New Year, New Look

Today was my first ride of 2010. I don't think I will winterize the Triumph; instead, I will make an effort to get out as much as is practical (and safe) during the winter months, or at least start the bike up regularly. The weather service here forecasts a 1 1/2 day window of clear weather before the rains kick in again - Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday are expected to be dry and partly sunny. So, I made arrangements at the office to take this afternoon and tomorrow off.

I've lately been considering changing the look of the Triumph. I don't really use the pillion (rear) seat, since my wife is neither a rider nor a passenger. Plus, I like the solo look - it gives off the "bad boy" image that I exude, and tells the world "no passengers allowed" on this ride! Seriously, I do like the look of bikes with solo seats, such as the Harley 1200cc Nightster (a bike I almost purchased) and bikes from the "bobber" genre.

Above, a very cool looking Harley Nightster. Below, Triumphs lend themselves nicely to the bobber look (both photos from the internet):

Going solo on the Bonneville America is quite easy - all I did was remove one bolt in the back, pushed the pillion forward and up and it was off. I can buy finisher bolts that are a bit more classy than the existing bolt for the seat, or even add a small rack or fender bib:

Above photos from Newbonneville.com.

The great thing is that I can convert back to 2 up riding quickly by just bolting the pillion back on. As you have probably noticed, I can't change the style of my hair, but at least I can change the style of my motorcycle.

I will be finally installing some saddlebags (I will report on this soon in a future post), so I will have to see how the bags work with the new look.

I decided to ride into town and see if the new seating arrangement is comfortable, and it is, although I can tell I used the pillion as a mini backrest to plant my backside. But I do like the new look!