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So half way through 2011 and I realise that I didn't once make an entry for 2010.
So a quick catch up. Last entry 2009. Bike Tiger 1050, aka The Caspian Blue rocket. Honestly folks the 1050 triple is an engine to behold. An almost flat torque curve, it pulls from low revs in any gear like a express train.
2010. Bike Tiger 1050. Pretty sihte year for most of us I think. I'll be the first to admit I am lucky to have a job etc and I wish all those in straighten circumstances good luck. And to the *ankers who got us into this mess, foreign & domestic, burn in hell boys and girls, burn in hell. Expect to see McCreevey, Cowen, Ahearn etc at the front of that queue .

So onto 2011. Started with the 1050 and went along to Dublin Triumph in early Feb, almost as a laugh really, for a test ride on the new 800. Being on a few Triumph oriented forums the buzz about the bike had been building for at least 6 months. Anyway I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms after not having ridden the Tiger for a month in the snow and ice. Yes I know - Big southern Jessie, as a friend from Doncaster would say.
Still it was a nice dry, bright day in early Feb when I pulled up at Triumph. Parked nose in just to pish off the Harley guys. Must have been the 1st person to test ride that particular 800, it only had 34km on the clock!
Well the engine was tight, but also very responsive. Kept it strictly to the 5k limit. Used the gears and had a ball. Lovely ride. Was thinking to myself coming back well that was nice but there's no way they'll give me a good trade-in. Well...........
Back at Triumph sat down and almost fell off the chair. Fecking hell they're giving me everything I thought they wouldn't give. So the deal was swiftly done & I became a member of the queue waiting for their new bike. Only my 2nd new bike ever!! The first being my
Puch Maxi when I was 16 - An extremely long time ago.
Well I was spurred to action and got the 1050 looking really well for when I took it in for the hand over. Everything ship shape.
The wait. Time always seems to drag real slow when you're in a state of anticipation. Fortunately for me the wait was shorter than expected. Triumph build as required, so within a week of the deposit I had a build date for the 800, and three weeks later, which was early, I got the call - "Your bike is in." Woohoo
Collecting a new bike, whether brand new, a novelty for me, or 2nd hand, has always giving me a shiver down my spine. A mixture of the anticipation and god I hope I don't drop it/ bin it / otherwise feck it up. No fears, thank god. The 800 is sooo easy to get on with. The handling is a revelation. Other bikes have ended up to be just as good, but required time / effort / money to achieve. Even the 1050 needed fettling to get to the 800 out of the box handling. In a word - Brilliant.
Day 1 - March 3rd didn't get too much time with the 800. Day 2 was different. Got pretty much the whole day. Where to go? Must remember to vary the gears / revs, not too much constant throttle. Light bulb moment. It's not quite the weekend so the "Gap" (Wicklow) won't have any (hopefully) weekend warriors blatting though. Naas to the Gap is a lovely run, plenty of alternatives and once off the N81 the fun, even limited to 5,000 rpm, begun.



Some of the accessories had still to arrive and some parts still to be ordered, a less bulbous exhaust for example.

4 months on and all the accessories are now fitted, the exhaust replaced (saving 3.6Kg) and sounding like a proper triple. It doesn't get washed very often, but looks great for it. I've gone mad fabricating bits and pieces for it. The wife thinks I'm having my mid life crisis. I keep telling her that'll be when I'm heading out the door for a 4 month ride out!