I hope there will be a lot of interaction with the crowd but my first priority is to arrive on time in the center of Brussels

So I decided to drop the thought of buying a Sprint GT. If I wanted to spend some cash I at least would like to have the sensation of having something new while driving it. So how to solve my craving for a new bike…and more specifically, my craving for a real tourer bike? With the mileage I will be pumping the coming years I’m really looking forward to the comfort of a tourer and I was getting slightly stressed by the fact that Triumph didn’t have anything in that range. I was becoming so stressed that I did a test-drive with the new K1600 of BMW last year. OMFG (pardon my French), delicious, great, what an experience… the corresponding price-offer more or less halted the blooming romance between me and my German mistress. Not that it was that expensive (oh, who am I kidding, of course it was to expensive…) but the problem was that I wanted a more or less naked K1600. The looks on the salesman’s face should have warned me that I was doing something “not done”. Let me just re-enact what happened :

Sales : So, eh, you want no onboard GPS and no onboard Radio…correct?
Me : YESSIR
Sales : so no prebuild radio, speakers and GPS wiring
Me : NOSIR… and why would I do that if I don’t want a radio and a GPS??
Sales : To increase resale value…
Me : I couldn’t care less.
Sales : you realise that your dashboard will be rather “empty”.
Me : meaning?
Sales : Well, all the slots that are foreseen for the speakers, GPS screens and corresponding buttons are closed with plastic lids.
Me : a bit like when you order a car without any option and that you see buttons that are not activated on the dashboard?
Sales : Indeed
Me : how does such a dashboard looks like then on the K1600
Sales : I wouldn’t know, we never had a driver that can find his way without a GPS and who has a built-in sound system in his helmet and who doesn’t want to blow the neighborhood away with 150 decibels of music like you. You are definitely not the typical BMW-driver.
Me :  NOSIR and I guess I’ll never be…

In short, I really like the K1600GT and the R1200RT but have you seen one without the horrendously expensive options? the K1600GT has a dashboard the size of a matchbox if you don’t take the GPS-system and if you forget the speakers you have so much “empty” dashboard that it makes you wonder what all that plastic is for. I could use the space I save by not taking the speakers for a small fridge (THAT would come in handy!!) but off course such very usefull options are not offered (a shame).

Anyhow, I really considered buying the K1600GT but it stays a bit pricy, so I was in doubt. It was then that the first spy-shots were released by Triumph of the new Triumph Trophy 2013 (somewhere around September 2011).

Well, well… isn’t that what I’m looking for? It’s more or less a shameless copy of the R1200RT (IMHO) but hey, who cares? The engine is a three-cylinder shaft driven 1251 cc that we already can see now on the Tiger Explorer that has just been released. The first reactions I got there from people who tried it out are quite super positive. Okay, I don’t think it will match the 1600 cc in line beast that BMW delivered on the K1600GT but again : who cares? The final specs aren’t there yet but boy am I craving to try this puppy. I even heard that it will have the possibility to light all 4 turn lights at the same time (people knowing Triumph will agree with me that this is quite close to a miracle).

I’m a bit afraid that it will have the same “if you don’t take all the options you will have a bike that will look like an empty Christmas tree” problem…but I’m rather hopeful. Triumph is known to deliver complete and honest bikes even without options. I’m wondering if they will uphold that custom now that they are entering the realm of the popular Tourer bike. They are rather silent on the release date but current rumors talk about September-October 2012. I have no details on pricing yet but there the idea is : BMW’s price minus 1000 €. That would be a small drawback…the R1200RT costs around 20.000 € more or less full option (no GPS) so that would mean that the Trophy would  cost 19.000 € with the same options. I hope it will be a bit cheaper and that the almighty dealer will give huge discounts (Did you hear that Dirk??).

Nothing more to do know than to wait and watch the official announcement with all the details but boy…am I excited.

Source :

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/New-bikes/2012/February/feb2312-2013-triumph-trophy-spied-in-finished-form/
http://moto-online.be/content/scoop-la-triumph-trophy-1200-modele-2013 

Well, in order to avoid the misconception that I wouldn’t like Miss Lemaire I just want to point out that I couldn’t care less even if Miss Lemaire would be the most talented radio-maker in Flanders. And this is because my listening habits have drastically changed. I don’t listen anymore to live radio nor live television. Since I discovered Deezer, Spotify and Isohunt (ahem…) and I hacked my Apple TV2 with XBMC on it it really couldn’t care less if Miss Lemaire would drop dead tomorrow (my condolences to the family). We just do NOT watch, nor listen to live-media because it is just to much to listen and see the tons of incredibly BAD commercials, especially since the media agencies have discovered Social Media. My God, do they really think we are STUPID? So now my average day is still filled with music and programs but only when I want it and with the content I want.

Nothing new with that concept (it already exists since Jesus was still in diapers) but people who are still honest (and stupid) enough to buy DVD’s or BR’s are forced to sit through 5 warnings of the FBI that they are committing a capital crime if they would lend the disc to their little niece, after that they have to sit through 5 commercials of movies they never want to see and only then they can (maybe) see the movie they have actually purchased. So even when you’ve payed honest bucks, the industry decided that they can force-feed you with commercial crap and messages that scare the crap out of you…

So back to Sofie…I sincerely hope you will find satisfaction in your job and that you will run like a nice hamster in the thread-mil of the media but I hope that your new employers understand the changing landscape of the media (and I explicitly avoid the term “new media”). I’m fed up with the daily commercial crap I have to endure listening to our public radio. Luckily they also offer on demand radio through internet streaming and since I dispose of a descent data-connection on my mobile I’m wondering what that antenna is still doing on my car.

To conclude this rant : I’m finally having the means to comfortably listen to content without commercials before, between and after programs. This shouldn’t change anything for Miss Lemaire. I will probably still listen to here ramblings if her content pleases me but I won’t listen to the advertisers that are paying her salary. I don’t know how the media will react to this communist behavior of mine but I know I’m not the only one. My advise would be : make good content and sell directly to the consumer. If incredibly cheesy crap like “Kony 2012″ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc) can reach over 70 million viewers, then I think the potential is out there… So after all…you have it all in your hands Sofie, good luck to you and go for good content.

Below you can see the pictures of the evening :

in short : a very niiiice evening

And some more pics from the party here :

Château Nagelmackers in Angleur

We are already working at our new office there but the official inauguration will be on the 6th of May. Give me a sign if you want to join us then.