[ebonho]

Originally Posted by wolfy

Doc, Is that you with the mustache? haha! Fabulous images both of them. Can't miss the nepali cap on the blue RD rider.

No man. That's my "twin" and roomie (soon to be Lt Col) JS Randhawa.

The black RD has some history (don't know if it exists any more or has gone to bike heaven). Both Randy and I coming back from a hilltop party at 3 a.m. one night (midway through a Univ exam no less) had gone off the road on a poorly lighted sweeping curve doing around 120+. No helmets, no boots, gloves, jackets, nothing (this was the early 90s).

The three of us (the two of us and the bike) finally came to rest in a rough triangle of 15-20 meters. The bike was wrapped around a street light pole (yes wrapped - that was the force of the impact). Both of us survived. And were in full leg casts (hip to ankle) and crutches for two months after that. I still have a scar on my right shoulder and a slight limp from the knee ligament tear in my left knee to remind me of that night.

The RD was one brutal bike. Justifiably known as the widow maker around the world. Possibly the 390 now is somewhat similar.

P.S. That's a Himachali cap actually, and that is Major RS Beniwal on the blue HT. Another sweet bike.

[Prozac]

Ok, so you went and bought the machine! Is there a way to send you a private message here? I have a few questions around the Bonneville versus some of their other 3 cylinder motorcycles, I have heard a lot about that characteristic beautiful exhaust note of the 3 cylinder engines and can't wait to compare the Bonneville with a couple of their other models.

[Bapu]

Hi All,

Am not too sure if my query is answerable here... but yet since it involves the Bonnie, here goes.

I have a 2002 Enfield Thunderbird, which has clocked around 70K on the odo in the last 12 years which I have primarily been using for rides only (harldy any city riding) and now am planning to change.

Due to my riding interests... i am not keen on the other bikes ( dukes, zma /r etc) primarily due to their seating position. I have been waiting for the Triumph launch quite eargerly and this thread and Mobike's ownership report will be reviewed in depth...

I was almost on the verge of finalising a Royal Enfield Standard UCE 500 when these threads came up and hence am asking the questions..

How comfortable is the Bonnie as a tourer ( asking from the perspective of a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 owner)
What is the service support going to be from Triumph's side .. any ideas..?

During discussions, it has always been suggested that such bikes can always be our secondary ride bike and cannot be used as a regular ride bike ( lil bit of offroading / jungle trails etc)...

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Prozac

Ok, so you went and bought the machine! Is there a way to send you a private message here? I have a few questions around the Bonneville versus some of their other 3 cylinder motorcycles, I have heard a lot about that characteristic beautiful exhaust note of the 3 cylinder engines and can't wait to compare the Bonneville with a couple of their other models.

You cannot send a PM till you complete 25 posts. I reckon thats inspiration enough to keep shooting questions here till you do.

Shoot your questions here, would be happy to answer !!

Originally Posted by Bapu

Due to my riding interests... i am not keen on the other bikes ( dukes, zma /r etc) primarily due to their seating position. I have been waiting for the Triumph launch quite eargerly and this thread and Mobike's ownership report will be reviewed in depth...

How comfortable is the Bonnie as a tourer ( asking from the perspective of a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 owner)
What is the service support going to be from Triumph's side .. any ideas..?

During discussions, it has always been suggested that such bikes can always be our secondary ride bike and cannot be used as a regular ride bike ( lil bit of offroading / jungle trails etc)...

Allow me to answer some of your queries even though iam almost a brand new owner of Triumph Bonneville with just 600kms of experience.

1. I found the Bonneville comfortable for 200kms of riding ( havent rode beyond that till now) and since I also own a Classic 500, there is no comparison with respect to seat comfort, with the RE my backside used to be practically on fire after a ride but, no such case with Bonnie.

