Well Hey There, Tiger – Welcome to the Family

Does it get on your nerves when your other half thinks that they know what’s best for you? Well, then you probably aren’t in a relationship with Kenny. Say hello to my new girl: 2011 Triumph Tiger 1050SE.

2011 Triumph Tiger SE

As my dear friend Delly from Wales would say – She’s all Singin’, All Dancin’ – Bags, ABS, Heated Grips, Centerstand, Hand guards, Gel Seat and very Tiger-y orange paint.

Against my will, this new Tiger followed me home. I know, you’re shedding a tear for me. Boo hoo! I got everything I ever wanted and more!

My New Tiger!

Go ahead, call me a jerk. But the truth is I didn’t really want a new bike. Kenny could buy himself or Chloe a new bike 10 times over and I wouldn’t care. But, I really didn’t need a new bike. It felt selfish, frivolous and unnecessary. Every time that we touched on the subject the week before pickup I immediately felt like I was going to get diarrhea. But he was adamant and like a good girlfriend I didn’t want to disappoint him.

All the way out to Hermy’s Triumph – BMW in Pennsylvania, Kenny kept saying “you aren’t excited are you?” That wasn’t really a cut and dry question to answer. It wasn’t that I was unhappy that someone was giving me a new motorcycle; I was loaded with guilt. How can you be excited when you’re feeling like you don’t deserve such a treat?

Apparently the only way to absolve yourself of such feelings is to quit bellyachin’, take your gift and just flippin’ enjoy it! 🙂

My new Tiger at Hermys

If you just got here – posts from California have featured a bike just like this one. That wasn’t my bike – it was a rental.

I haven’t scoured the web to find out what if any changes were made between this 2011 and the 2007 model (like the California rental). But I can tell you it feels different. Everything is tight and firm and of course there is the new bike smell. Nowhere to be found is the soft, pliable feel of a shagged out rental bike.

I swear the bars feel different and my gel seat is much firmer. Also – and this is a big one – the front end feels FAR more precise than the rental bike did. The rental bikes had a vagueness in front end feedback that I learned to live with. That does not exist on my bike. It feel much closer to my Speed Triple. Do I chalk that up to tires? My girl is happily sporting a pair of Pilot Roads.

As we rode the 200 miles back home from the dealer, my guilt left a wake behind me. It swirled away in an eddy on the highway and dissolved there. I didn’t need it anymore. Blondie was on to something. This bike felt FANTASTIC! May be he really does what’s best for me?

What’s that? Am I being followed by the ice cream man? I guess I forget to mention that Kenny got a Tiger for himself, too 🙂

Kennys new Tiger

I am blessed in more ways than I can describe.

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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27 Responses

  1. Strega_Rossa says:

    ::Lifting jaw off floor::

    Congratulations girl. That is one sweet-looking ride. May you travel hundreds of thousands of safe enjoyable miles.

    My wet blanket moment – Hermy’s really? Ever since his son took over the dealership years ago he only wants the “hot” bikes. I called, wrote and faxed about information for my Moto Morini which was purchased there many years ago and never got the courtesy of ‘sorry we don’t do Moto Morinis any more” :/

    • OG says:

      I’ve been doing business with Herm Sr and Jr for years. Both great guys and a truly great place to shop. I’m sorry you feel like you got the cold shoulder but I know those guys well enough to know it wasn’t intentional. I’ve watched Jr. spend hours helping guys with old Triumphs, etc. and never take a dime of their money.

      If you need Moto Morini parts, go to http://www.herndan.com, they still bring over what’s available.

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks, Peggy 🙂 I hope to do just that!

      I’m sorry to hear you had a negative experience there 🙁

  2. Tim Frazier says:

    Kenny may be generous, but I bet he’ll admit there’s ulterior motivation as well ’cause all guys know there’s nothing hotter than a girl who rides her own motorcycle. He wants to keep you happy and road-ready.

    Maybe I should go buy Robin a Triumph America…

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks bunches, Wendy 🙂

      And.. I finally got to see the Reading pagoda while we were in the neighborhood. You were right, the ride up is quite nice. Someone was telling us that they hold car road races up to the pagoda. Have you ever attended or heard of that?

  3. Trobairitz says:

    Congratulations on the new rides.

    I don’t think you should feel any guilt, he just wanted a Tiger riding buddy with him. That is a good thing.

