Trading Triumphs—Again?

Well, now, here's a quandary.

My buddy Mike Mosiman called me this weekend and said he's thinking of selling his Triumph Scrambler because he's got the hots for another BMW R1200GS. He rode his brother-in-law's GS last week on a visit to California, and now he's in love again. He must have a big GS, and nothing else will do. Which I can understand—these are great bikes, and I've only missed owning one myself through a combination of bad timing and cheaping out on something else.

Anyway, Mike's Triumph Scrambler is nice. Typically, he's thrown about $3000 in aftermarket parts at it. It has a complete Norman Hyde twin-muffler high-pipe exhaust system on it, better shocks, a cartridge emulator in the fork, better handlebars and upgraded dual-sport Avons. He even bought a Bonneville right sidecover and had it repainted with a "900 Scrambler" logo because the heat shield on the stock sidecover didn't look right with the new pipes. The bike's also rejetted and runs great. I've ridden it a couple of times, and it's really dialed in.

After I rode Mike's bike last summer, I decided that one of my winter projects would be to make nearly all the same changes on my own stock tangerine-and-silver 900 Scrambler, which is a year newer than Mike's '08 bike and has 6K fewer miles on it.

But now Mike wants to sell his Triumph. Which is all done and ready to roll.

So. Do I quickly sell mine (if that's possible in midwinter Wisconsin with a glacier up against your garage door) and buy his? Keep my own low-mileage bike, a year newer, that I bought new and broke in myself?

This weekend, my friend Jim Buck called from Boise, Idaho, and said a buddy of his is looking for a Triumph Bonneville or Scrambler. Did I know of any?

Hmm. It's stuff like this that keeps guys like me awake all night with the gears turning. I've got Jim's number right here by my desk. And Mike's, too.

Do I pull the trigger on a deal like this and set off a wave of complex, cross-country trades that involve shipping two bikes thousands of miles or driving to Colorado in my own blue Ford van? Standing in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles to transfer yet another title and explain the situation to a weary state worker?

Or just, for once, ride my own bike the way it is and save myself (and the atmosphere) from burning all that gasoline (or diesel oil), and save days of flailing around to make it all happen?

My tendency in life has always been to create the maximum amount of pandemonium possible and shake things up, just to make life interesting, so I may have to make this trade.

What with all this snow and hibernation, it's been a little too quiet around here lately.

—Peter Egan