Seats of Bonny are cushy and due to handle position the ride is also not tiring. Only factor that may not work completely in favor for long rides ( 500+ kms) is foot rests that are placed slightly at back for a sporty position

2. If regular means taking the bike to work, shopping in heavy traffice. I would not recommend it at all. It's a very simple bike and can be used in normal traffic as well but, heat, high power, heavy weight makes the bike quite uncomfortable in peak traffic conditions

3. offroading? Bonnie can easily go out of the main highway and on dirt tracks quite easily due to its decent ground clearance. However, if its with pillion then there are chances of the pipes hitting the ground as they are upswept.

Hope these answers some of your queries, Will also rest now and allow Ram to throw more light as he is a long term owner.

[Pheonix]

Originally Posted by Bapu

.

I was almost on the verge of finalising a Royal Enfield Standard UCE 500 when these threads came up and hence am asking the questions..

Since i have TD'd both Bonny and UCE 500 i will pitch in and make a quick exit too. Rest will leave it to the experts !!

Simply put Bonny is the most "dil-logical" and a more financial upgrade to your bullet. Bonny is what one would want their bull to evolve into and thats why most Bonny fans are migrated lovers of Bulls/RD's. . Truly a joy to own if you can afford to get one !

Otherwise, while you are stacking your cash aside for the big boy , a smaller upgrade to keep your love boat rocking is indeed the STD 500 , a sweet-carb machine ticked at all the right places like gearbox, braking, suspension, clutch and the butter smooth engine.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Allow me to answer some of your queries even though iam almost a brand new owner of Triumph Bonneville with just 600kms of experience.

1. I found the Bonneville comfortable for 200kms of riding
2. If regular means taking the bike to work, shopping in heavy traffice. I would not recommend it at all.
3. offroading? Bonnie can easily go out of the main highway and on dirt tracks quite easily due to its decent ground clearance.

Hope these answers some of your queries, Will also rest now and allow Ram to throw more light as he is a long term owner.

I have nothing more to add to what has been stated to by Mobike008 except - you multiply the reliability factor of RE 350 & 500 by 100 times - there you have the Bonnie.

Originally Posted by Pheonix

Bonny is what one would want their bull to evolve into and thats why most Bonny fans are migrated lovers of Bulls/RD's.

Most aptly answered.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Pheonix

Since i have TD'd both Bonny and UCE 500 i will pitch in and make a quick exit too. Rest will leave it to the experts !!

Simply put Bonny is the most "dil-logical" and a more financial upgrade to your bullet. Bonny is what one would want their bull to evolve into and thats why most Bonny fans are migrated lovers of Bulls/RD's. . Truly a joy to own if you can afford to get one !

Otherwise, while you are stacking your cash aside for the big boy , a smaller upgrade to keep your love boat rocking is indeed the STD 500 , a sweet-carb machine ticked at all the right places like gearbox, braking, suspension, clutch and the butter smooth engine.

The Std 500 evolved into an LB500 which then (d?)evolved into the UCE500.

For the Bullet to evolve into a Bonneville ...... maybe a few dozen more engine platforms later ....... my great grandson would be starting an ownership thread on Team BHP (live long and prosper).

RE first needs to make the momentous paradigm shift from singles to twins. Only then we can talk.

Right now they are busy developing an "almost 400 cc" single, which will pump out a pulse quickening 2 extra bhp.

[Prozac]

Originally Posted by mobike008

You cannot send a PM till you complete 25 posts. I reckon thats inspiration enough to keep shooting questions here till you do.

Shoot your questions here, would be happy to answer !!


Allow me to answer some of your queries even though iam almost a brand new owner of Triumph Bonneville with just 600kms of experience.

Ok, so, the moment I started reading your note on ownership, I made up my mind to go get that test ride, did too yesterday evening. The Triumph dealership in Bangalore had one with these noisy Arrow exhausts fitted (everyone looked at the motorcycle at the traffic light),

apparently it puts out an additional 5 horses. They said I could only ride around the block since "it was around dusk and there was rush hour traffic", I must say the short ride did leave an ear to ear smile on my face - the first thing that hit me is the torque, also makes for very easy city riding in moderately heavy traffic.

