[wolfy]

The Urban commute.


The everyday dance we all do to pay taxes and afford our lives. Sucking the joy out of our bodies, especially if you live in a concrete mess like Bangalore. Dealing with fellow "motorists" coming from all directions, thankfully, no flying cars yet. Dealing with roads that do not exist, with potholes and humps and water logging, flyovers and underpasses that seem like challenges from a gameshow. But we all gotta do it.

Over the ~2 decades of commuting to work in Bangalore, my tool for the job has always been an overkill. From the old bullet 350/500, RD350, RX100, Pulsar 200, Duke 200, Ninja 650 and the Ninja 250R. Only Miss.Isle, my zx10r hadn't been subject to the grueling commute.

When covid hit all of us and we sat at home becoming fat and frustrated, the concept of a "daily" commute changed for most of us. As the world slowly started opening up and corporates started teasing their minions back into office with the promise of a hybrid work set up, I started thinking of getting myself a commuter. The RD and the 10r were the only bikes I had, I "needed" a commuter. Commuting by car was just so boring and it took SO much time.


On the way back from a drive from Mangalore with my brother sometime in early 2021, we received a whatsapp message from a common friend about a Triumph Speed Triple 1050 for sale. "Ask him how much?"

"Why? You want eh?"

My mind went back to the time I had test ridden the speed triple in 2016. I owned a Ninja 650 back then. I loved the way that triple sounded and was instantly reminded of Mr. Tom Cruise in the movie Mission Impossible. I also thought the bike was just too much. Too powerful, too top heavy and just too much in our urban environment. “One has gotta be insane to own this and ride it here in India dude!” I remember telling my friend Dheeraj back then.


“Let’s call him and ask no? Asking is free anyway!” And we made the call.

By the time we reached home, we both knew where this was heading. I spent a few sleepless nights on youtube and forums, ignored all the negatives, focused on the positives and went to check out the bike against all logic. Of course I went alone! It was covid times, remember! There was nobody to speak sense into me.

There she was! In a basement, covered up and spent a year in hope to be ridden. I was the one who was going to show her the world! Wait! I still hadn’t decided to buy the bike though. I didn’t need a bike. I had barely ridden the ones I had over the past year. I probably should just have a look at the bike to get over it. This was unnecessary.

“You want to take her for a spin?” Asked the owner as he fired her up!

That is the moment, I decided.


A test ride around the empty streets of Bangalore sealed the deal. 5 days later, I was riding her home. She needed some work to make her one of mine. The tyres were shot, there were no frame sliders and the yellow wrap, while it looked good in pictures, was showing major signs of age. I managed to take my older one for an early morning ride, my nephew for a small spin, managed a morning ride or two to stretch her legs a little and stared at her for hours on end.














Then on April 26th 2021, we were under lockdown again. The dreaded second wave! $#%!#@%

With nothing much to do, I armed myself with a mask and went to the basement to start giving her a make over. Panel after panel, i sat at home and started the painful process of removing wrap. The rewarding bit was some pristine factory paint underneath!









Speedy was looking brand new! I had kinda lucked out. All I needed was for the world to heal and offices to open.. well it eventually did!







The first big ride came a year after buying the Speedy! Speedy? Oh yes, I did name her. Trinity!









Some time in June of 2022, Trinity started her commute duties. Since then, the miles have been piling slowly but surely. Spending most of her days battling the ever increasing traffic scenes of Bangalore. A few big rides do happen every once in a while but not as often as I’d like. Such a joyful experience. Her burble and crackling exhaust note is my antidote to a bad day at the office.









A little over 3 years of owning Trinity, I’m super glad I made that bad decision of picking up a 2014 1050cc, 140 something horsepower torque bomb of a commuter. I am the worst person for financial advise but I think I know a thing or two about making some awesome memories!!







Cheers!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[doga]

amazing pictures @wolfy. I'd be honest the yellow wrap looked better than the stock white.
I am looking at used options and the speed has been a favourite. Is the bike reliable, as in any less than other Triumphs? I have heard the gearbox can give trouble? How's the spare parts situation? I am being told that some speed spares may not be available at all now and that the Mumbai dealer doesn't have a stellar repo!
Hope you continue to enjoy your steed and drop pictures timely here!

[GTO]

What a beautiful experiential story! I'm not into motorcycles, but still read your thread. Love that line about not being the right guy for financial advice, but being the king of making memories.

We are two of a kind. Got to make the most of everyday, and every weekend. Even if I get my hands on a crude truck like the Gurkha, we go out and make memories of it.

Ride safe & keep revving, Wolfy . Your thread is going to the top of our homepage today.

