Desire for a Triumph
Desire sweeps in unexpectedly. Contentment gives way to desire and as rational as my thought process seems I wonder if it is all a delusion in service of a selfish and irrational desire. I want another motorcycle.
Such is the state of things for the past few weeks as I scour the internet for a Triumph 900 Scrambler.
BUGMOTO is to Blame
Before unwrapping this mental obsession I need to relieve myself of any responsibility and place the blame squarely on Bug of BugMoto Motorcycles on YouTube. He is responsible for me telling myself I want another motorcycle.
Sure, I have long fantasized about owning a Triumph motorcycle. And I came close to buying one before I bought my Kawasaki W650. I had quietly put those desires where they good rest in peace. I had the standard cruiser that is perfect for me. And each time I get on the W650 I fall in love all over again. Just as I do with every machine in my garage.
And then I watched a video on his channel titled “Why I Traded My Bonneville T120 for a 2024 Triumph Scrambler 900” was flooded by desire for a scrambler. Years ago, I rode a 2011 Triumph 900 Scrambler and really liked the motorcycle. I like the way it looked, sounded, and felt to ride. The trifecta for me. That was back when I only had a single Vespa scooter in the garage but had been reviewing motorcycles for Kissell Motorsports.
Selling Motorcycles??
Suddenly, because of Bug, I am scheming to sell the W650 and the Royal Enfield Himalayan to fund the purchase of a brand new Triumph 900 Scrambler.
I’ve polished my skills at rationalization. I tell myself, “Steve, you’ve always wanted a Triumph. You deserve one. you can afford one. You should just go ahead and own one before you die. “
Or engage in the I’m getting older and I won’t be able to ride one much longer so I better do it now.
I’ve even resorted to the tired old saw of safety. It has ABS. It’s more modern, and less likely to cause problems. It’s fuel injected. Newer. Blah blah blah. I need to quick kidding myself and admit I’ve come under a spell. I want another motorcycle.
There are other things a foot though. Until I wrote this blog post, I conveniently ignore them. I have a tendency to want to buy things when I get bored or anxious. I turned to consumption therapy. I shuddered to think of how much money I’ve spent over the years buying things I didn’t really want or need purely for the satisfaction of the hunt and the purchase.
I can’t help but wonder if that’s not the case with the Triumph. Under the glare of a cold, harsh light, it is hard to square my desire with reality. A recent ride with friends to breakfast at the Meandering Mallard confirmed how special the W650 is. And the ride or experience would have been no better had I done it on a Triumph. I’m just suffering an itch that I irrationally want to scratch.
Even selling the two motorcycles, I will likely have to add another $5000 in cash to the pot to purchase a new Scrambler. And the closest dealer is over 100 miles away so service will be aggravating. And really, what would I be gaining?
I love riding the Kawasaki W650. I’ve written it a lot lately. It’s comfortable, easily manageable on the road, is beautiful, and I can have it serviced 5 miles from here.
My Himalayan, Another Love…
And it’s much the same for my quirky, tractor-like Himalayan. Each time I ride it I’m reminded of how much I like it. It’s so laid-back and easy-going. And I can easily ride it on the dirt and gravel roads of Central Pennsylvania as well as any of the other roads I might ride the W650. And it’s 50 to 70 pounds lighter than the Scrambler. I’ve already been complaining about weight of machines as I get older. Why would I offer for something heavier at this point?
A new Triumph 900 Scrambler is definitely not a need. It’s an indulgence is a desire of questionable rationality. I will probably always want a Triumph Scrambler. Even when it becomes impossible for me to ride. A fantasy that continues to tempt. Like my desire to own a classic Land Rover or old pick up truck. Or a secluded home along the coast of northern Maine. Dreams and desires that can succumb to the diabolical machinations of the consumer-industrial complex whispering in my ear that I don’t have enough. Or someone like Bug with his exquisite videos.
If God asked me what I want in life my answer would not include a Triumph. I have all the possessions I need. Whatever need I think a Triumph might fill is an illusion. I want peace. Serenity. Simplicity.
I can’t help but think of Frodo offering Galadriel the One Ring. The Universe offering me a new Triumph. But after writing this I feel the answer is plain and Galadriel’s response makes sense.
‘I pass the test,’ she said. ‘I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Galadriel.’
Perhaps I’ve passed the test now too. I shall remain in the good company of the machines I have and pass onto the winding backroads of central Pennsylvania.
At least until I suddenly change my mind. Again.