Handling was marvelous but then I should take a longer test ride to see how the motorcycle can "carve those corners for me" like you put it earlier.

I was told they have 16 pending bookings for the black one and I could get a silver / white+navy much sooner.

I started up the Street Triple and the Storm and I realized why a couple friends rave about the exhaust note - the 3 cylinder motor has an almost shrieking hum while idling but a lovely roar when you rev it up, this was music to my ears. The Bonneville with this exhaust note would've been just perfect!

6.86 lacs on road and I am very very tempted.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Prozac

Ok, so, the moment I started reading your note on ownership, I made up my mind to go get that test ride, did too yesterday evening. The Triumph dealership in Bangalore had one with these noisy Arrow exhausts fitted (everyone looked at the motorcycle at the traffic light)

Wonderful to know the Bangalore dealership has already fitted the Arrow Exhausts to the T/R bike. Here in Hyderabad, they have fitted to every Triumph bike except for the Bonnie citing "awaiting the exhausts" as the reason.

How did the exhaust sound? Why do you say its noisy?

Originally Posted by Prozac

apparently it puts out an additional 5 horses. They said I could only ride around the block since "it was around dusk and there was rush hour traffic", I must say the short ride did leave an ear to ear smile on my face - the first thing that hit me is the torque, also makes for very easy city riding in moderately heavy traffic.

Nice to know you enjoyed your short ride.

Well, I urge you to take a "Longish" ride and that ear to ear smile will become a permanent feature on your face

Originally Posted by Prozac

Handling was marvelous but then I should take a longer test ride to see how the motorcycle can "carve those corners for me" like you put it earlier.

I think a long ride will help you understand it's corner carving capabilities.

Originally Posted by Prozac

I was told they have 16 pending bookings for the black one and I could get a silver / white+navy much sooner.

Woah! Looks like Bonnie sure is making a killing. what delivery timeframe they are promising?

Originally Posted by Prozac

I started up the Street Triple and the Storm and I realized why a couple friends rave about the exhaust note - the 3 cylinder motor has an almost shrieking hum while idling but a lovely roar when you rev it up, this was music to my ears. The Bonneville with this exhaust note would've been just perfect!

I mentioned in my 2nd post about the ST. It's a sweet sounding machine and agree if they had given that exhaust note to Bonneville, it would be like having your cake and eating it too

Originally Posted by Prozac

6.86 lacs on road and I am very very tempted

How come its so less? Do you have a break-up? Here its 7.10 Lakhs On-Road

[r_nairtvm]

I just came accross this article in Rideaprat.com. It kind of sums up a lot of things that we were talking about in the following pages and also tries to explain why.

I would say that its a must read for all those looking at Bonnie and Sportster/883
The link to the article is here

http://rideapart.com/2011/12/why-you...t-know-it-yet/

I would just quote 1 paragraph form the article

Quote:
The first thing anyone will notice about the Bonneville is its looks. On the surface, it looks like something from the ’60s. Air cooled twin, carburettors, boring old school forks, twin shocks, banana seat. Take a closer look though. Are those really carburettors? What’s inside those 41mm forks? Are those 17″ wheels? All but the most fanatical motorcycle enthusiasts will never notice these things, but spend a little time on the bike, and you’ll eventually reach the conclusion that it’s a modern motorcycle wearing a vintage costume taken from grandpa’s closet.
Unquote:

On the article there is a very logical and clear explanation which explains the reasons why the rear suspension of Bonnie and Sportster/883 behave in the manner they behave

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

On the article there is a very logical and clear explanation which explains the reasons why the rear suspension of Bonnie and Sportster/883 behave in the manner they behave

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

I think the para about rear suspension also deserves being quoted here:

When you accelerate on a motorcycle, there are powerful forces at work between the motor and the ground. Power gets to the rear wheel through the drive chain and on its way, it tries to pull the rear wheel into the motor and compress the rear shocks. When the wheel is driven, it pushes on the swingarm and tried to squish everything in front of it. The people who design rear suspension for serious motorcycles take these rather significant forces into account and angle the swingarm so that chain pull helps stiffen (rather than compress) the rear end when under acceleration. They put the swingarm pivot higher than the rear axle for the same reason. Harley Davidson just bolts it all together, calls is “slammed” and hopes no one will notice that the bikes handle poorly and tend to bottom out under acceleration.

