"The Seagull” | This is the story of a long-time-dreamed bike

Alfredo Jiménez after several years following the blog has finally found the time to write this short story about his passion for motorcycles and how he realized his dream, a dream common to many.

I´ve always like bikes. I used to run every wheeled gadget in my hands since I was a child. Specially downhill.
When I was a youngster with 12 years old I woke up early in the morning to wacht the races in TV. If someone crashes, I know who it was before the tv journalist. Always. 
I bought religiously two magazines a week which readed from A to Z.  
I knew the evolution of the engine of every bike perfectly and knew every single thing published whichever it was.

My first bike was a 2 stroke moped with 14 years old, and then the logical evolution into four stroke with a 125 cc scooter took place at the time of getting driving license for “the big ones”.
After that the university came and no time for bikes unfortunately as I studied away from home. Then. I started to work prior finishing my studies and casualties of destination maybe I became the most enthusiast bike fan without a bike in the world.

Life passes quickly and suddenly you realise you are in your fourties …and why not telling it with a mid-life crisis.  The work I was doing did not fulfill myself, and it was not clear for me the place in the world I was supposed to take.

In the meantime I dreamed with bikes. Sometimes awoke. I used to tell my wife that I wanted very much one…it has been always my dream. Also was intended ot be my piece of reality-evasion. But she was worried because of the danger of bikes. Also we have common sense, and with a non secure work and a four years old kid there was not the best idea in that moment…specially if you are interested in having a estable marriage. In the meantime and now with the social media present, I learned everything about café racers.

Finally one day I achieved a promise from her…the day I had an estable work I will have my bike.

After a couple of years I decide to apply for a vacant in a public company and still don´t know how exactly I did it…but I took the position. It was just a matter of time then.

I had one thing clear…I was not interested in RR bikes, my wrists were not ready to suffer pain and required more handling capabilities, also I was looking for something with style. A classic bike with lots of heritage on his bars will suits perfectly with my idea…and customized according to my preferences to give the class-touch.

The election was easy…a  Triumph Bonneville T100 SE was the choice after a search of a couple of months. Another easy election came then: the best-looking Triumphs in the world were built by the Spaniard shed Maccomotors. I support them since his very first creation on the social media, and we exchanged messages to each other frequently.

Finally one rainy day in a comercial centre of Malaga I had an appointment with Jose and after a couple of hours speaking about the world of custom bikes it took just five minutes to have the deal.

First stage was achieved and now was time to design.

I let Jose know my preferences: the bike it has to show my personality with personal details which were a kind of tribute to things important during my lifetime:

The first bike which impressed me with 4 years old was the Koji Kabuto´s one at the Mazinger cartoons. This meant that my bike will have a double exhaust system. After months of searching the net, not a single double exhaust for a Bonneville was found. One day I view one that I like seriously: the Spark made for the recently released Ducati Scrambler. I told Jose and his smile at the phone meant just one thing ( He confessed me later he wanted to try with this exhaust in one of their creations, but nobody of his clients took the risk till myself ): this was a real challenge for them to adapt it to my bike, I didn´t hesitate I would like the final result as I knew about their capabilities and was not negotiable, will be the presentation card of the bike.

I do live in a coastal town and work in front of the sea: The colour will be blue. Like the sea. But a special blue…RAL 5026 was the election. Not many Bonnies were painted in blue so this reinforced my decision. Blue and black, a combination of temperance and style. To give the personal touch, the stitching on the diamond-pattern seat will be blue too. 

During my long period watching races, there was one rider who specially impressed me for his courage and personality. I watched all his progression since his debut till his retirement. It was the first Spaniard 500 CC Champion: Alex Crivillè. His number, 28, will have a place on my bike too.

With these and others details agreed ( list was long ), there was just one thing left: the name of the bike, to continue their tradition to name every single creation they release. My inspiration was not awake till I remember one thing: a couple of days prior to my exam to get the vacant, there was an episode that came to my mind later:
I was nervous and a little grumpy because of the pressure those days and during a walk with my wife and son a big bird literally shits on me. The first reaction of my wife was to laugh…this made me angry and I left the place grumbling. She came afterwards still in laughs saying “ no worries…this will bring you luck”. The bird  was a Seagull. And the final decision was made as it was true or casualty but it brings me luck.

Now “the Seagull” is a reality and I am the fortunate owner of it, which I really enjoy in every single ride I made.  

More info on Maccomotors