[mobike008]

Sorry for back-to-back posts..

4 days and 200kms of pure bliss is up. Not bad eh?

[harsha.muvva]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Sorry for back-to-back posts..

4 days and 200kms of pure bliss is up. Not bad eh?

Congrats for the bonnie

had the chance to test-drive both bonnie and street triple.Took them for a spin around the KBR park(6-7kms i guess). Here are my views.

STREET TRIPLE

This disappointed me very much.First of all when i sat on the bike,it felt very small.It is as if i am sitting on the bike rather than into the bike.
However the low and mid range power is very good, but one the bike crossed 8000 Rpm it struggled a lot and felt very much strained and ya there are vibrations at high-rpms too.
High speed stability is good,did some good speeds on it.
Handling wise, i somehow felt more happy on bonnie and i seriously wonder,why.

Exhaust note isn't that impressive even with the arrow(that is with baffle),i sounded somewhere between parallel twin and inline-4(more towards twin)

BONNEVILLE

I was completely impressed by this except for the exhaust note which is muted completely.
Had very good torque to play around in almost every gear.It never felt under-powered.
The moment I sat on it,i felt home.
I would be doing a blunder if i don't mention about the handling, this is something which i dint expect from this.It just listens to you. To say it simple, i was scrapping my shoes in almost every corner. That is how much i loved it.

the only other negative i could think of bonnie apart from exhaust note is "LOOKS". However i liked,not many will like the simple under-stated looks.
It can never match the road-presence or roar of a harley.But that is where the comparison between the two.Different strokes for different folks.

regards,
harsha

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

Congrats for the bonnie

Thanks !!

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

STREET TRIPLE. This disappointed me very much.First of all when i sat on the bike,it felt very small.It is as if i am sitting on the bike rather than into the bike.However the low and mid range power is very good, but one the bike crossed 8000 Rpm it struggled a lot and felt very much strained and ya there are vibrations at high-rpms too.High speed stability is good,did some good speeds on it.

Exactly my feelings which I have already outlined in my short TR report of Street Tripple. But, I liked the exhaust note, when i rode it was stock not the Arrows fitted to it.

It has an urgent raspy sound but, in subtle manner. Anyways, this bike was never in my crosshair so i wasnt too worried how I felt about it.

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

BONNEVILLE I was completely impressed by this except for the exhaust note which is muted completely.

Same here. But, after riding it for 200kms Iam starting to appreciate the muted burrrr sound that distinctly sounds like a big capacity engine. I don't mind living with this sound till i find suitable loud pipes in future

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

Had very good torque to play around in almost every gear.It never felt under-powered.The moment I sat on it,i felt home.

Spot on. It's a people's bike. Any size and frame, you will be instantly at home on its saddle. Also, I think it would be very hard to hate how the Bonnie rides too

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

I would be doing a blunder if i don't mention about the handling, this is something which i dint expect from this.It just listens to you. To say it simple, i was scrapping my shoes in almost every corner. That is how much i loved it.

This was single most reason for me to finalize the Bonnie. I love cornering bikes and with a Bonnie, i can lean into corners and coax myself to beileve that iam better than Rossi

Originally Posted by harsha.muvva

the only other negative i could think of bonnie apart from exhaust note is "LOOKS". However i liked,not many will like the simple under-stated looks

+1 on its understated looks. However, i am getting enough eyeballs since last 3-4 days with those standard questions " How much price" " How much FE" .

At a Paanipuri stall last evening, a family were continously staring at the bike and even commented " Modified Bullet Che". The way I took off from that place must surely have changed their opinion

[Pheonix]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Sorry for back-to-back posts..

4 days and 200kms of pure bliss is up. Not bad eh?

That speedo pic is a good teaser ! Looks like in another week and you will be heading to Service centre for your first servicing . After that it would be very gud to have your full scale review on the Bony with loads of Pics !!

Originally Posted by mobike008

At a Paanipuri stall last evening, a family were continously staring at the bike and even commented " Modified Bullet Che". The way I took off from that place must surely have changed their opinion

LOL I can only imagine the look on their faces. Has it been christened yet ? Dark Detonator or something of that sort ?

[tracerspiff]

Hello Mobike008,

Congrats on your Bonnie! It is one great looker!

I have been following this thread since day1 and I absolutely loved the spirited discussions regarding the bikes. I loved the way you went about test driving the HD and the Bonnie back to back and you answered every query I had regarding the bikes "character". My dream bike right now is the Bonnie and I am already starting to save up! Eagerly waiting your ownership thread..

