Feature Story
1st Feature
A TRIUMPH IN PURE SPORT
2007 TRIUMPH DAYTONA 675
Story by Neale Bayly
Photos by Gold and Goose
Triumph owners are a unique lot. A little misguided maybe, if you consider wearing Scottish kilts and holding meetings in Irish Pubs to be a tad sacrilegious to the English motorcycle manufacturer, but at least they  are not afraid to show their individuality.
They are not concerned by a lot of the more prevalent stereotypes found in motorcycling these days, either, with your typical owners’ group riding together on every model across Triumph’s diverse range. Adventure-touring buffs are rolling down the highway with cruiser riders, sportbike lovers, naked-standard types—they are all there for the enjoyment of riding motorcycles together.
The range of product Triumph offers has grown until it is now as deep and all as good as it gets in the motorcycle world, with one exception: Its sport bikes.  The venerable 955 Daytona is nice, but it never really cut it as a pure-sport machine. The four-cylinder range has come tantalizingly close, but always comes up a couple of pints short of a great night out. Inspiring much conversation on the web and over German beers, there have always been many questions about whether Triumph would ever get a world-class sport bike.
Well, having just got in from a glamorous, 36-hour, coach-class air marathon that started in Malaysia and ended on the east coast of the U.S., I can happily say, get your kilts on lads and raise your glasses, ‘cause the answer to your prayers has arrived in the shape of the Daytona 675. New for the 2006 model year, it is back unchanged for 2007 and it is just what Triumph needed to meet the sport-bike need.
2nd Feature
THE LADIES SCENES FROM BEHIND THE BAMBOO CURTAIN
Observation by Nick Voge
Men generally travel for one of two reasons: to search out new adventures or to escape from old ones. My first trip to Japan was occasioned by both.
For reasons I wouldn’t understand for another 20 years, I was fascinated by Japan. Like a weak swimmer in a strong rip, I was drawn irresistibly to this mysterious land and its alien culture. I was also on the run from a failed relationship.
Like so many boys who grow up in families without sisters, I had always idolized girls, giving my imaginary lovers all the feminine qualities I most admired in a woman. The women who inhabited my dreams were delicate and very feminine creatures possessed of fine sensitivity and transcendent beauty. The almost two years I spent living with the girl I’ll call Cathy disabused me of all those childish notions. “You’ll never find a woman better than me,” were her parting words. The fear that she might be right threw me into a deep depression and sent me scurrying to the airport.
In Japan, I soon discovered that Cathy had a propensity for exaggeration.
Then, as now, Japan’s cities were crawling with beautiful women. You bumped into prim housewives at the market, jostled with dewy schoolgirls on the crowded bus and were jammed so closely next to cute office ladies on the subway that you could smell their perfume and read the labels on their blouses.
Then, there is The Look--the frank, unabashed way that Japanese women have of looking at a Western man. Very much like the appraising glance men give to a woman, it is a pleasant feeling to be on the receiving end for a change.
In the West, not wanting to encourage a man, women tend to avoid eye contact. Not so in Japan. Perhaps this is because Japan is such a safe and civilized country that everyone recognizes the proper limits on personal behavior. Or perhaps it is simply because people in Japan are not afraid of one another. But, whatever the reason, the interest is obvious, as is the mutual attraction.
My first job in Japan was the first job of almost every new arrival: English teacher.
For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Ask the Sergeant:
Less than a year ago, I purchased a used motorcycle from a dealership that had an aftermarket exhaust system from the previous owner. The pipe is a high-quality brand with a well-known reputation but is admittedly louder than what came on the bike out of the crate. Additionally, the bike had other modifications (i.e., the license plate was relocated, the turn signals shortened, and a blue windscreen was installed). What is my responsibility to correct these modifications and can I get a citation for the work of the previous owner?
Roy Garrett, Yorba Linda
Throughout the years, I have bought many used motorcycles, and each and every one of them has brought joy to my life--some when I bought them, and others when I resold them.