Looks like Harley designed the rear suspension just to give it a low slung look.

[grplr02]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thruxton is yet to be released. I think its releasing sometime this month

I doubt if Kolkatta will open by this year end. I think they will cover Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and maybe Chandigarh next.

You can always do a Delhi to Sikkim/Bhutan . An adventure ride immediately after delivery. But, you'll have to head back for your 1st service from middle of your journey

Yes, I was actually contemplating Delhi, knowing that it'd probably be a while before we see Triumph in Kolkata or anywhere close to me in the east or northeast. Having spent my college years in Delhi, it's familiar to me, have friends & relatives there too. Re: first servicing, perhaps I'll ride nearby areas (hills up north or Rajasthan), rack up the requisite miles, get my first servicing done and then take it back east with me. Let's see ...

Wish Triumph had brought in the Scrambler model too - wonder if they'll consider it for India in the near future.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

I just came accross this article in Rideaprat.com. It kind of sums up a lot of things that we were talking about in the following pages and also tries to explain why.

I would say that its a must read for all those looking at Bonnie and Sportster/883

Thanks for the discovery of this lovely article. It gives a very precise explanation on Bonnie's superior and excellent handling habits

Looks like my comparison of Harley Iron 883 vs. Triumph Bonneville is almost "Spot On" considering iam not an experienced biker

Check this article out

http://rideapart.com/2013/08/rideapa...bonneville-se/

Also, i seem to have got the characteristics of SE vs T100 spot on :-

Quoting from this article :-

Now, the SE model isn’t the only bike in the Bonneville range. But, along with the base model, it is the best. Why? The T100 swaps in a 19-inch, spoked front wheel, tubes, two-tone paint, a flat seat, more conservative suspension geometry and higher, narrower, more swept back handlebars for a $1,400 premium over the standard Bonneville. Worth it? Nope.

Those mods effectively ruin what’s otherwise a great bike, removing both outright handling ability and feel by increasing unsprung weight and making steering geometry more conservative.

Save that cash and buy the base model or the pretty two-tone SE you see here.

Also, comments from users on this article is very interesting and clearly shows the respect and admiration Bonneville commands in the international market

Originally Posted by grplr02

Wish Triumph had brought in the Scrambler model too - wonder if they'll consider it for India in the near future.

Goodluck on your Triumph. I wish too that Scrambler is introduced in India, it will add a new dimension to Triumph's retro range

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I doubt if Kolkatta will open by this year end. I think they will cover Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and maybe Chandigarh next.

Avinash,

I think, Kochi dealer is going to open next. Hope you have seen the post from TBHPoan Dr. A on the "launch" thread.

Originally Posted by alpha1

I think the para about rear suspension also deserves being quoted here:

Looks like Harley designed the rear suspension just to give it a low slung look.

Alpha, I didn't want to emphasize that bit knowing the sensitivities often seen in this comparison thread, that is all plus, I respect HD for what they are, and would like to believe that they may have made a mistake in case of 883 suspension.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thanks for the discovery of this lovely article. It gives a very precise explanation on Bonnie's superior and excellent handling habits

Also, comments from users on this article is very interesting and clearly shows the respect and admiration Bonneville commands in the international market

You should see the smile on my face on reading this

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

You should see the smile on my face on reading this

You just had a smile on your face? Iam jumping around in utter glee

I think we need more Bonneville owners on our forum to share this joy. Dont you think?

Also, Iam aware that Kochi is opening next, that comment was prior to my knowledge of Kochi showroom opening i guess...