret selling my old Ninja (I'd outgrown it really), but I do regret waiting so long to buy a new bike. The trip was beautiful, with minor disasters, and I'll pay dearly for that ticket, but looking back knowing what I'd run into, I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
Special thanks to Devilgrl, I just can't thank her enough for beating me over the head soundly and showing me the errors of my way in choosing a bike that's too much for me (Hayabusa). I owe her one, again... :]
Triumph unveiled its long awaited entry into the 600cc sport bike market in Birmingham, England. The TT600 represents Triumph's first effort to take on the Japanese Manufacturers head on. Previous Triumph sport bikes have been three cylinder machines without any direct competition.
With an indicated dry weight of 375 pounds, and a claimed maximum horsepower rating of 108 bhp (at 12,750 rpm) and maximum torque of 50.5 foot-lbs (at 11,000 rpm), the TT600 should is certainly plenty competitive with the current Japanese bikes.
The front brakes are phenomenal -- coupling 310mm floating discs (quite large for a 600) with Triumph's well developed, and deservedly praised four-piston calipers (which haul in the 70 pound heavier 955I quite well, thank you). Indeed, it is apparently the brakes, in part, which have lead Triumph to boast that the TT600 has lapped a track two seconds faster than Yamaha's class leading R6.
The torque figure is also outstanding, being several foot pounds higher than the Japanese bikes (if Triumph's claimed output is correct). This may result from a couple of factors, including the first fuel injection system on a 600cc sport bike -- manufactured by Sagem (just like Triumph's other sport bikes). Couple a sophisticated fuel injection and engine management system with a high compression ratio (12:1), ram air, and the torque figure becomes believable.
Fully adjustable Kayaba suspension at both ends (including a 43mm fork), a six-speed transmission, and a 180-section rear tire are all at the leading edge of 600 sport bike design. Rake, trail and wheelbase figures are also in the same league as the best from Japan.
Priced very competitively with the Japanese 600s, the Triumph TT600 offers incredible value. The prestige of the Triumph name, along with being the first 600 to feature fuel injection, has make the TT600 a huge success.