[Uthappa]

Superb motorcycle, rare and unique. Good to see you're nurturing the next generation to be petrolheads too!!

[Captain_Slow_01]

That Garage shot with the 10R & the RD350 looks dreamy!

[Nitish.arnold]

Wonderful addition to your steller garage,
Please mention your Instagram ID so that I can follow your journey.

I had the SpeedTriple1050 in black in 2020,
amazing machine, I had the single-sided arrow exhaust & not the dual underseat ones,
so the backfires & the burble was much louder.
& the way it picks up speed from even low RPMs is so much better in city, unlike it's inline4 counterparts which take off over 7000RPM.
The intake whistle was something I got addicted to as well.

If not for the windblasts at unmentionable speeds on this forum,
I would have retained it always.
Had to get a faired SBK after trading it for those weekend highway runs.

[wolfy]

Originally Posted by doga

amazing pictures @wolfy. I'd be honest the yellow wrap looked better than the stock white.
I am looking at used options and the speed has been a favourite. Is the bike reliable, as in any less than other Triumphs? I have heard the gearbox can give trouble? How's the spare parts situation? I am being told that some speed spares may not be available at all now and that the Mumbai dealer doesn't have a stellar repo!
Hope you continue to enjoy your steed and drop pictures timely here!

Thank you Doga!

I loved the Yellow Wrap look too. But in pics. Up close was a slightly different story. My borderline OCD did not allow my eyes to ignore the crinkles and bubbles at some edges. The yellow wrap on the tank was ageing too. And that was 3 years ago! I did/do spend an unreasonable amount of time thinking of a custom paint job on the Speed. The yellow Dominos are a tribute to her old dress. I did the unwrapping because this was peak covid times and my hands were itching.

The bike so far, 10+ years of her life has been very very reliable. I have changed her battery (been a close to 3 years now), her clutch plates (at 34k kms on the odo) and tyres (twice). She has a BMC filter in her and so far, has had no drama or glitches. I tried getting the clutch plates form Triumph, but they wanted half a lakh for it. So I ended up getting barnett clutch plates from the USA for a little over half that cost. Since this model has barely any electronics (just ABS), its a very simple motorcycle to maintain. Oil filter from Hi Flo and then just regular maintenance every 6ish k kms.

Originally Posted by GTO

What a beautiful experiential story! I'm not into motorcycles, but still read your thread. Love that line about not being the right guy for financial advice, but being the king of making memories.

We are two of a kind. Got to make the most of everyday, and every weekend. Even if I get my hands on a crude truck like the Gurkha, we go out and make memories of it.

Ride safe & keep revving, Wolfy . Your thread is going to the top of our homepage today.

HEy Hey GTO! Thanks man! Means a lot. Mad recognizes mad!

There are a million reasons not to choose this tyre shredding monster as a "daily" rider, but the joy of spending time on the saddle of one as many times as I can is the one reason that trumps everything else. I'd pick the keys of an exciting motorcycle or car/jeep over a boring "practical" vehicle any time of the week, every time!

I will go through your thread.

Originally Posted by Uthappa

Superb motorcycle, rare and unique. Good to see you're nurturing the next generation to be petrolheads too!!

Thank you Uthappa! The next gen at home will, hopefully, take to it. I am hoping the next gen reading this chooses passion over practicality.

Originally Posted by Nitish.arnold

Wonderful addition to your steller garage,
Please mention your Instagram ID so that I can follow your journey.

I had the SpeedTriple1050 in black in 2020,
amazing machine, I had the single-sided arrow exhaust & not the dual underseat ones,
so the backfires & the burble was much louder.
& the way it picks up speed from even low RPMs is so much better in city, unlike it's inline4 counterparts which take off over 7000RPM.
The intake whistle was something I got addicted to as well.

If not for the windblasts at unmentionable speeds on this forum,
I would have retained it always.
Had to get a faired SBK after trading it for those weekend highway runs.

Thanks Nitish! It's a phenomenal motorcycle. Relaxed motor and so unstressed. Scary torque when you give her the gas. Looks and sound add to the experience!

[rahulkr14]

A beautiful story narrated equally beautifully! If I may say, I was in a similar situation during Covid times when I "needed" a car. I ended up buying a pre-owned Abarth Punto and have had an amazing time with it since then. Another point of similarity is my daily office commute in this car through peak traffic in Mumbai. Often joke with my wife over low single digit fuel-efficiency that this is the least traffic friendly car we could have bought. But then the heart wants what the heart wants. Congratulations buddy for your amazing bike collection too! Ride safe.

