With Val off to keep her new owner happy, I was free (and funded!) to find ‘the bike’ to replace the VFR. I already knew it would be a Triumph Speed Triple, and thought I wanted something in the ’97-’02 age range. I had my personal reasons for that; but the fact is the ’03-’04 had significant improvements. The one thing that I kept as a criteria is the color. Doe loved the ‘peridot’ color (which Triumph calls ‘Roulette Green’), so I looked – and looked hard – on eBay, CraigsList, and posted ‘WTB’ ads on all the Triumph forums.

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Then I realized I’d found Simba with a simple post on the ADV forum, so I gave it a shot. 24 hours later I was contacted by a gent who had seen my post. He hadn’t decided for sure to sell the bike, until he saw my post; but was sure I was the right buyer for his beautiful ’03 Speed Triple 955i. He sent pictures, and we spoke at length on the telephone, and a deal was made. Soon she’ll be headed for California …

September 14 Update:

She’s on her way! The previous owner was kind enough to post this short clip for me just before she departed NJ on the way here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9goYH-5ZEE&feature=plcp

September 19 Update:

She’s near Des Moines, Iowa at the end of the day today. It’s even possible she’ll be here next week!

She’ll get a name, and her own page here when she arrives in a month or so…

September 24 Update:

SHE’S HERE ALREADY! https://foothillryder.com/marvelous-mantissa/