Did you know about the other Triumphs?

The other day I discovered one of those things one think couldn't have left behind in one's life. I don't know how many of you guys knew there was a second Triumph originally from the first one that we all know and that is widely treated in this blog.

Siegfried Bettman known as Triumph founder made his first factory in Coventry, UK, and the rest of the story is more or less known by most of us. However, he also made a second factory in Nuremberg, Germany. Both companies started making bicycles at the beginning and it wasn't until 1902 that Triumph made it first motorbike. A year later, the year of the creation of Harley Davidson, Triumph created it first motorbike in the Nuremberg's factory. Due to legal reasons, both factories were seen as different and subsequently couldn't have the same name so the opted for TWN (Triumph Werke Nürnberg) and the moped on the top of this is an example of those bikes.

Here's the Boss TWM. Isn't it similar to a T100? to a Bonneville? I think it's beautiful and it should be a great bike for that time. If you want to know more about them you can see this link as we all trust wikipedia. If you don't just google these bikes or look for something else. I will continue to inform myself in the future about these new known bike for me.

Remember that if you want to share your pics or comments or just want to say how stupid I am for not knowing these bikes just drop some info in my e-mail!

Doro Pesch - the Metal Queen!

There are two kind of metalheads only; those who know former Warlock singer: Doro, and the few stupid who don't. This german blonde got my attention since I was a kid and I admit to have always been in love with her as she is one of those gals who we all want to have at the back seat of our irons but... she rides alone.

Motorcycle History

It's amazing how motorcycle maniacs sometimes ignore the old taste of a bike. We might like classic type bikes but we certainly ignore the basement of all that. The creation of the bike as we know it today is still uncertain but we know there are several evidences of when it started and by whom. However, I have heard that more than one has been considered to that honour. It doesn't correspond to me to decide that, I'm a humble man and I just feel grateful for the motorcycle history which I find a total revolution like trains, cars, planes and all those smoky devices. Motorcycle, from my point of view, are more related to horses than to bicycles, but who am I to judge anything?

I can't imagine the World War II without motorcycles and I think by that time -nothing that comes to now- war between motorcycle companies; Indians, BMWs, Harley Davidsons, Triumphs, Nortons and everyone trying to sell bikes to the armies in battle. Riders fighting on motorcycles in a more agile way that other vehicles.

Many of the bikes of that time started being motor bicycles and adding an engine to that known structure was someting; redisigning the whole machine into a more efficient and poweful iron was another aim of a much higher difficulty but impossible to be made unlees the previous stage. But all of them looked enourmously beautiful to me so I imagine those first engineers like artists in the biggest sense of the word. If you don't believe me just to at this 1923 BMW R32.

Since then, motorcycle world has never stopped its particular evolution and has come with better machines. To me, some of them still have the same old spirit, others have all the techonology, and only a few of them have everything. In gals and bikes we are also going to show this old spirity of motorcycling, so important for me that I write these things, and for you I guess, who reads them.

Kat Von D

Down by the mud

It's not a surprise I like the custom and cruiser like bikes. Also choppers but I find them of no use in my daily life and I don't have the money to afford another bike. Mud is not a good friend of any bikes and specially not of a cruiser but there's no other option sometimes. I was riding on a lonely secondary road, those I like most, and I found the tarmack full of mud, stones and dirt because of the strong rain falls on the previous days that nobody had cleaned. The first contact with mud was good. My bike drifted a bit, my galfriend felt a bit insecure for a second and that was all. Then I got used to find mud from time to time and that was when the problem started. We fell down. Nothing bad at the end, a bit of pain in knees and elbows and that's all but never lose concentration on a bike!

My iron is much better than me, nothing happened to the bike and nothing was broken so at least I must be happy. My gal and me went back home to have a showe and to take out mud from our trousers, jackets, gloves...

Triumph is redesigning a legend

It shouldn't a surprise so far to any of us that Triumph has created a brand new bike for 2010 that will shut some mouths but that will also create some controversy around it. This is the bike, the 2010 Triumph Thunderbird.

It sports an engine capable of crusing and dragging as far as I can see from its numbers. The biggest parallel twin in history is a 1600cc with 84bhp that can be even increased up to 1700cc by a kit also designed by Triumph.

With this move, Triumph has clearly gone to the Harley Davidson range as producing a bike so similar in numbers can only lead to an attack to the USA market, which is a piece of cake to everyone, that's for sure. But this model has existed for far longer that the new parallel twin as it was Steve McQueen's bike in The Great Scape. The bike has obviously had many changes since them.

For many Triumph fans, the name Thunderbird, however, refers to a more sporty bike rather than a cruiser and there were instant reactions on the web whether the guys form Hinckley have gone mad or something like this. To see what are their base we just have to look the Thunderbird before this new one.

From my personal point of view, I think the bike is superb. Despite the fact of the name, the bike looks awesome and I'm willing to ride it. To be honest, it could become my next bike as it is in the exact range that I am looking for and the price is not a Harley price. It seems this bike is one of the most well balanced cruisers in the market and it allows cornering easier than others. The parallel twin will also be noticed in a cloned V-Twin bike world. Wanna see some more, you can check Triumph's site.

The bike mounts a 200mm rear tyre, lots of original accesories and looks pretty well. As I see it, it would be more authentic to have a Bonneville, but with my great passion for the Bigger is Better theory, and having the Rocket III so far out of my reach this bike could represent the best of the old café racers -never forget is a Triumph and even being a cruiser, it will be one of the fastest cruisers- and a Harley without their typical problems.