Australian Motorcycle Expo - Sunday 18/09/05

After a wet and windy Saturday it was a relief to see clear blue skies for the Sunday ride to the Australian Motorcycle Expo. PJ wore his awesome boots, specially embedded with diamond initials on the heel.
Led by Wally on the Rocket III, 11 Triumphs departed the Wharfshed Café. It was going to be an easy ride straight up the freeway to Melbourne but then Wally led us off on a detour via Werribee. As we crisscrossed the suburbs of Werribee there were many among us that were thinking “What the…”. When we finally pulled up in a suburban street outside a house the T’bird pulled up beside me & with a laugh I heard “Looks like we’re here to pick up the guns & drugs!”.

After the tour of Werribee we ventured on to the Expo. The usual glitz and glamorous girls were everywhere – except the Triumph display! After a bit of walking around we found it – the Rocket III a big giveaway! But with so many glamorous and eye catching displays around there was no time to lose. The Gotham City display certainly believed semi-naked chicks could attract the boys & they were right - we lost Lee a couple of times only to find him wandering around Gotham City in a daze!

Kawasaki were showing their age and even the bike models looked old! Honda’s concept bike looked awesome. A Triumph 675 triple would have looked good. Then there was the new BMW K1200R – never thought I’d think a BMW was cool but this one looked okay. Suzuki & Yamaha aren’t doing anything different but Ducati, Aprillia & MV Agusta stood out among the crowd.

A cloud of burnt rubber smoke hung over the road outside and the noise of Harleys was overwhelming - very environmentally friendly…

The Trumps rode away quietly and headed to Lygon Street for an afternoon coffee and then off back to Geelong & home.

It was a good day that had many of us asking again what has happened to Triumph Australia. The bikes are awesome but the enthusiasm and excitement that was shown by some of the other manufacturers just wasn’t visible at the Triumph display. Great bikes that need to be presented with the pride they deserve. Maybe next time some of the riders should be given the opportunity to work on that display. It’s hard not to defend these great bikes especially when the guy next to you is criticizing them without even sitting on one! Come on Peter Stevens lets see some vigor and enthusiasm for this great brand of motorcycle and the people that ride them!