Triumph Bonneville your every day bike?
I've been riding my dad's Triumph Bonneville every day as my only bike for the past few weeks now. I use it about 70 odd kms every day for my office commute and running errands. I park it wherever it fits, ride it not keeping the price tag in mind and try and squeeze my way through traffic and I must say, so far, no complaints. Well... Not many..;-)
To start with the Bonneville is not a very big bike when it comes to physical proportions. It does have a long wheelbase and a longish turning radius but the seat height is short and the handlebars, mirrors and pegs don't jut out too wide. Yes you can squeeze your way through cars waiting at a traffic light. You can also park it in narrow places without worrying too much about someone scratching the fairing since it doesn't have one. The bike weighs around 220 kgs but thanks to the low seat height, you don't feel its bulk on your feet. One thing you certainly need to watch out for is speed breakers. You are very likely to scrape the under belly of the bike on nasty speed breakers, even if you come down to a dead stop.
The engine is butter smooth and by far the best attribute of the Bonnie. The very friendly nature of the engine is what makes the bike your friend, your companion. It's like having a dog you can go jogging with, not one that would tear apart anything that comes in its way, even you. The torque makes the bike very rideable in traffic. You don't really have to bother about frequent gearshifts. It will go from 40 kph to top speed in 5th gear without a fuss. Keep it in 5th and above 40 and you'll forget that the bike even has gears. That said, it's not very comfortable above 120 kph and if you chop the throttle at that speed, the engine braking kicks in a tad too hard. It definitely misses a tall 6th gear.
So is it worth riding a 600+ cc motorcycle as your every day commuter? The simple answer is, no. No because it's not practical. The Bonnie goes 18 kms in a litre of fuel, a 150cc commuter will go around 50. Thanks to traffic and partly to the long wheelbase and the weight, the time taken for your daily commute is about the same as it would take on a 150cc commuter. In heavy traffic, it may even take longer. And the worst part, at least 15-18 people in a day will try and "warn" you that your headlight is on during the day. That makes it 400-500 warnings in a month and you can do nothing about it. It's just not worth it. Buy yourself a commuter. You don't use a Katana to chop vegetables every day!
