The booming Triumphs of Garage Company - /RideApart

JAMIE ROBINSON: Here we are in Malibu Canyon. We have a '69 Triumph Bonneville and '75 slash '67 Triumph Rickman Metisse. This is Adey, local fast guy, and we're on a couple of British bikes. Welcome to Ride Apart. [ROCK MUSIC] JAMIE ROBINSON: Wow, Yoshi, you have some incredible motorcycles here. YOSHI: I was in Japan, and I just pick up the older bikes and fixing, always older bikes. I bought maybe two brand new bikes from [INAUDIBLE] in my life. Well, see, same thing. You know, this has a lot of character. Every bike has a different character. New bike, no character. It's very interesting. MALE SPEAKER: So, how long have you been doing Garage Company now? YOSHI: Uh, total about 25 years. ADEY BENNETT: How'd it start? How'd it start? YOSHI: Oh, just my hobby. ADEY BENNETT: At home in "your garage?" YOSHI: Yeah. ADEY BENNETT: It just got bigger and bigger, right? YOSHI: Just bigger and bigger. ADEY BENNETT: Until the wife kicked you out, right? YOSHI: [LAUGHING] Yeah, "get out of here," you know. And this one, original chassis from 1975. And then the engine game from a 1963 Triumph Twin. And they built it completely in England, and then I imported it about seven, eight years ago. JAMIE ROBINSON: I'm just disappointed there's no oil dripping out of the engine. Because usually under British bikes, there's always oil. MALE SPEAKER: Oh, a giant puddle underneath. YOSHI: Sometimes it's scary. Hey, no leak oil? Maybe no oil. MALE SPEAKER: Good. ADEY BENNETT: I got my skinny jeans on. I'm ready, man. Let's go. [INAUDIBLE] JAMIE ROBINSON: This is what happens when we haven't got an electric start. [ENGINE RUMBLES] ADEY BENNETT: Yo, I came around this corner. And I meant to downshift, and I hit the rear brake. The back end went [SQUEALING NOISE]. And I was like, [BLEEP] this bike, man. JAMIE ROBINSON: That's the only thing, man, is the gear change and the brake being on the wrong way. It's got so much character. I can't believe it. ADEY BENNETT: I'm glad it works for you. Because I tried it, and I couldn't fit on that thing. But for you, it's perfect. JAMIE ROBINSON: Yeah, it's pretty ditty. It reminds me so much of a real racing bike, though, you know? It just feels so great-- ADEY BENNETT: The states it puts you in, I can see that. JAMIE ROBINSON: Yeah, like when your chin's kind of on the tank, and the rev counter is just bobbing up and down, it just feels wonderful. ADEY BENNETT: My oldest bike is a '99 Kawasaki ZX-9. So, riding this thing, it's like going back in time. It's a place I've never been before, you know? And it's cool. I mean, the bike wasn't bad once you got it going. In the corners, it was cool. I didn't have to brake much. The engine braking did everything for me. But the shifting was a little sketchy at first until you explained what to do. JAMIE ROBINSON: The thing is, with these British motorcycles, is just taking your time to change gear. Japanese bikes, modern bikes, they rip through the gears. ADEY BENNETT: Yeah, you *** through it. I'm like bam, bam, bam. JAMIE ROBINSON: Exactly, as quick as you can do it. ADEY BENNETT: The bike won't catch up to that. JAMIE ROBINSON: But it's totally the opposite here. You've got to take some time, not take it out too much on the gear box or the engine. And you get a few neutrals in there, as well. ADEY BENNETT: A few? JAMIE ROBINSON: I've got a few, too. ADEY BENNETT: I had more than a few coming up here. JAMIE ROBINSON: And I think that, in part, is getting used to the gear box. Because when I take a bit more time, and I'm not in a rush, it selects beautifully. If I'm going to try and rush it, the bike tells you straight away. ADEY BENNETT: Yeah, that's what it does. It told me that a lot of times coming up here. JAMIE ROBINSON: What do you think about having to kick start these bikes? ADEY BENNETT: That is such a [BLEEP] workout. JAMIE ROBINSON: No, no, for me it is. I'm doing yours. ADEY BENNETT: I'm getting tired watching you start my bike. JAMIE ROBINSON: At one time, British bikes were at the top of the world, you know? ADEY BENNETT: What happened? JAMIE ROBINSON: This is as good as they got, man. ADEY BENNETT: What about the brakes? How did you like the brakes on this bike? JAMIE ROBINSON: I'm amazed. ADEY BENNETT: Really? JAMIE ROBINSON: Yeah, I've ridden old bikes before. But this front brake is one or two fingers. But they're so unique, aren't they? You just know that if you owned this motorcycle, nobody else would have one. ADEY BENNETT: I mean, look, it has a little side-pouch on it. It's cool. See, watch, first time. JAMIE ROBINSON: Yeah! ADEY BENNETT: Yeah, what? First shot. [ENGINE STALLS] ADEY BENNETT: The way it rides, once you get over the vibration, I liked the way it goes through the turns. It was fun. JAMIE ROBINSON: The bike has character, man. ADEY BENNETT: Yeah, but it's a little bit too much character. You got to tone it down a little bit. But as I got into it, and it stayed in its position as I was steering into the turns, it felt really good and natural. I could see it could carry a lot of corner speed. Once you trust it, you could go fast on this bike. JAMIE ROBINSON: When I was behind you on this bike, this bike just seemed to make up so much ground in the middle of the corner. Because, suddenly-- the way it feels is that this chassis is really a racing chassis. And it doesn't feel happy until you really-- ADEY BENNETT: Punch it just as hard as it goes through the turns. JAMIE ROBINSON: I can't believe this is a '69. It's a wonderful ride. It's so comfortable. If I had my missus on the back here, she'd never let me have another motorcycle. This is so mellow. ADEY BENNETT: Yeah, I was having a good time on this bike. JAMIE ROBINSON: And this is a real racing-- it's a classic racing bike, really. ADEY BENNETT: You don't say. I mean, I give props to the old guys that were racing back then, because it takes a lot to corner. Uh, [BLEEP] you. Classic, you set me up every time with that ***. You know what, the pressure's on, so-- That [BLEEP] hurt. Is this in gear? MALE SPEAKER: It's in gear. ADEY BENNETT: [BLEEP] [INAUDIBLE] [BLEEP]-- if it kills us. JAMIE ROBINSON: Come on, dude.