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by tracerspiff

My dream bike right now is the Bonnie and I am already starting to save up! Eagerly waiting your ownership thread..

Thanks! Iam glad that I infused a spark in buying a Bonneville.

Trust me, all it'll take is one long ride on a Bonneville for you to fall in love with it.

And, good luck on that saving part !!!

[tracerspiff]

Originally Posted by mobike008

And, good luck on that saving part !!!

Saving up is the easy part . I am starting to imagine the conversation I will have with my wife telling her I want to spend 7 big ones on a bike.

How naive was I when I used to think "When I am all grown up and earning for myself, I will buy anything I want!"

[TheDevil]

Bonneville needs ABS with those Disc breaks everywhere!!

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thanks! Iam glad that I infused a spark in buying a Bonneville.

Trust me, all it'll take is one long ride on a Bonneville for you to fall in love with it.

And, good luck on that saving part !!!

One reason I remained a silent spectator in this thread. Now having read that they are taking booking in Kerala makes me rethink ( the war is between Ninja 650 and this). Imagine a meet wherein both Ram and mobike008 talks about Bonnie? Scary!

If I am getting one, it will be with arrows from day one.

And mobike008; congrats.

Check this review.
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/2009NovBnville.pdf

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by tracerspiff

How naive was I when I used to think "When I am all grown up and earning for myself, I will buy anything I want!"

Very naive. I'm guessing you're new to this marriage thingy.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by TheDevil

Bonneville needs ABS with those Disc breaks everywhere!!

Didnt get this comment clearly.

Did you mean ABS is mandatory with disc brakes? ( Btw, its brakes and not breaks which is a common typo or grammatical mistake seen aplenty across the forum )

Originally Posted by jkdas

One reason I remained a silent spectator in this thread. Now having read that they are taking booking in Kerala makes me rethink ( the war is between Ninja 650 and this). Imagine a meet wherein both Ram and mobike008 talks about Bonnie? Scary!

And mobike008; congrats.

Haha. Thanks JK. Now we are a dual "bonniefied" force to reckon with...

Just 300kms down and I have now become a hard core Triumph Bonneville lover like Ram.

I remember when I asked Ram offline why do you like Bonnie so much.

His simple answer was " Avinash, Just ride it once and then see if you will like any other bike"

Originally Posted by jkdas

Check this review.
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/2009NovBnville.pdf

Thanks for this beautiful review. Iam not good at this google searching and seem to have missed out on many such lovely piece of write-ups. Do share other articles too about Bonnie if you ever come across

Pro and Cons seem pretty much what I described in my 1st post of this thread

I love this one particular comment from this article :-

"Corners as if on Rails"

Originally Posted by ebonho

Very naive. I'm guessing you're new to this marriage thingy.

+1. We are old timers at this game and even know how to convince the wife to gift us toys like this...LOL

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thanks for this beautiful review. Iam not good at this google searching and seem to have missed out on many such lovely piece of write-ups. Do share other articles too about Bonnie if you ever come across

Pro and Cons seem pretty much what I described in my 1st post of this thread

I love this one particular comment from this article :-

"Corners as if on Rails"



+1. We are old timers at this game and even know how to convince the wife to gift us toys like this...LOL

Was a good review and they has all parameters included in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHwemHfFrsc

Can you get us a video of how your Bonnie sounds?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by mobike008

+1. We are old timers at this game and even know how to convince the wife to gift us toys like this...LOL

Don't say "we" Avi.

When I tried "Katie Katie", instead of an imported 690 Adventure, I had to sleep on the couch in the living room for a week.

Now I am thinking of what Ram and his friends resort to in Dubai .....

Problem with maintaining secrecy while going off to remote garages at weird times of the day/night just to ride your favorite Bonnie/Katie is that it is likely going to be misconstrued as clandestine rendezvous with more organic namesakes .....

And once again the couch. Hmmmmmm

[rashreddy]

Originally Posted by gthang

I know it's not much, but have you tried adjusting your rear suspension?

Any local mechanic can turn the setting for you, and no, it wont void your warranty.

Maybe you mean better "Suited" for Indian conditions.

