My new Triumph Bonneville

[Smallville]

Picked up the new Bonneville today. The final ride on the ST was bittersweet.
Temp this morning was 34*. Had light snow last night. Little frigid but worth the trip.
Picked up the Bonne. Had a promotion for a winshield, centerstand, and luggage rack. Had to order them. So the trip home was a bit chilly.
Still got in about 100 miles today. The bonneville handles as well as the ST. For me anyway.
Plenty of power going down the highway. The ergos are spot on for my 5'8" frame.

Fun bike to ride. Light and flickable. Takes the curves easily and wants more. Then engine note is good with the stock mufflers.
The engine has good pull. Can pull 5th gear as low as 2K.

Have a few things to get used to, such as key location, clutch pick up zone, and such. Nothing major.

Maintenance is easy, although it is shim under bucket. Need to research chain maintenance some more to see what everyone is doing.

Anyway just some first initial thoughts. Will update as I get a few miles on her.

 

[Silver Bullet]

Congrats , like the current crop of Triumphs ,nice line of bikes !

MIKE

 

[travellingtenor]

I have an 03 Bonneville T100 and I love the bike. I will, however, keep my ST1300. The ST can do things that the Bonneville can't.

 

[CDNolddude]

Congrats on the new bike... I had an 03 T100 and it was alot of fun, but just needed something bigger...
This forum is great.. new triumph bonneville forum....
http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=New_Bonneville&nav=start&prettyurl=/New_Bonneville/&gid=2021042225
Ikon or Hagon shocks/springs will help out alot on rough roads..
Enjoy !

 

[Smallville]

Love it! Congrats.

Question- why the Bonnie instead of either the Scrambler or Thruxton? All three are essentially the same chassis, right? Just curious. (I like all three).

Wanted to still be able to ride two up, and this one was a demo so I got a great deal on it.

 

[ealanm]

Nice bike!

I've recently made the decision not to sell my Speed Triple, now that I've bought the ST. I'm going to sell another toy instead, and keep both bikes. I just love the Triumph too much. The ST is a fantastic motorcycle, and I'm growing to love it, too. But the Triumph has a special charm, unlike any other vehicle I've ever owned. A lot of it, for me, is probably nostalgia. The first time I was ever on a motorcycle was on the back of my older brother's 66 Bonnie. I remember that like it was yesterday.

 

[970mike]

Enjoy that great looking bike.

 

[thumperjdm]

Beautiful bike. Had Honda not imported the CB1100, I probably would have bought that exact color scheme. Enjoy the ride!

 

[yosso]

Very nice looking Bonnie.

M.

 

[piper87c]

Congratulations, absolutely beautiful bike!!

 

[nakerr]

Love the bike. Now IF I can convince my wife ----- I want a Scrambler. Of course I will keep my ST as well.

 

[Bigmak96]

Cool, I love the look, makes me miss my 72 Tiger. Enjoy it!

 

[the Ferret]

I also had an 03 Centennial Edition T 100. I opted for the TOR pipes, grab rail, centerstand, W650 fork boots, and eliminated the eps crap. Put 20,000 trouble free miles on it before selling it to my younger brother who has put another 10,000 trouble free miles on it. It has not even had a valve go out of spec. Rear brake pads seem to wear quicker than fronts. I thought it needed more power and better brakes, and replaced it with a 750 Nighthawk, which I felt needed more power and better brakes, which I've since sold and bought a new CB 1100.

Doubt you'll ever own another bike that garners as much attention as the Bonnie.

 

[Smallville]

Congratulations!!

A little tip with the chain. Clean it often with kerosene and a grunge brush, my first chain died early cause I let it get dirty too often. I've been through quite a few chain lubes (although haven't tried the expensive ones) and the Pro Honda with Moly is my favorite. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the tip. Triumph reccomends lune every two hundred miles. Seems excessive. With the drz I usually go every 600 and clean when needed. I will have to try the honda stuff. Use crystal clear something or other now. It seems to work well and does not attract too much dirt. Just hard to controlled the flow when applying. Seems like its full blast or nothing.

 

[Smallville]

I also had an 03 Centennial Edition T 100. I opted for the TOR pipes, grab rail, centerstand, W650 fork boots, and eliminated the eps crap. Put 20,000 trouble free miles on it before selling it to my younger brother who has put another 10,000 trouble free miles on it. It has not even had a valve go out of spec. Rear brake pads seem to wear quicker than fronts. I thought it needed more power and better brakes, and replaced it with a 750 Nighthawk, which I felt needed more power and better brakes, which I've since sold and bought a new CB 1100.

Doubt you'll ever own another bike that garners as much attention as the Bonnie.

I like that paint.

 

[Smallville]

Every 200 miles??? Good lord.

I'm thinking I may streach that a bit.

 

[Smallville]

Went for a weekend overnight ride. About 400 miles. Bike was trouble free the whole way. Only hiccup was a starter switch that needed cleaning when I got home, causing difficulty starting sometimes.
We rode to the ozarks to enjoy some twistys. Cold and rainy start. Not as bad as I figured it would be however.
Bike handles great in the curves. Really a FUN bike to ride. The light weight makes for a flickable bike, and makes parking lot turning and moving around easy. The town we visited has basically no flat ground. Everything is on a hill. Moving the bike around was easy due to the light weight and fairly low seat height.

