Ahhh - the famous Trumpetta. Bought new in '92, the bike on which I discovered the fun of fast continental touring, coincidentally where I first met Tony (aka FLASH). But despite that trauma I still try to get abroad three or four times a year...

Reliable as an anvil, the only problems I've had with the Trophy are chains which seem fine at 10,000 miles then snap at 11,000 (taking a lump of crankcase cover with it on one memorable occasion in France), and a wiring loom burn out (at around 45,000 miles, so fair does). She's had a dynojet and K&N fitted which made a huge difference in power delivery and, as an unexpected bonus, improved fuel consumption by 10% - she'll hit reserve at about 190 miles, and I've actually seen 249 miles on one tank. And on that occasion she ran out as I opened the garage door - trusty or what?

Top heavy, but a surprisingly good handler - I've shocked more than a couple of 'blades and R1s on her. But too heavy (dire on hairpins) and not enough oomph - gets left behind on acceleration and top end (tho she'll fly up to 135, then creep up to an indicated 140 on the flat: and I've seen 150 on the clock, on a long, downhill(ish) bit of autoroute). A future classic (early example of reborn Triumph, in

British Racing Green, natch ), and the early (pre-1993) were the best ones - Triumph basically hand-built them because they were so paranoid about reliability. Ironically, the early ones had a better tool kit as well!

With 50,000 on the clock and a garage completely cluttered with bikes, I finally sold her to a guy from Yorkshire. Only got pennies for her, but as I never rode her more than once a year (to get the MOT) it seemed a shame not to let someone else enjoy her. And I'm pleased to say that, after his test run, the buyer's mate reckoned that mine pulled far better than his - a later model than mine. So I hope she's gone to a good home.