Thanks gthang.. my gripe with the suspension is more to do with the fact that i can feel every small stone,pebble,crack on the road... Anything less than perfect road and i have to bring the bike to single digit speeds.. Sometimes it makes me look like a fool when vehicles half the size and ten times cheaper just zip through where as i am gingerly testing waters

But does look like HD is taking these issues seriously and adapting their bikes to suit indian conditions if the specs of the Street are to be believed.. Ground clearence of 145mm and i am sure they will tweak the suspension also

Though must say GC problem is perennial in all high end imported bikes(except dirt and adventure).. It was worse in my FZ since the 1st point of contact with the infamous Bangalore spee breakers were the silencer pipes

Also gthang since you have done more miles than most on Harley and other bikes in this forum, request you to give your views on this subject and how Iron compares to a Bonnie if you have had the chance to ride one..would be very helpful for eveerybody here

Originally Posted by ebonho

You answered my unasked question. Conditions like those are standard templates for RE seizures. So the metallurgy and machining of both the Triumphs and the Harkeys is definitely superior. As must be the lubrication.

Originally Posted by abhjain

Ha ha REs can seize anywhere, heat or no heat !!

Sir, There is no comparision at all.. The quality of the materials used,the paint, the chrome,the fit, etc.. on HD and Triumph is light years ahead of anything on RE

But on the other hand RE can go anywhere,get away with almost anything and be repaired anywhere at 1/100th of the cost..Heat or no Heat

And to be fair even RE has come a long way from the squeaking,leaking,kicking machines of the past.. good example is the new Thunderbird which can put most modern machines to shame

Originally Posted by mobike008

Dear All,

Bonnie came home this evening. Iam still in a dream. Give me sometime to surface from this ecstatic feeling.

Look out for my ownership report in the coming weeks

Thanks for all your valuable inputs in helping me decide on a Triumph Bonneville

Cheers
Avi

Congrats Avi... Wonderful to hear that your Bonnie has arrived.. Extremely happy for you and hope the Bonnie serves you well for many many years.. might join the Triumph club soon if the user feedback is positive and based on your review ofcourse

Had a chance to visit the Bagalore Triumph showroom last week..They are still not offering test rides here.. But the T100 in Red and Black looks smashing..This is the one i would go for

Even the Tiger 1200 in Olive Green was mighty impressive and like you said its a monster.. Would blindly go for it if i had the money..This one would be a perfect bike for our conditions and Touring

Originally Posted by grplr02

Mobike008 –

Firstly, a personal opinion about the Harley “lifestyle” mentioned by several people here. Yes, the entire HOG lifestyle/camaraderie thing is huge and dazzling and probably very exciting for many potential and new Harley owners. It’s great, and I’m sure, very useful to be part of an enormous, established global network of owners. But honestly, I feel that at times it tends to feel a little bit bloated, over-done, clichéd, almost to the point of being a caricature of itself.

Bro, its the legendary American Marketing at work here.. That and the kind of people who used to ride these bikes,Hells Angels,etc..

But to be fair its not all hype..e.g the Harley apparel is just kikkass and the design,fit,cut,style,etc.. would put any top fashion house to shame and the Bike is not bad either in most aspects..

The apparel,the Bike and the oodles of chrome and attitude is a lethal combination and can totally transform a person

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Would be very interested if Kawasaki fellas launch the W800 as I think there is a good market for this.

Whats the news on the Kawasaki Versys 1000 that they were supposed to launch this month? I think this would be an ideal bike for our conditions and would sell well at the right price

Originally Posted by mobike008

Same here. But, after riding it for 200kms Iam starting to appreciate the muted burrrr sound that distinctly sounds like a big capacity engine. I don't mind living with this sound till i find suitable loud pipes in future

Avi, How does the sound compare to the Bullets thump? How does it sound with the Arrow exhaust? Is it worth the 25odd k?

Also when i visited the showroom had a chance to sit and feel the T100 though i could not ride it.. Felt the Bonnie seat was huge and could easily seat 3people.. How does it feel in Daily use and City traffic?

The reson i ask is because when i switched over to the Sundowner seat on my IRon(which is also similarly large) i felt that i could not grip the seat with my legs properly and the planted feel was missing.. Though the seat is extremely comfortable on long rides..it is only in city traffic and daliy use that it feels slippery due to the size

Thanks!!

[tracerspiff]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Very naive. I'm guessing you're new to this marriage thingy.

Spot on Doc! 1.5 years can be considered relatively new to the marriage thingy

Originally Posted by ebonho

Don't say "we" Avi.

When I tried "Katie Katie", instead of an imported 690 Adventure, I had to sleep on the couch in the living room for a week.

And once again the couch. Hmmmmmm

I guess 2-3 years of "Bonnie Bonnie" and some increased monthly contribution towards the bike fund should do the trick..
I tried "Katie Katie" for the duke 200 but got vetoed because of the non existent pillion seat. Had to settle for the Pulsar 200 NS(not that I regret it.. the NS is a fine bike). Little did she realize that the pillion seat on the NS is just for show.