Training on the Trident
Gareth heads further afield on the Trident 660, and he’s learning a lot…
Every day’s a school day. It’s a phrase that’s right at the front of my mind when I consider my relative inexperience, and why I was happier than most at the opportunity to have my riding assessed by a real expert – Ian Biederman, Director at BMW UK Motorcycle Road Skills Centre. On MCN we do this periodically to ensure that we’ve not fallen into bad habits, and of course to learn what to improve. But more than that, it was also among my first opportunities for a full day out on the Trident. An adventure; and on work time! Ian’s premises is roughly 40 miles south from my house and it was my first visit, so I had no clue where I was going. A quick check of the location online showed it wasn’t worth the risk of winging it with no nav, but thankfully I’d thought about this and planned ahead. I’ve been testing a Quadlock for a while now, and once my phone was mounted to the bars I fired up Google Maps, and made sure my Bluetooth was connected to the Cardo intercom system in my lid. This way I can get periodic audio nav instructions, cutting down on the amount I need to glance down at the device.
I’d made sure all this was up and running days before my assessment, but as the big day approached, so did a huge weather front. Storms were on the way, and it didn’t look likely I’d avoid them. Fast-forward to the day and I had 20mph winds and a decent amount of precipitation to contend with on the way down there. There’s a Rain Mode on the Trident, which turns up the traction control’s intervention and dials back the throttle response a little, so I thumbed the M button to switch.
This made the journey far more palatable – particularly since I was wearing an all-inone rain suit that acted like a sail at speeds over 60mph. Triumph will sell you a fly screen for £105 if buffeting is a concern, however, and of course there are the usual aftermarket suspects on hand too. I’m not a massive motorway fan so personally, it’s not a huge drawback for my riding. Still, I made it to Ian’s in one piece, and indeed around his test route as he imparted words of wisdom. By the time we were done, the sun had come out, I’d switched back to Road mode and I had a brilliant blast home, primarily because I took the time to programme a waypoint that meant I avoided the A1.
‘I switched to Road mode for the blast home’