I understand the allure of the Triumph Scrambler 900 because I owned two of them. The first was a 2008 (the last year of carburetors) and the second a 2015. I loved the look, the sound and the brand but ultimately ended up selling both. Both bikes were bought second hand and came with some minor problems but the biggest gripe was the handling. In these early years Triumph cheeped out on the shocks and brakes. The stock rear shocks where too hard and the front shocks too soft. Sure I could have thrown another $2000 for better shocks, fork springs and cartages but I’d still have the crappy brakes. The 2008 had a great sounding Arrow 2 into 1 but would burn the crap out of your inner thigh if you ever got caught in traffic. The 2015 had the stock exhaust set up that was so heavy that it cracked the one single mounting tab on the frame. Dealer support and parts are always a challenge. I’ll assume that the 2024 is a much better bike but be sure to take one on a long test ride if possible. They are tall and heavy and although they may look like some fun off road pray you never get stuck and have to push the thing.
Thank you Maurice for sharing your first hand experience with the Scrambler 900s. You’ve provided me with the information I need to keep my desire in check. At least for as long as I need to make a clear-sighted decision. With support and parts a considerable distance away I do have to ask myself why I would volunteer to add that aggravation to my life.
And I would probably never take it off the pavement. The Himalayan is still light enough and capable enough for the managed dirt and gravel forest roads here. But I suspect the 900 Scrambler would be a handful for me.
Yeeeeeeeah – I don’t know. The Scrambler is an aggressive motorcycle. I didn’t think that was your style. Too bad you can’t rent one to maybe get it out of your system.
Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing Robert. It doesn’t fit my riding style very well. It really fits my visual senses though!
Ah, yes – degrees of indulgence. All motorcycles and scooters (and boats/RVs and most every other commercial product) is an indulgence in the USA. The most logical way to satisfy those extreme indulgences is not posession. I have drip coffee every day, but get a special version occasionally at a coffee shop or breakfast restaurant. I get 1.44 quart containers of ice cream typically, but also get special creations at ice cream shops. You already have an extensive collection of 2-wheeled devices (probably way more than you typically use in any given month), and there is riders-share.com for those greater indulgences.
I agree with you. My desire for a Scrambler is an indulgence. Expensive. And not particularly practical. And as you say, I already have everything I need in the garage.
Riders-share. I forgot about that. Maybe a long ride would get it out of my system as Robert suggested.
“Visual . . expensive . . indulgence . . not practical.” Well I can’t fault you for still wanting one. Ergo that Boss Hoss I had. It was a thrill just to start it and listen to the idle.
Since I don’t fish for trout or bass, don’t play golf, and don’t travel, I figure spending a little mad money on a motorcycle isn’t so bad right?
I think the 900 Scrambler is just too big for my comfort now. A few years too late. But maybe the 400X…
You sir are a bad influence….
😉
Sorry Doug. I figured you already had everything you ever wanted!
I HAD thought so!
Sorry. I think the best plan now is to tell your wife you are thinking about buying another motorcycle. Put the burden on her to decide if you need another!
Hmmm… I’m no stranger to this dance, Steve, which might account for the more than 60 horses that have passed through my barns since I started riding sixty years ago. A part of me has found something to love about every one of those scoots but clearly not enough love to Velcro me to any one in particular. Among those bikes were resurrection Bonnevilles, a 900 scrambler and a Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE. Now there’s a Teneré 700 and a Suzuki DRZ 400 Supermoto in the garage and still … well… you’ve already talked about the … and still.
So, having read your all too familiar story, I asked myself … is there any one bike for which I actually regret having parted company ? The answer is… yes… the Kawasaki W800. It spoke to me the way no other had. I should have done a better job at listening. Perhaps a return.
Yes, there is something strangely alluring about wanting just one more… I was hoping I had reached the end of that line.
When I think of parting with the W650 it feels bad. Perhaps worse than parting with the GTS. Ugh.
At this moment as I write my desire for a Scrambler is fading fast…
Steve, I was lusting after the scrambler as well. But it faded and I’ll stay with my W800.
So….thanks a lot for reigniting my scrambler lust. Curses.
Despite its high pipes the Scrambler is just your W650 with a bigger engine. At your age and…hmmm…unaggressive nature, it won’t be a bigger Himalayan for off road use. Given that, having the W and the RE is a better deal. I’ve been going through that myself. I’m trying to keep from dreaming of a Kawasaki Z650 or Ninja to replace the 250 Nighthawk and Kawasaki 750 Spectre with shaft drive. Even thinking of a 650 or 700 CF Moto with Kawasaki copy engines. Then I remember why I bought the Spectre. Shaft drive is a wonderful tool for touring as I do to Americade. The Nighthawk is a great bike for buzzing around town or local roads and a good old age machine. Both bikes were purchased, combined, for less than the cost of my latest Chinese crate scooter.