[Oggy]

Absolutely loved reading through your post. I've had a 2020 Speed Triple since may & love it. IMO the best all round motorcycle you can have, an absolute icon. Attaching a photo for reference.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Beautiful report Wolfy and looking forward to more updates with Trinity. Wishing you thousands of miles of happy ownership

I can also relate to the emotions, but on a more humble level. I commute with the Tiger Sport 660 more often than my other vehicle- the Jeep Compass (right tool for the wrong job again -being a BS6 Diesel manual in Bangalore!) . And my commute is 60kms per day if I'm visiting the office closer to home, or 105 kms (80 through the city, but then who rides through city when better and longer options are available ) on the days I visit the office where my manager sits. Nothing helps clear the mind so well after a long day like a motorcycle ride on a good stretch of road.

[rajeevsulu]

That is a very beautiful motorcycle. Prudent financial knowledge and good memories seldom go hand in hand.

As we all know,we only live once and makes sense to live it up .

Cheers

[wolfy]

Originally Posted by rahulkr14

A beautiful story narrated equally beautifully! If I may say, I was in a similar situation during Covid times when I "needed" a car. I ended up buying a pre-owned Abarth Punto -------
But then the heart wants what the heart wants. Congratulations buddy for your amazing bike collection too! Ride safe.

Cheers Rahul! I love the Abarth Punto! The heart wants what the heart wants.

Originally Posted by Oggy

Absolutely loved reading through your post. I've had a 2020 Speed Triple since may & love it. IMO the best all round motorcycle you can have, an absolute icon. Attaching a photo for reference.

What a beauty! I think yours came with riding modes? Better brakes too (are those M50 calipers?). It's great to see some speedys show up here on the forum. I have seen maybe 3 other speedys other than mine on the road in the past three years here in Bangalore. Please do share more pics of your bike here!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Beautiful report Wolfy and looking forward to more updates with Trinity. Wishing you thousands of miles of happy ownership
-----
I commute with the Tiger Sport 660 more often than my other vehicle- the Jeep Compass (right tool for the wrong job again -being a BS6 Diesel manual in Bangalore!) . And my commute is 60kms per day if I'm visiting the office closer to home, or 105 kms (80 through the city, but then who rides through city when better and longer options are available ) on the days I visit the office where my manager sits. Nothing helps clear the mind so well after a long day like a motorcycle ride on a good stretch of road.

Thanks again Sujai! Man, I am jealous of your commute. I used to take a long route to office to avoid traffic through the city. But then a million apartments started getting constructed along my long route and 50 humps every 50mtrs came up. Now I just grin and bear it through the city. Do you get highways along your commute? That tiger must be happy to stretch her legs a little.

Originally Posted by rajeevsulu

That is a very beautiful motorcycle. Prudent financial knowledge and good memories seldom go hand in hand.

As we all know,we only live once and makes sense to live it up .

Cheers

Thank you Rajeev!

[SnS_12]

A dream office commute and even though it’s in one of the worst traffic jammed cities of India still better than sitting inside a car and crawling back and forth from home to work.

I have done this only once on the Busa and the half day I was in office my mind was only focused on it being safe in the open parking spot I managed in a place like Nariman Point within my office premises where getting parking for a car is a luxury. The traffic situation was bad then and hence I left office post 3 pm but that is not even an option now as the traffic situation is just getting worse by the day and the day we have beautiful open roads like Chandigarh it will come with a speed limit of 60 kph in the city, so better to enjoy life now with what you get.

My maximum riding did happen from 2005 to 2008 when I used to commute on my RX six days a week and cover 3k kms monthly a number the big bikes in my garage don’t even see in a year now. Those were the best days of riding and I am glad I was not concerned on savings back then…Memories and financial discipline definitely don’t go hand in hand.


While riding a two stroke to work daily never made financial sense I bettered it by doing it on a ported two stroke which would do speeds I cannot type here and definitely what the speedometer needle couldn’t handle or display

[wolfy]

HAha! Great post SnS! You said it, things are changing for the worse in big cities. All we got is today (all we got left). Love the RX meter pics!! The RX is probably still a great bike to commute on? I remember commuting on mine and it was a blast. The RD commutes ensured I reached office smelling like a mix of 2T smoke and sweat. Half the sweat was in anticipation of whether or not I will be fouling my plugs in chock-a-block traffic.

Thankfully, my office parking is very secure and my colleagues are now used to the big bike. She still stands out but the speedy does not grab attention like her faired siblings. Being plane jane white helps too. The scene on the road however Many people these days do not appreciate the motorcycle alone, they want revvs.. many requests to revv are persistent.