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Monday, May 7, 2012

Alternate Reality.......

In the words of the Lovin' Spoonful circa 1966:


Did you ever have to make up your mind?
Pick up on one and leave the other behind.


It's not often easy, and not often kind,
Did you ever have to make up your mind?


Did you ever have to finally decide?
Say yes to one and let the other one ride.


There's so many changes, and tears you must hide,
Did you ever have to finally decide.




- Au Revoir
.
"Choices are the hinges of destiny." - Pythagoras

31 comments:

  1. Great song and wonderfully applied to this post - oh, the delicious anguish of it all! Looking forward to the next post, and the next, and...

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    1. The next post will tell the tale of how it came to be in the garage and for how long it will be residing...........

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  2. I'm missing something. I only see one bike there. Blue on top, white on bottom. Same bike. No decision necessary. ;)

    Congratulations. Beautiful!

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    1. Funny how similar they are in color scheme yeah?

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  3. wait...wait....wait...

    SAY WHAAAAAT?????

    ..............Did you buy it???????

    If so, I hope there is a finders fee attached to it...

    That's the one my wife wants...

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    1. Ummmmm guilty, but it's all your fault!

      No finders fee, but if SweetPea still wants it I can make her a deal before Rod gets his commission when it makes its way down to him in a few weeks.............

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  4. Went shopping again, eh! Waiting for details...

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    1. Aren't you the one that asked me when I was going to buy one?

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  5. That is a lovely Triumph- would make a badass cafe racer. Wish I were small enough to ride one.

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    1. I don't feel small enough for it either. With regular height pegs and a lower seat height than my Gladius my legs feel at an odd angle and it makes my hips hurt.

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  6. Trobairitz:

    I'm thinking that Troubadour really treats you like a Queen. I remember that Ninja 650 that he bought for you, which you discarded. I too was looking for a different ride but sometimes you just don't realize that you already had the "best" bike.

    I remember something I read recently about the older generation who only purchased things when they were worn out.

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

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    1. Yes I am spoiled. Geez, thanks for bringing up the Ninja fiasco. That was a case of too much too soon. Not so in this case.

      But I agree, sometimes we don't realize what we have until something else comes along and it makes you realize how suitable the other really was even with it's foibles.

      I told Troubadour the next bike is his. It was supposed to be his turn anyways, but he didn't let that happen. Yep, I'm spoiled I tell you.

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    2. I should mention to you that full coverage insurance with State Farm is only $27.63 a month. That includes personal injury protection, 3rd party, uninsured motorist, comprehensive, collision, etc. About the same as coverage for Max and Lucy within a few dollars.

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    3. Trobairitz:

      as you know, with ICBC a second bike would cost another $1,000. per year if over 400cc-749cc, and more again if 750-999. With your low insurance rates I would definitely have a "spare" bike. Actually, I already have one picked out and such a deal it is

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast
      My Flickr // My YouTube

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    4. I remember those high insurance rates. I had a little 1993 Mazda 323 back in 1994-95 and the insurance on it was about $100 a month. Partly because I was under 25 at the time. I sure don't miss the high insurance rates and taxes from BC.

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  7. ..better to extend the garage than make a decision!

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    1. We can really only afford one of the bikes and a bigger garage certainly isn't in the budget. But good idea though.

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  8. Ah the old too many bikes not enough bodies to ride them canundrum.

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    1. A good problem to have I know.

      The Bonneville is a great bike but I don't think it is suitable for me as an only bike, would be a good back up though.

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  9. oh holy moly! wow! gorgeous! similar but different in riding position, i can see it. i cant wait to hear more about this (and especially curious about the hips hurting, i have that prob but cant narrow bob anymore than he is, sigh lol).

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    1. I had the hip problem with my little TU 250 and attributed it to it's size. I didn't expect it with the Bonneville being a bigger bike. The seat is lower on the Bonnie than my Gladius. I think that couples with the peg location puts pressure at an odd angle. Almost like I have to hold my legs up on the pegs. It is odd and not good when they are sore after 30 miles. I didn't think of it as being because of the width of the bikes. The Bonneville SE was narrowed in 2009 when they lowered and brought back the bars a bit too trying to target it at female riders.

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  10. Hey how did you get my bike to your garage? THAT IS THE ONE!!!! I am completely sad right now because Scarlet is sick. Sigh

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    1. I thought you and SonjaM might be interested in this. I know all three of us have wanted one of these for a long time - although I think Sonja might be partial to a Street Triple now.

      Bummer Scarlet is sick - here's hoping for a quick recovery.

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    2. Trobairitz:

      In my past life when I was looking at replacement bikes last week, I went to two Triumph dealers. I sat on a Bonneville and found it sort of too simple, no wind protection, and the seat spartan to sit on. It suits soft leather sidebags and I wanted plastic hard cases. It is not for me.

      The Street Triple is a great bike for local rides, or even day trips. I love the engine and balance, even though I have never ridden one. They looks delicious. but side cases would make it look silly, and I wanted a touring capable bike with locking hard cases.

      I have already made up my mind what I "would" buy and have narrowed it down to two models, but I decided to ride my bike for another year.

      Why don't you trade in two bikes (bonnie & tiger), and let Troubadour get his Tiger 800XC, I think the Adventure is too bulky

      I am not sure what you mean by hip problem, but when I had my Suzuki SV650, the leg position gave me cramps every hour and I had to stop and stretch. It was painful . . .

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast
      My Flickr // My YouTube

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    3. So are you going to sell the Bonnie :) ?

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    4. Dar:

      It's not that hard to import into Canada, and the price will most likely be cheaper than what we could buy it for. Just check the RIV.ca to make sure it is ON the list. You need a recall letter and form 1 (something like that) and then show up at the border, pay the HST. No duty, just around $2XX something dollars import fee. I can get you the link if you need it

      then the fun part. Take a bus down to Oregon and ride back. You can get one way insurance to ride it back to the border

      bob
      Riding the Wet Coast
      My Flickr // My YouTube

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    5. @ Dar - Not to give away the ending, but yeah we are. I just can't let Max go some issues I had with it are the same as with the Bonnie so he is not so wrong for me after all. Stay tuned for the report.

      @Bobskoot - I'd buy Brad a Tiger 800 in a heartbeat but what would I ride after trading in the the bikes? If it is Brad's tiger I'd have to pry the keys out of his hands to go for a ride. Don't tempt me though. I can see why you'd love the Street Triple - nice bike although not too much different than the Gladius except for price.

      By hip problems I mean my hips hurt right in the bend when sitting on the bike for too long. It is the position of the pegs to seat ratio I think and my knees being higher than my legs it feels like. It's weird but no fun. It is the same when walking for too long on hard surfaces, my hips kill me after too long.

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  11. hmmm, makes sense. looks like an old fashioned and potentially mechanical bike (the bonnie). thats an attraction, and possibly a downfall. reminds me of the riding position of my old sporty, where you're sitting on top of the bike rather than "in" the bike (max). in comparing the two, i think your max looks far more comfy...just imho. very smart to ride them both and compare.

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    1. I think the sitting on top rather than in is why I found Max more comfortable.

      We did take both bikes out and ride them back to back on Sunday. That was a good thing to do and I'l talk about it in an upcoming post.

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  12. Welcome to my world! Make it even harder by riding the Street Triple... sigh!

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    1. One would think bike buying problems would be good problems, but I find them frustrating.

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