Beauty has 800cc's and Its Called a Triumph Speedmaster
Beauty comes in many forms. I see beauty around me every day and I like to bask in its allure. I admire beautiful things but they have to have character and they have to speak to me on a primal level. The things I find beautiful can range from a magnificent building, to an exotic car, to stunning woman (and even a man), to an old beaten up house or even a piece of technology. Some may call me materialistic but I do not need to always posses these things, however one thing came along recently that almost felt like fate. As if the big man upstairs took a moment to peek through the clouds, tap me on the shoulder and say, “Sam, here is something you’ve wanted for a very long time and now you can have it.”
On a day when I had borrowed my father’s motorcycle, I was riding into Santa Monica with my girlfriend. I was heading north on Lincoln Blvd and I was eager to stop into MotoClub, a used motorcycle shop that had been there for more years than I can remember. I always loved the bikes they had out front, Ducati’s, Triumphs, and some boss Kawasaki’s and Honda’s, a small selection but a great selection.
The owner Victor Ruvlacaba greeted me as I walked in. He was man that look remarkably like a former boss I once had and it turns out that Victor knew that former boss of mine. He also knew my father once I told him my name.
I looked around and my eye caught this beautiful Triumph cruiser, I did not know Triumph had a bike like this in their line-up. I have always been attracted to triumphs, especially the newer ones because they do not have the reliability issues of the ones pre-1970. You see the new triumphs maintain their design roots but were bought out in the 80’s and now are as reliable as the Japanese bikes but that’s a history lesson for another time.
I sat down on this Triumph Speedmaster (Yes…Speedmaster, love the fucking name) and immediately was like this is amazing. It fits me like a glove. I wonder how much it is? I flipped the “for sale” sign over and could not believe my eyes. I yelled across the showroom and asked Victor, “Is this bike tip top? Is there something wrong with it? Why such an amazing price? He had told me it was solid and was taken very good care of and the price was what it was due to it being a private sale and he wanted to sell it to someone local. My mind started rearranging my finances in my head and seeing what I could do and what I could come up with. I asked what it would take for him to hold it for me? He told me a monetary deposit could secure it for a couple weeks.
At this moment there was this Italian couple eyeing the bike and they went over to Victor and were talking to him. I was so enamored with the bike, Korena pulled me out of my tunnel vision and told me that the Italian couple was trying to negotiate a price for the Speedmaster. Korena was sitting and listening, she leans in and tells me, “If you think this is the bike you want and its everything you’re looking for you now is the time, otherwise you’re going to loose it to these people. I’ll spot you some cash if this is what you really want.” I turned to Victor and said, “Hey, I’m going to come back and put a deposit down. I want this bike.” The look on the faces of the Italian couple was priceless.”
After doing some research on this bike my instincts were correct and my love for it only grew stronger. The reviews from the media were fantastic, the reviews from owners were fantastic, and no one had anything bad to say about this motorcycle. I mentioned to my dad something about a Triumph and he exclaimed, “Don’t buy a Triumph, it’ll be in the shop all the time!” I brushed it off because he’s old and he was referring to the Triumph’s of yesteryear.
When all was said and done, I walked out of MotoClub about a month later on my new ride. Victor and his staff provided me the best level of customer service I have experienced in a while; truly top notch service. Before I took my bikehome Victor took the bike out a couple days and put it through its paces, fixed some small issues, tightened the bolts and kicked the tires. Everything felt right and that’s a good feeling. I’ll be coming back here again and again for anything I need for my bike. I highly recommend MotoClub and anyone looking for a Ducati or Triumph, you’ll want to check out his store. If what you want is not there, Victor will do everything he can to find you want: a quality bike that you’ll love.
2013 Lincoln Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.882.5684
It has been a bit over a week and I guess it only hit me recently, (must have been when the transfer of title went into my name) but I can finally cross two things off my bucket list. Got me another motorcycle, and I got me a Triumph.
Since I’ve had this bike I’ve been stopped almost daily with someone telling me what a great/beautiful bike it is and I don’t think anyone can disagree. It has beautiful lines but when you drive it really shows it colors. It’s comfortable, sticks to the road (handles almost like a sport bike) and gets great gas mileage (when I drive it conservatively) and is nice a fast when I need it to be. It is truly is a beautiful thing. Im riding on cloud nine...oh wait, its really a Triumph.
