Clive...

I put in a priority reservation on this one.  The email from Triumph estimated mid-October delivery.  Won't know for sure until I see it and test-ride it, though.

I don't have a spousal firewall when it comes to bikes, though.  It helps that I've been riding for 15 years, used to teach the MSF course for a few of them, and am every bit as safety-conscious and OCD as you'd expect when it comes to my motorcycle-riding health and well-being.

I also know that just under half of all motorcycle fatalities find the rider with a BAC at/above 0.08.  Riding after drinking is just begging for trouble.  Then a significant portion of fatalities are had by people who are either unlicensed (i.e., inexperienced) or on suspended/revoked licenses (i.e., terrible drivers to begin with).  After you pull the dumbasses out of the stats, bikes don't look *as bad*.

Some stats just can't be rebutted, though.  On a per-accident basis, you're something like 8x likelier to die and 16x likelier to sustain serious injuries if on a motorcycle v. in a car.  The theory is that responsible riders tend to have fewer crashes per mile operated than the statistical rider.  I'd also think riders have fewer crashes per mile than car drivers.  Just look at all the distracting crap folks do all the time in cars: cell phones, texting, eating, makeup, CDs, ...  On a bike, you have none of that -- you just have the operation of the vehicle in front of you.  (OK, I do have a GPS, but I also have a Bluetooth headset so it can direct me without my looking at it.)

But I can throw stats and rebuttals at you all day long.  Sit down, brutally assess the kind of riding you'll do and the condition of your mind/body that you'll allow to pilot the bike.  That will give you your own answer.

I might also mention that the strong and all-but-confirmed rumor is that Triumph will implement fuel injection across the Modern Classic line.  They do rolling production changes, so early 2008 models may lack it, but by end of year, they'll all have it (reputedly).  Given that the motor is the same in the cruiser line, I'd be surprised if they too didn't get it.  (Actually, I'd bet they'd definitely get FI, as the Modern Classics are widely regarded as being the last bikes Triumph would ever take carburetors off.  "Classic" and all that.

Triumph haven't yet sorted out their off-idle mapping, so the bikes tend to be a little abrupt when you first come on the throttle from a closed throttle.  The 865cc motor is smaller and less potent than the 1050cc mill, though, and the America (497 dry, ~535 wet) and Bonnie T100 (451 dry, ~500 wet) weigh more than the Sprint I had.  So the effect may not be as noticeable.  Different clutch, too.  I tried to demo a Bonnie, but a "catch" in the clutch lever aborted the attempt before I got out of the dealer's parking lot.

my next one 

Honestly I first started looking at the Sportster (after deciding that the Harley I really want is way out of my price range) but I've never really been a fan of the Sportster line, particularly given that it's really just Harley's version of a Triumph Bonneville. Besides I have always had a soft spot for Triumphs because I used to ride one when I was younger. Based on past experience, the old Bonnies ran circles around the Sportster anyway. Besides, Brando rode a Triumph in The Wild One and it didn't get much cooler than that. Hey, at least it's not a Yamaha in Harley clothing.

Clive- I've been an on again off again rider for years and am confident in my ability to ride safely. I had to sell my last one when I went back to school in my early twenties and it became a purely financial decision. The mrs. grew up riding motorcycles and until she worked in a rehab ward at the hospital, my eventually getting another bike was pretty much an unspoken certainty as long as it also included one for her. Now she's gone all weird about it. I could certainly put my foot down on the issue, but that's just not how I/we work. I'm hoping she'll soften by spring, but if she doesn't, I'll just keep working at it.

Interesting info about the Triumphs. I've not actually ridden one since the early 70s T120 I had in high school. It was all sorts of quirky, but mostly due to being 20 years old, and ridden and maintained by a teenager. I'll probably have to sneak away on a lunch break and give one a spin. I'm not looking to buy a new one, so the FI vs carb issue is really a non- issue. Besides, I prefer a carb on a bike anyway.

I agree that her position skews her senses on the subject. She also has a newly found skewed perspective on pretty much any outdoor recreational activity in which children engage and the ambient outdoor temperature at which they "really should have jackets on."

Out of curiosity, what was the ultimate verdict regarding ABS on bikes?

Best I can tell, it's a benefit, but not nearly to the extent that it is on a car.  When all goes well and the rider is scanning ahead, predicting, and executing to avoid potentials, ABS never gets used.  When the car pulls out in front of you within your machine's minimum stopping distance for your speed, ABS makes no difference.  You can't brake and steer a motorcycle, ABS or no ABS.  No one rides a motorcycle in snow, ice, or slush.  So that leaves the window of riding in the rain, riding over wet-n-slippery things (e.g. direction arrows, crosswalks, manhole covers, steel plates), or riding in sand/gravel ... and needing your brakes in a hurry, but still having sufficient time to emergency-stop.  The biggest benefit is that ABS prevents a wheel lockup upon application of the brakes.  Most riders go down once they lock up the front (don't get it unlocked in time); even if you do unlock it successfully, you're using stopping distance that you probably don't have to spare.

Lost of folks practice their hard braking, but it's just not the same as the surprise event when you get one unexpected chance to do it right, or else.  I can't predict it with absolute certainty, but one thing I got pretty good at spotting in the MSF classes was who had the personality (for lack of a better term) in terms of reactions.  It isn't just reaction time, it's a coolness or ability to have your brain work despite the panic.  There's a spectrum there, and you see all kinds of people at all points along it.  The ones toward the PANIC end are those who should not be riding.

In short: my wife would prefer ABS, because she knows it's a Good Thing on cars and therefore must be good for all vehicles.  But outside of BMW(*) and the land-barges from Honda and Yamaha, good luck finding a bike with ABS.


(*) -- "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.  Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

The only sportster I'd consider owning.


Spacey,
I should hopefully have a Bonneville Black in my posession by the end of the month (I have to sell my wifes bike first, and not having much luck) if you want to test ride one before your purchase.