Triumph Bonneville Review
April 2, 2015
The Triumph Bonneville.
Typically at any party, you come across two types of drinkers. Ones that go flat out, want to get really high really fast but once high, they don’t really know how to deal with it. And then there are those that spend the entire night drinking and yet nothing seems to affect them. They’re having one hell of a time but they know how to hold their drinks, they know how to enjoy their highs. In the motorcycling world, the Triumph Bonneville belongs to this latter category.
At first sight, it’s hard not to fall in love with the Bonneville’s quintessentially retro looks. Look closer and you realize that the bike is actually quite modern with alloy wheels, tubeless tyres, oil cooling and fuel injection. Sit across the Bonnie and you immediately notice how low the seat is. With high handlebars, the riding position is upright with the pegs slightly forward set. The low center of gravity also masks its 200+ kgs body weight and the bike feels extremely lightweight and agile. The downside of this is that it suffers from low ground clearance. Going over a short, nasty speed breaker double seat, you’re very likely to scrape the bike's underbelly. The overall fit, finish, chrome, paintjob, etc. is top notch, just what you’d expect from a Triumph.
It’s time to fire it up. A firm press on the self starter and the 865 cc parallel twin engine comes to life with its trademark gurgle while idling. Twist the throttle a bit and the gurgle turns into a grunt. Twist it further and the grunt becomes a roar. With an anxious smile on your face, you’re set to go. The bike is pretty quick off the line and complements that with a nice and strong mid range performance. However, the engine is not very rev happy and easily runs out of breath at higher RPMs. Unlike the T100, the Bonneville does not come with a tachometer so I couldn’t really gauge where its comfort zone was but it was definitely not high up in the stratosphere. Unless ridden hard, the engine is smooth, torquey and vibration free. Vibrations do creep in at higher RPM’s urging you to upshift. Once you do upshift, there is enough torque at the command of your right wrist to surge the bike forward and your body backward once again.
The Bonneville comes with only 5 gears but the gearbox is well mated to the engine’s torque curve and you don’t really begin your search for the 6th gear very soon. Gearshifts are notchy but precise. The clutch feels pretty hard for someone with short fingers but it’s something one can get used to with time. The ride is comfortable and well dampened. The Bonnie scores very high on pillion comfort as well. Especially if you have a short girlfriend or wife, she won’t need a ladder to mount the saddle anymore. The bike is very nimble in traffic and effortlessly changes directions. Not exactly a corner carver but it does inspire enough confidence to lean it into one.
Now comes what according to me is the best part about the Triumph Bonneville: The braking. Yes it lacks ABS, yes it lacks dual front discs. But the bite, the feedback, the engine braking, the tyres, the overall braking package on the Bonnie is so precise and confidence inspiring that you don’t really feel you’re going fast until you look down at the speedo. The tyres stick extremely well with the tarmac and don’t really squeak and squirm under hard braking. That’s extremely commendable considering that this bike comes with the same front section tyre as a CBR 250 and the rear section tyre as a CBR 150 (yes I’m not kidding).
Finally the verdict:
Is she fast? Yes.
Does she scare you? No.
Can it be your everyday bike? Yes.
Can it be your track bike? No.
Can you go touring on it? Yes.
Will your wife and kids love it? Absolutely yes!
Well if you’re an adrenaline junkie wanting to get into a brawl every time you stop at a red light, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re someone who wants to take up track riding seriously, again, this is not the bike for you. But if you’re someone who commutes for the sake of riding, one who rides in a direction and not to a destination, one who lives by phrases like “It’s the journey and not the destination that matters” or “It’s not about how fast but how far you go”, look no further than this sweet little package from Triumph. She’s smart, sweet and forgiving. She’s the one for the long haul. Go get her. She’s a keeper!
Typically at any party, you come across two types of drinkers. Ones that go flat out, want to get really high really fast but once high, they don’t really know how to deal with it. And then there are those that spend the entire night drinking and yet nothing seems to affect them. They’re having one hell of a time but they know how to hold their drinks, they know how to enjoy their highs. In the motorcycling world, the Triumph Bonneville belongs to this latter category.
At first sight, it’s hard not to fall in love with the Bonneville’s quintessentially retro looks. Look closer and you realize that the bike is actually quite modern with alloy wheels, tubeless tyres, oil cooling and fuel injection. Sit across the Bonnie and you immediately notice how low the seat is. With high handlebars, the riding position is upright with the pegs slightly forward set. The low center of gravity also masks its 200+ kgs body weight and the bike feels extremely lightweight and agile. The downside of this is that it suffers from low ground clearance. Going over a short, nasty speed breaker double seat, you’re very likely to scrape the bike's underbelly. The overall fit, finish, chrome, paintjob, etc. is top notch, just what you’d expect from a Triumph.
It’s time to fire it up. A firm press on the self starter and the 865 cc parallel twin engine comes to life with its trademark gurgle while idling. Twist the throttle a bit and the gurgle turns into a grunt. Twist it further and the grunt becomes a roar. With an anxious smile on your face, you’re set to go. The bike is pretty quick off the line and complements that with a nice and strong mid range performance. However, the engine is not very rev happy and easily runs out of breath at higher RPMs. Unlike the T100, the Bonneville does not come with a tachometer so I couldn’t really gauge where its comfort zone was but it was definitely not high up in the stratosphere. Unless ridden hard, the engine is smooth, torquey and vibration free. Vibrations do creep in at higher RPM’s urging you to upshift. Once you do upshift, there is enough torque at the command of your right wrist to surge the bike forward and your body backward once again.
The Bonneville comes with only 5 gears but the gearbox is well mated to the engine’s torque curve and you don’t really begin your search for the 6th gear very soon. Gearshifts are notchy but precise. The clutch feels pretty hard for someone with short fingers but it’s something one can get used to with time. The ride is comfortable and well dampened. The Bonnie scores very high on pillion comfort as well. Especially if you have a short girlfriend or wife, she won’t need a ladder to mount the saddle anymore. The bike is very nimble in traffic and effortlessly changes directions. Not exactly a corner carver but it does inspire enough confidence to lean it into one.
Now comes what according to me is the best part about the Triumph Bonneville: The braking. Yes it lacks ABS, yes it lacks dual front discs. But the bite, the feedback, the engine braking, the tyres, the overall braking package on the Bonnie is so precise and confidence inspiring that you don’t really feel you’re going fast until you look down at the speedo. The tyres stick extremely well with the tarmac and don’t really squeak and squirm under hard braking. That’s extremely commendable considering that this bike comes with the same front section tyre as a CBR 250 and the rear section tyre as a CBR 150 (yes I’m not kidding).
Finally the verdict:
Is she fast? Yes.
Does she scare you? No.
Can it be your everyday bike? Yes.
Can it be your track bike? No.
Can you go touring on it? Yes.
Will your wife and kids love it? Absolutely yes!
Well if you’re an adrenaline junkie wanting to get into a brawl every time you stop at a red light, you’ve come to the wrong place. If you’re someone who wants to take up track riding seriously, again, this is not the bike for you. But if you’re someone who commutes for the sake of riding, one who rides in a direction and not to a destination, one who lives by phrases like “It’s the journey and not the destination that matters” or “It’s not about how fast but how far you go”, look no further than this sweet little package from Triumph. She’s smart, sweet and forgiving. She’s the one for the long haul. Go get her. She’s a keeper!