The engine has a unique sound and feel. The parrell twin has great power delivery. Likes to rev.
We rode super slab part of the way down and back. The Bonneville had plenty of power to run 80mph with some left over. Almost no vibration make for a smooth and relaxing ride. Just sit back and enjoy the scenery.

Fuel range is good at approx 200 miles. I averaged around 50 mpg for the trip.

Anyone thinking about picking one up for a primary or secondary bike, I would reccomend them. Just a fun bike to ride. They also have quite a large aftermarket following.

 

[tgreenwald]

Good luck with the new bike she's a beauty.
I went to buy an ST 1300 and nearly dropped it at the dealer. He said-how about a Bonneville. I said-no way I want a new bike. I did not even know Triumph was still in business.


This was 3 years ago and I took a test ride. It was great and flickable but not exciting. He showed me the new Super Sized Bonnie America-the Thunderbird 1600. Now that sucker got my blood going and I bought it. Just saying if you love the Bonnie and want more for 2 up the Thunderbird is a fun bike. Belt drive no chain.

I get 45 to 50 mpg and with a 6 gallon tank it's got great range. I have hard bags and a big windscreen. It's not an ST or an RT or an FJR but they are all too tall for me so this is my attempt at flat footed sport touring.

My wife is currently looking at a Speedmaster and I hope she goes for it.

 

[Smallville]

Good looking ride.
I don't like the feet forward position. Otherwise I might look at one seriously. However I like the lighter weight right now.

Good luck with the new bike she's a beauty.
I went to buy an ST 1300 and nearly dropped it at the dealer. He said-how about a Bonneville. I said-no way I want a new bike. I did not even know Triumph was still in business.


This was 3 years ago and I took a test ride. It was great and flickable but not exciting. He showed me the new Super Sized Bonnie America-the Thunderbird 1600. Now that sucker got my blood going and I bought it. Just saying if you love the Bonnie and want more for 2 up the Thunderbird is a fun bike. Belt drive no chain.

I get 45 to 50 mpg and with a 6 gallon tank it's got great range. I have hard bags and a big windscreen. It's not an ST or an RT or an FJR but they are all too tall for me so this is my attempt at flat footed sport touring.

My wife is currently looking at a Speedmaster and I hope she goes for it.

 

[tgreenwald]

Good looking ride.
I don't like the feet forward position. Otherwise I might look at one seriously. However I like the lighter weight right now.

The biggest surprise for me was after the feet forward on the America the Thunderbird with the floorboards had a nearly neutral foot placement. I could move my toes to the back of the boards and it felt like my old BMW or my Pacific Coast or the Bonneville. I was amazed that I could drive and handle such a big bike. Plus it gets over 50 mpg and stops on a dime.

My first ride on a foot peg Thunderbird lasted about 3 minutes and I did not go past the parking lot at the dealer. I tried the floorboard SE version comes with all the goodies pre-installed plus auxillary lights, back rest, dual tour touring seat, front and rear crash bars.

Up to this point I hated floorboards and could not see the sense of them. Now I can't do with out them.

Things were great the first year other than needing new tires after 7000 miles-the Bird eats tires. Then from pushing too hard on a big pipe wrench at work- ouch a hernia. I had surgery and waited about 6 months to try the bike.


Then the weight was a ***** to deal with and I thought I was crazy to have purchased such a heavy bike. I was using my brides Suzuki S50 which is an 800cc 450 lb bike. Fun to ride.

The Thunderbird was just too big. It made me feel older than I am. I had to sell. I was depressed.


I had nearly ordered up a Bonneville and was going to go trade in the big red 1600 when I just decided to fight back.

I read Mastering Your Heavyweight Bike by Pat Hahn. I watched a video Ride like a Pro by a Harley Riding Motor officer.

I got some serious boots and never got near the bike with out them. Dammit I was going learn to ride the beast.

So after work I would go out around a closed neighborhood and do slow speed work. U turns, slow speed driving quick stops. After about 3 weeks I was getting used to it and now it's not that hard to move around. (side note-Victory is now offering a reverse gear on the aluminum framed bikes like the Cross Country-be so great to have it on the ST and any big bike I can think of) if your careful not to park it nose first in an incline. . It's taken about 14 months for the hernia to stop hurting but finally has.

Other than the weight it's really similar to the Bonnie which is my favorite bike. I had one in high school in 1969 for exactly 1 day. I ran off the road and into a big goldfish pond with the bike running and it never would start again. Took me 20 more years to get back on a bike.

Next for me? I'm going to test ride an ST and may go for a new one or even give the Wing FB6 a try.

I would have been very happy for the Thunderbird to stick with the triple engine like the last version of the Thunderbird from 98. A 3 cylinder 1200cc cruiser Thunderbird that was 150 lbs lighter would make a great bike. Make it shaft drive and count me in.



The bike is not nearly as important as is riding one.