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Route 66
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04-11-2023 7:55pm#1
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A few years ago, a couple of friends of mine decided they wanted to tour parts of the US, and due to the cost of rentals (e.g. sets of new tyres mandatory), decided to buy and then store the bikes over there and then come back the following year, tour some more and then sell them off.
Buying was easy - eBay was their friend. Both bought Triumphs. One was a minter (900 Sprint ST), from a dealer in Texas, and other (1050 Sprint ST) privately, from ...I forget. Anyhoo, that's when the trouble started.
First off, they weren't able to register ('Tag') the bikes, and as a result couldn't get insurance. So, they were shipped (at some expense, one from Texas) to a relation of mine in Georgia as they had enquired of GA State if they (as non-residents) could register them there, and the office said they could. When push came to shove however, they couldn't. And as it turns out, that's true of most of the US states. Eventually through social media and owners clubs etc they found that Coloroado would work. So now the bikes were shippped there.............start compiling the shipping costs at this stage.........
Eventually, a path is found to getting on the road and our intrepid visitors arrive and get on their bikes. The 900 Sprint minter (dealer one), had no issues. The other, privately-bought 1050 OTOH.......was a disaster. I saw it when it arrived in GA, but the list of things to fix was long.......... But wait: there's more. A 4-figure sum got the Street Triple on the road, and eventually they set off. And that's when they hit issue #2.
Weather. They hit bad weather in Coloradao with the result that the 'mint' bike crashed, with pillion, and
the bike was written off. The pillion had serious injuries and was in a wheelchair for several weeks before being able to fly home. This curtailed the holiday.
Year 2 saw them go back, sans pillions this time. The ST1050 owner had had enough of it at this stage, and traded it in on the spot for a GS. The other guy bought a used Triumph America. A very nice bike.
This trip was only marginally more successful than the first as when the same rider crashed this time, at least there were no pillions involved. Both bikes were flogged off and that was the end of that.
Moral of the story ? In the end, there as no saving, and only grief. It would have been cheaper, easier to rent 2 bikes, irrespective of the price involved.
If I was doing it, then, for me, it would be rental - the registration, insurance, breakdown cover etc alone would be worth it. That and one-way travel would be attractive.
I still want to do it though.
Ode To The Motorist
“And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road”
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