The burning desire dims further when I think something different may come along later and I will have to explain why I want it to the House Head of Finance.
You’re right of course. The combination of the W650 and the Himalayan is better and more versatile than the 900 Scrambler. But sadly rational thought doesn’t seem to temper the irrational desire as readily as one would think.
But things are dimming right now..
Steve, sending you all good vibes for your mechanical desires. I really enjoy my W800, but desire a Himalayan mainly due to your videos and posts. Peace & ride safe.
I love both the W650 and the Himalayan. To think of selling them for a Scrambler just seems strange.
I have a long ride planned next week. Trying to decide whether to take the Himalayan or the W650. What a nice predicament to have.
Steve – completely understand the lust for a 900 Scrambler (I’ve ridden a Vespa GTS 250 for 16 years) … I rented a T100 Bonneville for a day a couple of years ago and loved it. Then test road a 900 Scrambler and loved it more.
But … earlier this week I test road the new Triumph Scrambler 400 – single cylinder, 40hp “little brother” of the 900. It’s fantastic!! about 80-90 pounds heavier than the GTS but with double the horsepower. Much more nimble, easier to handle for an old guy (69) like me.
I’d encourage you to check out the 400 Scrambler before you pull the rigger on the 900.
Oh, oh… I had not looked at the 400X. It might touch the Triumph desire and provide some of the off-road capability I keep with the Himalayan…
Geez. Just when I thought I had this all figured out…
Maybe I will need to take a trip to the Triumph dealer for a test ride.
I remember a much simpler time when there was a Scooter In The Sticks and the World was your oyster. This from an individual with three insured Motos who wouldn’t mind a Street Twin added to the fold?
Don’t think it hasn’t occurred to me how much simpler life was when all I had in the garage was one single machine. I gave in to my indulgences. And Kim replaced “no” with “whatever.”
I thought I would like the Street Twin. It was just too jumpy and powerful for my taste. But now that someone has pointed me toward the 400X I’m thinking…
I enquired about a 400X demo ride through Triumph and the dealer they linked me up with commented that they are scarce to non existent in our part of the World. Seems whatever was available has been spoken for. Smart looking machine👌
The closest Triumph dealer here has four 400Xs in stock. I’ve been thinking. Never a good plan for me….
Oh oh!
Oh dear, this is all so, so familiar….
With all the various items I long for, I have discovered that, at 72, I now have to apply an equation of sorts to try to decide if what I am doing is rational. The equation goes something like this:
How many more years I can actually operate/use the new thing against the number of times I ACTUALLY WILL use the new thing against how much more use I can get out of what I own/have now against the cost of the new thing.
Let’s take my CT125 as the example. I am projecting that I can ride until around 80. That means 8 years of use. I use the 125 for errands in good weather (no winter riding) and for pleasure riding. I still own a Kymco DT 300i, but because of its light weight I use the 125 more. It cost me $4K used. So here the equation worked in my favor: I can ride it for another 8 years, I ride it a lot, I ride it more than what I already own, and the cost was cheap.
When doesn’t it work out? Solar energy equipment. Right now I have over 1kW of solar panels, and maybe 5 different portable power station. This stuff powers an off-grid cabin and a Class C RV. This technology advances quickly, and when I see a new innovation, I want it. But really, the 1kW of power I already possess as well as the various power stations is fine. All the equipment I own will last another 20 years at least, and how much longer will I be camping? So while it’s hard, I now resist buying the latest and greatest.
The struggle between “I want this new thing” and “It’s just too damn late to get this new thing” is pretty real. I constantly have to remember that this is a first world problem, and I’m damn lucky to have what I have. A ride on the Trail Cub usually eases the longing.
I can rationalize just about anything. So I have to be careful. But like you I have an equation:
The bike has to appeal to me visually. Most don’t.
It has to be comfortable to ride the way I ride. That means too much power and too much weight are a turn off.
It has to meet one of my riding “styles.” On road, off road, nearby, far away, etc.
I have to have space for it. Right now anything new means something has to go. Hard when you love everything you have.
Cost isn’t a factor. I’ve gotten to the point in life where these motorcycles are incidental expenses and the older I get the less likely I am to spend the money expect for nursing homes and burial. I’m grateful that generally doesn’t enter into the equation.
