Just my luck, I thought a mid-week trip up to Birmingham to see all the new bikes - including that Triumph Scrambler I've been lusting about - would be nice and easy, no traffic. Hah! Torrential rain and sheer bad driving saw the M25 closed due to accidents, and my 2 hr journey turned to 5 hours. I'll be honest, I was in a foul mood, then had to pay £30 to get in - no senior discount. But then I saw this little yellow Vespa and just had to cheer up!
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| Back in the day - feet turned out a must. |
After a little look around I headed over to the Triumph stand, full of anticipation, ready to sit on that new scrambler and ask questions before ordering one. I was slightly underwhelmed to see the bike in the metal, the paint schemes were a bit boring and to be honest, it looks a bit of a big old lump. However, not to be dissuaded, I spent time looking around it and asked the Triumph salesman all about it - and he wasn't the slightest bit interested in talking to me.
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| Looking bored |
So I wandered off and spent time looking at the rest of the show - but feeling a bit disappointed.
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| No idea what this was! |
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| Moody lighting - to disguise the boredom? |
Then I came across the CCM stand, and those little bikes look good! Hand-built in Bolton, Lancashire, fitted with a little 600cc single made by Husqvarna, they were just so nicely put together.
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| CCM Spitfire |
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| Cafe racer |
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| Now thats what I call a fairing - two girls behind it having a chat |
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| New Indian 1200 Flat Tracker |
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| Weird styling from long ago |
After wandering around a bit more I found myself back at the CCM stand looking at their bobber. Now I like the idea of the bobber, having a great interest in old Americana, but the reality is that a giraffe-like Englishman just doesn't fit on one. But I sat on it anyway, and it was comfortable (ish).
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| CCM Bobber |
Then I met Reggie, a lovely little Lancastrian who works for CCM assembling bikes. We chatted for quite some time, and he showed me all over the bike, we discussed every detail. I got so enthused by his obvious love for the bikes and the company that I put a deposit on a bobber!!
So now I am in a bit of a quandary; the sensible part of me says cancel the order, either stick with the Tiger or get that new scrambler (even though the salesman was a twat). But the romantic in me says get the bobber, open-face helmet & zip around looking .... well, probably like a giraffe on a moped!
What do you think Sonja? You usually have the best advice for me.