The catch phrase here is the same as with anything else--caveat emptor, or let the buyer beware. Once you take possession and become the registered owner of a vehicle, you are completely and totally responsible for it. In this case, you are totally responsible for the current condition of the motorcycle and for anything done to it by anyone else before it became your new pride and joy.
I cannot tell you how many times I have stopped a violator only to hear him or her say that they just bought the car / bike and that “it came like this” on everything from tinted windows to removed VIN plates. It is not a legal excuse for the condition of the vehicle and the registered owner will be held responsible.
California Vehicle Code Section 40001 defines the responsibility of the registered owner and specifies under subsection (b) that a vehicle must be in compliance with the vehicle code. This is interesting because, for many equipment violations, you will be cited as the owner of the bike, even if it is a friend who is out riding the bike at the time it was stopped and cited. This is yet another good reason to fill out the Release of Liability form when you sell a bike or agree to carry the paper for a friend because, if you are still the registered owner, you could be left holding the bag for anything they do to the bike.
Based on the brief description of the modifications on your motorcycle, you could be cited for: CVC 27151a – Modified Exhaust System that increases or amplifies the noise emitted; CVC 5201 – License plate must be mounted securely and be clearly visible (and potentially, CVC 24601 – License plate lamp required to visibly illuminate the plate so it can be seen from 50 feet); CVC 24252a – maintain all lighting equipment in proper working order; and CVC26701 (d) – Safety glazing material may not be red, blue or amber in color. That is quite a laundry list for violations you didn’t create.
Most of the violations are “correctable,” meaning that you can simply restore the parts to their original condition and get the citation signed off. That doesn’t sound like a big deal but, before you buy a modified bike, you need to make sure you can get the parts and check out what they’ll cost. You could be in for a chunk of cash on top of the chunk of cash you just forked out to cover the cost of the bike.
The exhaust violation, however, is not a correctable violation. You are facing a fine only for that violation but that does not mean you’ll be off the hook easily. If the motorcycle was originally equipped with an emission control system that incorporated a catalyst and the new exhaust system removed that part, you could be cited for a violation of CVC 27156 (b) – Remove or alter a pollution control device. That violation carries not only a fine from the court but can result in civil penalties in the hundreds of dollars as well!
As you can clearly see, the screaming deal you got on the bike of your dreams could cost you more than you envisioned because of the creativity of the previous owner. I will admit that these examples I have presented are extreme cases, and you may go the entire life of owning that bike and never be stopped, but the potential is there. Any loud exhaust system will attract the attention of nearly all traffic officers and invite them over to take a closer, more personal look at the rest of the bike.
But before you go screaming off into the distance regretting your decision, consider another option that might be available to you. CVC 24007 (a)(1) prohibits a dealer or retailer from selling a new or used vehicle that is not in compliance with the Vehicle Code. You stated that you bought the bike from a dealer and that they sold it to you in the condition it is in. Contact the dealer principal and advise him of the violations, and demand that he comply with the law by correcting the bike back to legal condition. This option would not be possible had you bought the bike from a private party, as private parties have no obligation to sell you a compliant vehicle, and this alone may be a good reason to buy your next motorcycle from a dealership with a reputation to maintain.
I hope this last suggestion helps you and that you can get the bike you wanted and can ride it without fear of being stopped for something you didn’t do.
Ride safe, keep smiling, and take care of yourselves and each other out there.
For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
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Scuttle Putt:
Triumph Motorcycles is having a National Open House Event from March 7 to March 10 to coincide with Bike Week in Daytona, Florida. The event, entitled “Bike Week for the Rest of Us,” offers motorcyclists who can’t make the trek to Florida a great opportunity to kick off the new season and see the 2007 Triumph line up. Each store is planning a unique schedule of events, entertainment and activities building up to Saturday, March 10, so declare that day your official kick off to the 2007 riding season and get to a dealer near you to have fun, get free stuff and check out hot bikes like the all-new Tiger 1050, the restyled America and Speedmaster, the more ergonomically friendly Sprint ST and the award-winning Daytona 675, Speed Triple, and Rocket III models. All motorcycle enthusiasts are welcome and a list of participating dealers can be found at www.TriumphMotorcycles.com/usa.