    Happy riding on the new bikes……

  4. Anthony says:

    WOOOHOOOO! That’s awesome news. Hope you have many miles of smiles on the new bike!!

    PS How’s that Bowie hair going today? 🙂

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks, Anthony 🙂

      Unfortunately my helmet squashed any hopes of keeping my ridiculous Bowie hair today. But I did sing “Bowie’s in Space” on several occasions (from the show Flight of the Conchords).

  5. Crudmop says:

    My thoughts on Hermy’s, for what they are worth…

    Buying from there was a bit of a hassle – 3.5 hours away, had to rent a car to get out there, could have certainly found one a lot closer.

    They worked a very fair deal for the 2, though I’m sure I could have gone back and forth to work out a slightly better deal if I tried hard enough.

    But here’s the primary reason for buying from them: a few years back, on a trip down to the gap (on our way to meet up with poster OG above), Fuzzy’s speed triple broke down due to a careless error by the dealer who had just serviced it. An hour outside of Port Clinton, OG recommended them as a good dealer and we decided to bring the bike there and do our best to beg for help the next morning when they opened. Hermy understood our plight, pulled his best mech off the work he was supposed to do and spent an entire day trying to get the bike back running to get us back on track – it was warranty work, and he could’ve very easily pushed it off for a week or two like most dealers would – but he didn’t. They worked all day, and the mech actually wanted to miss his daughter’s recital to stay on to keep trying after 5p, at which point we refused to let him do so. He apologized for not being able to fix it in time. That day I swore that my next triumph would be bought from them, and I made good on that promise. They deserved it. In a world of crap dealers, those guys actually CARED. Ymmv, but to me they are a class act.

  6. GLantern says:

    Congrats on the new bikes they look great!! And yeah let the guilt go he did buy himself one too 😉

    Now the question is how similar are they to your speed triple? When you walk to the garage who will get the nod for a ride?

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks, B 🙂

      You’re asking a question I am not emotionally prepared to answer. I love my Speed Triple so much – I don’t want to let it go. But I think this might have forced my hand 🙁

  7. Andrew says:

    Nice! I’ve ridden the previous model and was impressed!

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks, Andrew 🙂

      I think what I like most about the bike is that while it certainly isn’t a sportbike – it does a good job of pretending 🙂 It doesn’t feel like you’re riding a hulking behemoth. It’s light on it’s feet.

  8. RichardM says:

    The new bike looks great and is a great color. I’ve finally started to see some of them around here (the nearest Triumph dealer is 350 miles away). There was a new Tiger in our small group that went to the Arctic Circle last month.

  9. Matt says:

    Nice looking bike. I am debating between a 1050 and 800. Going to demo an 800 in the coming weeks. How nimble is the 1050? I considered it, but have concerns it might be a bit heavy and big for buzzing around in the city on the weekend.

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      I’m thinking you couldn’t go wrong either way with your choices. 🙂

      I personally would have no issues riding the 1050 around a place like Manhattan but it all depends on what you’re used to, I guess. Would i prefer riding the DRZ there – yes 🙂 But if i had only one bike, i wouldn’t be deterred in any way by the 1050.

      The 1050 is pretty light on it’s feet. That said – the rentals we had that didn’t have Pilot Roads felt a lot more lazy upfront.

      I have to imagine the 800 would be lighter and easier to deal with overall. Good luck with whatever you choose!

  10. ToadMama says:

    Screw guilt. It’s gorgeous! Enjoy! And give your man a big squeeze. Love is definitely knowing what the other needs even before they do. 🙂

  11. DUC748 says:

    Congrats to you both on two fine looking machines! 🙂

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Thanks, John <3
      I hope you get to see them in person one day soon. I think this year coming we may be doing a few more long weekends instead of a big fly/ride trip. Save your vacation days! 😉

  12. Cadillac Jack says:

    Very sweet rides! Getting crowded in that garage? 🙂

  13. George F says:

    Congratulations, beautiful bikes.
    Kenny now knows that when his bike is in the shop he has another to play with 😉 Lucky you, it also works for you 🙂
    Guilt? forget it and enjoy.

  1. October 14, 2011

    […] She and her main squeeze recently did a motorcycle tour of northern California. It’s so much fun living vicariously through her. If you’d like to see some of the very cool California pics mingled with very entertaining commentary, follow this California link. Or visit her main page at http://www.fuzzygalore.com. Oh yeah, did I mention that she just got a new Tiger? It’s gorgeous… […]

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