And about the “standing on the pegs thing”, you are totally rational! I haven’t found a good way around that yet when riding the cruiser. It is much easier raise up to negotiate bumps and stuff on the scoot or on standard peg. I actually have to compromise and kind of “pull” on the bars a little, to raise my rear off the seat to help going over bumps. Maybe there is a better technique, but I haven’t found it yet.

Yes, leave the camera and notebook at home and let your focus be just on the ride for a try. But please do that in moderation, because we all still want to enjoy the pics you bring back from your rides, so we don’t want to encourge you to become a “rider only” too much!

My bigger concerns about foot position is that I want the feeling that if I need to move quickly I can. The sort of laid back feet out position on the cruisers doesn’t inspire any confidence in me. I suppose I could learn to ignore it but I’m not sure I want to.

I like being able to stand up on the pegs when I need to or pull up some weight from the front tire to get over that stray 4×4 post on the road or a gigantic dead groundhog I didn’t notice until the last minute. Certainly not common but it does inform my thinking about this stuff. Probably irrational on my part…

bobskoot: Someone sent me the link to the Triumph news piece. It looked pretty nice. Always nice to get a little recognition for something you love doing.

Sojourner rides: I’m finding out first hand what I already suspected — a motorcycle will do just about whatever I could do with the Vespa with two possible exceptions — riding in snow and maneuverability.

I don’t seek snow out but since I ride through the winter I just get caught in it. I wouldn’t want to be on something as heavy as the Triumph in the slippery stuff. I like knowing I am strong enough to manhandle the Vespa around and keep it off the pavement by strength alone.

The other is that I suspect there will be nothing as simple to maneuver around for pictures than a scooter. I stop a lot and I mean a lot. Turning the Vespa around, parking, opening the seat and grabbing the camera for a picture is a lesson in simplicity. A motorcycle never will be. I just need to gauge my tolerance for the process involved with a Triumph or other motorcycle.

Sometimes I don’t think I ride but instead I am out taking pictures. I just happen to get there on a motorcycle or scooter.

Maybe I need to leave the camera and notebook and home and just go for a ride!

The subtle rebel…where you’re standing, you are blocking out the NO part of Positively No Parking.

I’ll have to go back to the photo again and see if you have a semi hidden finger there also.

Tim

I found your article on the official Triumph website

http://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/usa/News_11425.aspx

can’t wait for your KLR review. I like them but they are too tall for me. The Versys fits perfectly

bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin

One thing I remember about the standard peg/controls on the Bonnie and the V7 were that they seems to interfere with my ankles when I put my feet down. I had to consciously keep avoiding them. That isn’t an issue with the forward style and is one benefit of those for me.

I like the feet position that my GT floorboards give me and I found I can kinda come close to that with some floorboards on my Vulcan instead of the standard round pegs. I found some “mini” floorboards that fit and allow some variation in the foot positioning beyond just standard round pegs. It makes a pretty big difference to me in how the forward controls now feel. I got used to the forward shift lever and brake pretty quickly, it was the actual feet postion while riding that was what I had to work on most.

Hoping for a dry day soon for you so you can check out the KLR. But, as a kind of “adventure” type bike, going for it in the rain may be just part of that particular riding experience.

Looking forward to your next pics on it.

I’ve rider cruisers and so far have not completely warmed to the feet forward riding position. But perhaps if I rode one more that would change.

The Yamaha 250XT is a great bike. It reminds me of the Yamaha XT225 Serow that Lois Pryce rode on her Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego ride.

It’s raining right now but I do plan to pick up the KLR today. Hopefully the rain will fade by the end of the day.

Pvino: The Scrambler is a nice looking machine too and I am anxious to try one out. It’s heavy though and I wonder about it’s dual sport capabilities. Though I guess it isn’t as heavy as a BMW 1200 GS Adventure!

Amazing I went out the door with the LX150!

I agree with your recommendation on adding a motorcycle to the riding fleet by the way. You’re not the one I need to convince though!

Jack: I’m not sure if the straight Bonneville or the Bonneville SE comes with anything but the cast wheels. You would need to upgrade to the Bonneville T100 for that. And to get a tachometer.

The spoked wheels on the Triumph looked fine to me but I have a somewhat eclectic taste maybe. And as far as a tach goes I noticed it didn’t have one but I always shifted by ear as a kid. Bad habit maybe?

As far as no tach being like a woman without mystique…. I’m not sure I agree. I would liken it more to a woman without jewelry. Who cares…

I do agree though that the Triumph might lead somewhere that is not my idea. I see it as a big dog that needs some obedience training to teach it to sit, heel, and come when called. And like most obedience training issues it’s all about the owner and not the dog.

I definitely would have to be careful not to let the machine get the better of good sense. Maybe the inherent risk in two wheeled machines that can go fast….

As far as the James Dean tint goes I am shopping for cigarettes.

I also use a Yamaha XT250 dual sport for when I want to explore some of the unimproved or less-improved roads. Similar to what you might find fun in the KLR650. The KLR is just a little big for me for that kind of riding. The XT250 is more like the Kawi Super Sherpa, and is great fun with 250 cc’s just like your GTS 250 (or my GT200).

Looking forward to hearing what you think of the Dual Sport type of ride next.

-tochaman (from MV)