WAY 2 GO:
TOURING WITH THE GREATEST OF TREES
Story and Photos by Anne Van Beveren
Wooden you like to get away from it all? Branch out a little? Kindle a little excitement? Well, pine no longer. Jump on your motorcycle and head for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, home of the giant sequoias—the largest trees on earth.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks contain the most extensive groves of Sequoia-dendron giganteum in the world, as well as the most massive individual specimens you can find. The trees grow in very select areas and, unfortunately for two-wheel enthusiasts, in this case they are growing in the southern Sierra Mountain range, just east of Visalia.
The location is unfortunate because, short of a helicopter drop, there really isn’t a terribly interesting way of getting your motorcycle to Visalia. If you have nothing but time, you could ride the twisties from Bakersfield past Lake Isabella and loop your way to Visalia through Kernville and Springville. And if you have nothing but money, you could accompany your bike on a flight to Fresno and jump off from there. But one way or the other, you need to get you and your bike to Visalia and the central plain means there’s a lot of straight-road riding. It’s “plain” (if you’ll pardon the pun) and simple.
But the trees are worth a few miles of straight road. If you have never seen them, they’ll amaze you. If you’ve seen them in pictures, they’ll amaze you. If you remember seeing them back in the hiking days of your Boy Scout youth, they’ll amaze you again. There’s just something about a living being that big.
And we’re talking very big. The largest of the National Parks’ trees--the General Sherman Tree--is the largest living organism in the world. It measures 102  feet around at the base, is 274 feet tall and has its first major branch 130 feet above the ground. The tree’s trunk weighs about 1,400 tons and contains enough wood to build more than 40 houses. The tree is about 2,700 years old and it is still growing vigorously. Every year it grows enough new wood to make a 60-foot-tall tree of normal proportions. Go on; say “Wow” and get it out of your system.
So here you are at Visalia, poised for a really big adventure. An adventure of Sequoia-esque proportions.
For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Interview:
MOTORCYCLE MOVIE STARR
Interview by Anne Van Beveren
Photos Courtesy of Peter Starr
Been there, done that. And that. And that, too.
Peter Starr was a DJ at the height of Rock ‘n Roll’s British Invasion, partying with Mick Jagger among others. He was a record executive in the mid ‘70’s, producing albums for the likes of Spencer Davis, Tim Weisberg and The Canadian Rock Theater, and, by the mid ‘80’s, he was a movie producer, with classics like Take It To The Limit to his credit, well on his way to 14 awards for motorcycle movies at film festivals in Chicago, Houston and Paris.
 Peter Starr has shot movie footage from his own camera bikes, split traffic on a crowded street in an Adidas commercial, and stunt manned his way onto the big screen in movies like Batman & Robin and Ed TV. He has ridden alongside, written about and befriended some of motorcycling's best, and his career is still on fast forward, with motorcycles front and center.
“My first real job involved motorcycles,” said Starr, who began his many-and-varied career with Triumph—the original Triumph, in England in 1961. Starr was assistant to the Export Manager, which involved translating documents written in French and German, and taking care of visiting foreigners—foreigners like Bud Ekins, who dropped by the Triumph factory to pick up the latest version of the TR6 on his way to winning on e of his many ISDT medals.
Motorcycles weren’t just a business for Starr—they were also his hobby. He spent his off-work time circling race tracks around England and Europe aboard Ducatis, Triumphs and Nortons, and was good enough to set a class lap record in 1964 at England’s Cadwell Park on a 500 cc Triumph T100.
“I was a reasonable rider. I wasn’t Barry Sheene or Mike Hailwood, that’s for sure,” said Starr. “I remember Mike Hailwood coming so fast around the outside of me once I could’ve thrown up. He was on the 500 MV Augusta and I was on a 250, but that wasn’t why he passed me like that.”
For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
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