Owner Dave Meredith
“Like everyone else back in 1998 I bought a new CBR600F, but it ended up frightening me to death,” says Dave, a 68-year-old groundsman from Cirencester. “I was in the market for a cruiser styled bike and a trip over to Skellern’s in Worcester had me come across this Thunderbird in the showroom. We had a quick chat and a deal was done. I love the Triumph, especially its style. I think all the chrome and alloy look great and those high bars are just the job. I’ve got some panniers and it really looks the part with those fitted. The engine’s great and torquey. I don’t need to change gear that much. One of the best things is that it’s really comfy. I didn’t really have to fit the king and queen seat, I did it to make it look even better. It came with the open pipes which I do like the sound of. They have to come off once a year though so I can get it through its MOT! “To be honest, I’m too busy working to ride it that much these days and I share time on it with my other three bikes. But I really do enjoy it when I do give it an outing. It’s more of a bike for special occasions really. But a 200-mile run out to the Poole bike night is always good. I had the only trouble I’ve had with it when I got there once though. The starter button ended up vibrating out down the road somewhere, so I couldn’t fire it up. Bumping it wasn’t that easy ‘cos the wheel kept locking. But someone fashioned a hair grip to replace the button and it did the job for ages until I bought a new switch recently. I think I’ll probably end up keeping the Thunderbird forever now.”