Triumph 675

[jk]

Hi all,
I've not been here for a while for a combination of reasons, but it's good to be back!

My wife and I are expecting our first bub in May so the decision was made to sell the R1 - something that I'd always planned to do after 1 year. It was great to experience owning a late model 1000IL4 sports bike, but from my perspective they don't make much sense for the road, other than 'street cred' and 'grin factor' when you do twist the throttle - as long as mr plod doesn't see you! I'll really miss that big bang exhaust note. The guy who bought it was stoked so I'm glad it went to a good home.

Given I need a bike to get around I had to decide between getting a cheap commuter or converting the 675 from track to the road. (Fortunately I got all the road gear when I bought the bike). The 2nd option made more sense and I was keen to spend some time on the 675 at less than full throttle to see what it was like in the real world.

It's been a few weeks commuting now and I have to say the 675 is a great 'real world' bike. Plenty of useable power from lowish revs, sweat handling through traffic, light, and very well mannered. She's totally stock at the moment, but we'll see how long that lasts. The only complaint is the downward angle of the bars - quite aggressively angled which leads to a lot of weight on the wrists (not something I've really noticed on the track!). A set of clip-ons would sort this if I can be bothered.

The new 675R looks great in my book, and the reviews are outstanding. The 2013 model might be on my shopping list in a few years when they hit the 2nd hand market ;D

Hope to catch some of you for a ride soon...
Cheers
Justin

[trezza]

Sounds a little like me mate. Got a cheap little '03 cbr600rr off a mate that was movin away, and for the right price
I sold the SS Ute, just wasn't using it, and the 600 is proving exceptionally quick on the road. I do miss the complete stupidity/excessiveness of the IL4 Litrebikes, but I'm happy at the moment. When you're hustling it, the little cbr seems to be happy when it's above 8k, which means the motor is actually quite flexible (revs to 15k!!).
Plus, it means you can embarrass all the blokes that wearing their onesies while they're measuring and comparing their chicken strips on their big litrebike race replicas. All on my little runabout that's a bit worse for wear, and never gets washed
It's a little dated compared to the current 600cc screamers, it's got right-way-up forks (not USD), brakes aren't radial, and it weighs more than the current cbr1000rr (a couple kg over 200) but it's still a lot of fun, and tyres seem to last longer than they did on the litrebikes

Doing my first trackday on it at Wakefield on the 24th (3rd trackday ever) and hoping to beat the times I set on the old SVThou (best was a 1:11.4) You heading up for it?

[malone]

Congrats on the bub .. and not all the world lives at full throttle Enjoy the trumpy

[jk]

Cheers Malone. Not long to go now!

Matt - how was the track day mate? Hope it went well. I won't be doing any for a while - probably the back half of the year now with the bub and winter arriving...

[pete]

Congrats on the soon to be pee wee 50 rider

[trezza]

Track was awesome mate, the little cbr was a blast.
Congrats on the little one mate, and I'm sure we'll catch up eventually

[Mattjin]

I wish you all the best with the new addition to the family! Best thing I ever did.

You might even find yourself riding more. I only moved over from dirt to road bikes after the birth. I just did not have the time to load the trailer and get to the area before riding, I just wanted to hop on and start riding from the get-go.

[jk]

Thanks all - only a few weeks to go! Very exciting and nervous at the same time. JK