Helping the Local Triumph Dealer

Thriumph Day in Geneva yesterday. Left my green Rocket III on display at the dealership in the morning. Unsurprisingly, it only elicited superficial interest (except for one elderly dude seriously asking me how I had managed to squeeze a Massey-Ferguson backhoe loader engine in a HD frame ). Yet, I managed to persuade half a dozen visitors to try to dealer's black demo Rocket, basically telling them not to be intimidated: "Look at me... am twice your age... ... am... say... half your weight ... only problem with it? it needs more power..." etc. which seemed to be rather encouraging ).

Rode mine back home around lunch time. Put my red racing leathers (with a ski jacket over them) and boots on and, as the dealer had gently requested, I took the Daytona to his yard for static display purposes (his red demo unit --the only OTHER Daytona 675 in Western Switz-- having a two-hour waitng list at 1:30 pm and being therefore gone most of the time). Extraordinary success. Not only from Triumph devotees, but kids showing up with all kinds of Japanese supersport bikes. Convinced four other senior joy-riders to hop on the demo Rocket in the meantime. One, who had come to see the Scrambler with a Porsche Cayenne is a definite prospect, said the --thankful-- dealer

Great story. You sure know how to keep busy in real kewl ways...

So Jamie are we going to see you anytime soon starting a career in sales? Sounds like you may be a natural...

Yeah Jamie, with retirement looming, I guess you'll be spending more time at the dealership then it will only be a matter of time and you'll be on the payroll and straight out of retirement! Oh well, it was a nice thought!

Hey, if you'd said to the young guy, "the owner of the Rocket is that young guy over there" (pointing in general direction of the guys milling around the Daytona), you may have had more interest in the Rocket. Is it not a classic case of the younger gen rejecting the tastes and advise of the older gen? I mean if I was the young guy and an old dude in his fifties was trying to sell an "old man's " bike to me, I'd probably tell him to get back in he's car! Davo