Meet Dick Kreidel, CAL's featured customer for November 2008

Customer: Dick Kreidel
Age: 58
First Bike: 1964 Yamaha Trail 80
Newest Bike: 2009 Triumph Bonneville 50th Anniversary Edition

What do you ride?
One of my Triumphs.

Modifications to motorcycle:
Not the 50th Anniversary!! Really, this one will remain dead stock, Well... maybe only a set of Norman Hyde exhausts and a 19T countershaft sprocket.

Motorcycles currently owned:
Your not gonna believe this, but the 2009 Triumph Bonneville 50th Anniversary Edition, 2-2007 Triumph T100 Bonnevilles (both tangerine and white), 1-1968 Triumph T120 Bonneville (I'm the original owner!), 1-1968 Triumph TR6, 1-1967 Triumph TT Special, 1-1967 Triumph T100 Daytona, 2-1966 Triumph T120 Bonnevilles ...and a 1960 pre-unit Bonneville. Too many others to list - but a few Tiger Cubs, a 500cc flattrack bike I used to race, and a 1963 Beezer Goldstar basket case. What can I say? I like Triumphs.

My favorite bike is (and why):
1967 Bultaco Pursang - it was almost impossible to keep the front wheel on the ground and I learned how to wheelie.

Dream bike:
Honda Rune.

The best ride I ever took was:
Munich Germany to Bellagio Italy on a borrowed BMW K1200 GT.

Advice for new riders:
Dress properly and assume everyone else on the road is trying to kill you.

Advice for experienced riders:
Help one rider learn to how to ride safely. I'm now riding with a new rider who is 35 years my junior and I want to pass along a few things I learned the hard way. Every experienced rider should mentor a new rider - it's not only "paying it forward", but a lot of fun.

Additional Thoughts from Dick:
I used to work as a mechanic at a Triumph and Yamaha shop in SoCal in the 60's and 70's. When the shop closed up, after Honda started eating the Brit's lunch, I bought all of the Triumph parts. I think I could keep my old Trumpets running for 100 years with the collection of spares I have! I maintain a few older Triumphs for my family who have old 60's Triumphs. The old bikes are nice and have a lot of character but the new Triumph twin classics are so much better bikes. They are as reliable as a rock, stop fairly well and offer an authentic riding experience without the "issues" of 40+ year old British bikes. If someone told me I could only have one bike to ride, it would be one of the Triumph T100 Bonnevilles.