The process that started with a casual visit to the Triumph dealership in Jan, finally came to conclusion today with taking delivery of the bike.

The Beginning:

Come the new year 2016, on an uneventful weekend I decided to visit the Triumph dealership in Pune for a lack of better things to do. Daytona had been one of my favorite bikes for long but the Street Triple had never caught my fancy, but one look at the bike in metal and I was love struck at first sight. The bike in all it's glory was literally begging to be ridden but due to time constraints I couldn't take a test ride.
Fast forward to one week later and I was at the dealership again for the test drive and boy oh boy, a ride it was! Used to riding a Thunderbird, the bikes sheer power delivery, the exhaust note, the maneuverability, the urgency, it was all nothing less than orgasmic. A 5 km test ride had plastered a unfaltering grin on my face and that was the time I decided I have to have this bike.

The Realization:

My finances are no where close to merit an inpromptu superbike purchase and hence, it was down to all the years of maths classes to figure out the funds to sponsor this dream. As I arranged for the finances, I also thought of considering a long time favorite, the Z800 but the dealership in Pune didn't provide test rides outside their complex. The Triumph in the same time was very forthcoming with providing more test rides, in city, on highways. The confusion was killing me and I needed a test ride of Z800 to make up my mind. After following up and egging Kawasaki for a month, they finally let me take the bike out on the roads and that made up the mind for me. It had the power, it had that big bike feel but it didn't have the connect, the bike just felt too tame, and then there was the 50 kg extra weight over the Street Triple which you felt in city riding.
On top of this, the Triumph was now providing a 30k exchange bonus on the Street Triple, so I sold off my Thunderbird. Also the dealership, went out of their way and provided me with a 200 km test ride on one of their weekend rides.
I didn't need more convincing and made my booking for the Diablo Red color by Feb end.

The Waiting:

With the decision made and the booking done, now was the time to get finances in place. Meanwhile, with no bike to ride, I was keeping myself busy watching reviews, mods, ownership experiences. I also got in touch and met a couple of fellow xbphians, who helped out with the decision making process.
There were also a few trips to the dealership just to look at the bike (the bikes were in stock and one was already assigned to my booking). I also chose the accessories which I wanted to fit, those being - Frame sliders, Engine covers, Fork protectors, Flyscreen and the Tank pad (for now).

The loan process was taking sometime and my patience were waning. The news of rto tax rates increasing from April 1 made me fast track the whole process and I finally made the complete payment on 29th March with tax being paid on 30th March and hence successfully avoiding the price hike

A special mention here goes to the dealership which was more than accommodating and very helpful and forthcoming during the whole process of the bike purchase.

The Delivery:

So all the formalities done, I fixed the 4th of April as the delivery date and landed up at the showroom.
Here are some pics from the delivery:












I'll be posting more pics and updates soon.