Your idea of it being too late to get something. That is on my mind as well. At 70 next month I think I will ride for 5 or 10 more years. But I have no reliable crystal ball. It’s not a big issue but it’s there. Time waits for no one so I keep thinking to act sooner rather than later.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas Tom. They’re helpful.
Full flounder ahead!
The only reason cost comes into play for me is that I’d like to leave each of my 3 kids as substantial an amount of money for their future retirement as I can. None of them are high-paid professionals, and I fear with the direction the economy is going their own retirement funds will need all the help they can get (not to mention concerns over SSA).
By the way, I got my first motorcycle ride on my aunt’s Triumph 400 when I was 14, and she let me drive it when I was 16. So a Triumph is responsible for my lifelong enthusiasm for two-wheel riding.
Makes sense. Finances and the economy provide plenty of things to think about. I try to make good choices and be sensible with money. Unless we end up in a nursing home for a long, long time the money will be ok. But I have seen wealthy parents burn through their entire net worth built over a lifetime by nursing home costs. And the children were left with nothing. Not sure much can be done about it. Even with long term care insurance most only cover stays of a typical duration — 2 years. Spend 10 years in a home and it all goes away unless you are a multi-millionaire.
Hah. Finances in the Sticks! That’s another channel…
Steve, like me and many of your followers, what you suffer from is addiction, pure and simple. As addictions go, owning a pile of motorcycles is not as destructive as the addictions that we all commonly hear about (i.e. alcohol, drugs, food, etc. etc.).
Nevertheless, an addiction to motorcycles has the same characteristics as other addictions, i.e. the five C’s:
(1) feeling different; (2) preoccupation with the behavior; (3) temporary satiation; (4) loss of control; and, (5) negative consequences.
It is worth repeating #3; “temporary satiation”, with the emphasis on the word temporary. Buy the Triumph and it will not be long before you want/need another motorcycle. No motorcycle will fill the void. Trust me on this one.
So sorry to be all serious about this. Consider all this to be unsolicited advice that may only be worth what you are paying for it (nothing).
Fellow member of Motorcycle Addicts Anonymous,
Steel
I don’t disagree with a lot of what you’ve written Steel though I don’t see numbers 4 and 5 reflected in my life. And only a little of number 2. But number 3 is certainly plausible. I’m not sure if I get temporary satiation acquiring motorcycles or if I am merely interested in trying a different experience before I can no longer ride. The clock is ticking so it may seem more obsessive. Hard to say.
Addiction or not, my life has not become unmanageable. Riding is part of a spiritual aspect of my life and have machines to enjoy is part of it. But I wonder sometimes when my daydreaming of various trips and machines becomes more focused and more intent on an actual purchase. The first Vespa was just part of a decades long desire to ride. The BMW K75C was an unexpected birthday surprise. The second Vespa was inherited when my father-in-law died. The Himalayan replaced the K75 as more appropriate to riding in the mountains. The first machine that resulted from a non-need was the W650. I just wanted a standard cruiser style motorcycle that I had been dreaming about since I was a teenager. Could have been the RE Classic 350 or a Triumph but serendipity brought the W650 into my path.
The Triumph dream has remained and I am not quite sure the exact nature of it. I certainly don’t need it. And I can happily ride the machines I have. If there is a void it is one of nostalgia perhaps. I’ll just go with the flow for now and see what develops. Over the years I have been in the same place with a range of potential machines. But my final purchases have been intentional with something specific in mind. And at this point I am pretty sure the 900 Scrambler isn’t right for me. Maybe the 400X as a Himalayan replacement. Maybe no change at all…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I do appreciate them and the thoughts they stir in me.
Steve, I think I have the solution to your dilema. You need to find a Triumph T100C. The high pipe models were built from 1966 to 1972 and they are one of the best looking motorcycles ever. They weigh less than 350 lbs, have about 35 hp on a good day and you won’t have to sell any bikes as I will gladly keep it at my place.
Oh man. I’m not sure I’m up to maintaining a 60’s vintage Triumph. I’m patient but not that patient…
And thanks for the storage offer. A great kindness!
I love those Triumph Scrambler looks. It is the only Triumph that I like. And I also follow Bugmoto channel on Youtube.
It’s definitely a beauty. After much consideration and soul searching I will proceed forward in life without one. Perhaps another motorcycle will enter my garage someday but not a Triumph 900 Scrambler. It exceeds my desires for something lighter and more manageable…
BugMoto has great content. And his scooter channel is a hoot.