Blacksad | A hardboiled feline PI in the vein of Philip Marlow has the gritty underworld of 50’s America as seen from the perspective of a grizzled black cat gumshoe. Created by Spanish writer Juan Díaz Canales and artist Juanjo Guarnido its vision is stark and fresh.
Prehistoric Pratt | Toy bike from Matchbox of the Triumph Scrambler ridden by Chris Pratt’s character velociraptor handler Owen Grady. I need to elbow room in my wall display…
Space Man | peering over the ‘bars like some Ray Bradbury character a modern desert sled pilot scans a desolate horizon and aims the Triumph Scrambler towards a distant point in the future.
Princess Leia 1940’s | The earmuff hair-do gives it away. Post war dame takes a racing crouch pose aboard this 500cc Tiger.
An Army of One | someone certainly has a strong appreciation of the Triumph brand with this forearm tattoo in traditional sailor font.
Cay-eyes | The ‘M’ fur pattern emblazoned across the forehead of a tabby cat to me looks like an extra pair of eyes. So when they have their head down whilst eating or drinking they look like they’re staring ahead. As motorcyclists we don’t have the luxury of camouflage peepers, we need to use our real Mince Pies to keep an eye on the road ahead. Concentrated vision is key.
Ten past Seven | Flying time to count the unforgiving seconds along the road. Aviator chronograph with a clean precise military outlook.
39 Years Ago | Recently my family acquired a stack of old Classic Bike magazines from the Eighties. A few made it back to the States from our recent trip to Scotland. Here’s a typical classified back page where information on parts, repair, sales were a key part of vintage motorcycle restoration and maintenance. Remember this is a generation before the all seeing and doing InterWeb. The monthly magazines were essential reading for the enthusiast.
Line Up | A healthy looking range at the Triumph showroom in Motoworks shop. The current models are each worthy of the accolades they are receiving. One diamond jubilee Bonneville special looked particularly pleasing with polished engine covers and a pearly Union Flag wrapping the tank.
Scrambled Eggs | a semi adventure was undertaken today – Dean was trying to get a test ride at Motoworks on a demo special 2019 Triumph Scrambler 900 with an eye to buy. The latest all singing and dancing machine from Hinkley. But it had been snagged by another customer and they had failed to let Dean know this. No other models could compare with this deal. Hopefully another bike of the correct model and price will come along soon!
Mini in Red | my cousins project is coming along a treat. Classic Mini in rally colours here showing off the Sir Alec Issigonis inspired engineering to achieve compactness before it was chic.
Big Blue Bike | midweek muscle found with this burly Triumph Thunderbird Twin. It’s like a rolling version of the sign from yesterday’s post.
Shop Banner Sign | Blue logo with three stripe icon below it. Good clarity of branding easily seen at 1901 S Western Ave. Chicago. The three stripes hark back to Turner days and the tank badges of the fifties Speed Twins. The building motif is appropriate too: M.C. For motor-cycle.
Technology | Now that we are well into the Twenty First Century everything gets fettled with Apps (applications). The Tiger being such a technologically inclined machine you can plug in your laptop with an ECU reader and delve into the program gubbins. Here the throttle bodies can be balanced – a far cry from balancing a pair of Amal carbs! Error codes checked, service intervals set, ABS brakes bleeding, sensor readings, instrument testing… it’s magical!
