I am blessed to be riding one of the first 2019 Triumph Speed Triple RS in
the states. Dealers are still waiting for their’s, and I have one for a few
days, longer if I wasn’t leaving town. After seeing the prototype a few months
back, here for a brochure shoot, serial number prototype003, I wanted one. The
fit and finish was exceptional, Arrow pipes as standard, along with big Brembos
and Ohlins suspension front and rear. Lots of carbon fiber, but of all things
it was a badge on the handle bars that got me, just a classy Speed Triple RS
logo. I fell to vanity. Or had I? So when offered the first one on Tuesday, I
was at Mick’s shop before it was out of the crate, and 24 hours later have 274
miles of riding experience. Most on the coast, at least today, and I want one
even more, maybe because it is so impractical for the way I ride, maybe for the
way it makes me feel 40 years younger, but really, and this amazes me too, the
technology. Me, Uncle Low Tech...am I losing it or just giving in? Do I really
need 148 hp, or do I just want to ride more....
Some of its features include traction control, which you can turn off so
you can wheelie, a form of traction control that works while leaned over in
corners, a gauge screen that gives you six choices of backgrounds, cruise
control, five engine mappings, keyless starting, an electronic fork lock, and
more info than any fool should be accessing at a high speed. And it all works!
Even the ride by wire throttle feels like it is cable actuated. There must be
more, but for now I rather ride than read about. The only flaw I can find is in
the front end, this thing keeps wanted to loose traction as the front wheel
lifts off the ground under acceleration! Please anyone with $16,750 to spare
do not lend it to me, it could be dangerous. What would my other motorcycles
think?
While riding yesterday I found myself in prayer much of the time. Not for
requests, the most common form of prayer, but in thanksgiving for being able to
ride. And this particular bike. At two bikes shops we stopped at, even the
non-Triumph shop loved it, wow it must be cool to have one. Even cooler to be
loaned one. It would be easy to have a swelled head, or boast, but I can go
back to having only one old ride, with over 70,000 miles on it, and no
technology, and still being thankful for riding. God knows my passion to ride,
and fulfills it in ways I would never imagine, and I am blessed and thankful.
His daily bread of meeting my physical needs reminds me not to take things for
granted. He is the same God who kept me fed when broke and hungry, and the same
one who loves me when I eat too much today. He gives me choices when it comes
to him, something religion or the cults don’t, and I am thankful for the
blessings he provides. We forget to thank Jesus everyday for our daily bread,
for what we eat, where we live, and what we wear. Going to service Sunday
clothes may be OK, but I have learned that jeans and a t-shirt are all I need.
The same trust of Jesus beats within my heart no matter the package it is
wrapped in. If we neglect to remember the Lord in a prayer of thanksgiving, his
grace is still sufficient, but we miss the blessings. When we think that we can
do it ourselves, we are living a lie, for all things proceed from the hand of
God. Just like technology, it may improve life, but Jesus is still the life,
and without him as the starting point, all else is destined to fail.
Starting the Speed Triple takes a starting sequence, and if you try to
bypass it, the bike won’t run. Same with Jesus, we must ask for forgiveness,
after recognizing our sin. We must realize his deity and who he is, when we
know who he is, we will better understand why he came. Yet many do not tune in
to him, and miss many blessings of knowing him. Reading about the Speed Triple
is much different than riding one. Same with Jesus, you may be able to quote
scripture, have read the Bible many times, but until you meet the author
personally, you may be better off just looking at the pictures. Educated or
experienced. Until we do we may not be in spiritual darkness, but myopic, even
blinded by the things of the world. Or the church. Pride makes its ugly
appearance in many subtle forms....
So maybe when we pray “give us our Lord your daily bread,” we need to
remember how he meets our physical needs, and it was the first thing mentioned
in the Lord’s prayer of how to pray. We live in a physical world, despite all
the technology, all the horsepower, and all the king’s horses, only Jesus can
put us together again. Keep the lines open in humility, thank him for all you
have and need, listen for his answer when you ask, then trust and obey. Many
racers claim to have seen God when they enter a turn too fast, he is in the
straights as well. In the pits of life and racing, and on the podium at the
end. You are invited along, don’t let your pride or money get in the way.
Riding at speed is no way to enter a corner too fast, all the technology will
not make you a better rider, it just compensates for your lack of talent. Which
only is evident when you need it. Don’t wait to be in need to come to Jesus,
don’t let your lack of prayer life and relationship cause you to miss out.
Salvation is a high technology no man can ever duplicate or improve on. It
takes a low tech guy who hung on a low tech cross and who made the way. I
anticipate blessings because I know my God loves me. I know his name, Jesus,
and he knows mine. Or in today’s rider vocabulary, “man does not ride alone, but
on every bike that proceedeth from the garage of God.”
Just a note, for any Harley rider who thinks he could ride one, they come
in black. Lest I boast and ride alone.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com