Team-BHP - My Triumph Bonneville. EDIT: Sold!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farukh (Post 3402488)

I saw you there, right after the first toll gate. I had just paid the toll and come out, my eyes were fixed on the bikes and I saw you at the last but by then I had already crossed you. Would have stopped if I didn't have company. Spent the weekend in Suryalanka.

Oh you should have stopped and atleast say a hello. Suryalanka, that's a place i would love to go back ( hope the roads till there are good now?)

Hope your joining the April 6th drive...Cheers !!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DipantS (Post 3402581)

Great to see all the bikes and clicks are not all that bad for a mobile phone, I liked them. Lots of Bonni's, I guess its retro looks is making waves and getting majority of customers for Triumph!!!

Yes, Bonnie is an extremely popular choice for all new buyers for three reasons

1. Easier on pocket compared to rest of bikes in Triumph stable
2. Ease of city & highway use
3. Brilliant ride and handling

Also, they expect more than 60% of their sales to be comprising of Bonnie's

While riding from Mehdipatnam (below the PVNR expressway), we encountered a couple of HOGs on some big capacity HD's with those ridiculous "Monkey Bars" and they just couldnt keep pace with the Bonnie and we dispatched them away in just a few kms and entire Triumph group put some serious distance between the HOGs

They joined their HOG group at Hillpark restuarant a good 20 minutes later:D

Avi,

I am keen to see some good snaps of that dual tone Bonnie( off white and navy blue), what is your opinion seeing it flesh & blood compared to the Black?

While, I am still validating few other options, my cousin has decided is picking up the Bonnie( vs Iron 883 and Super Low) in May from Hyd. I did not come across this color at showroom( at least not when I visited them twice).

Also like others views too on the best color among the three options available( though its purely a individual taste).

Black- Classic, Understated, good base color for customization
Silver- Classic, easy to maintain and neutral
Off White & Blue: Classic, Stands out , shows the Bonnie's size/proportions well (or) is it like one of those police bike's ;-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcx (Post 3403169)

Avi, I am keen to see some good snaps of that dual tone Bonnie( off white and navy blue), what is your opinion seeing it flesh & blood compared to the Black?

White and Blue Bonneville SE certainly looks "Different" and stands out to some extent. This particular Bonnie has a different color pallete and it's blue is not really a blue but, bordering towards dark blue and maybe even voilet'sh

Also, this color variant has sparkles in paintwork and is clearly visible and looks nice.

At the end of the day, color is a very personal choice

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcx (Post 3403169)

While, I am still validating few other options, my cousin has decided is picking up the Bonnie( vs Iron 883 and Super Low) in May from Hyd. I did not come across this color at showroom( at least not when I visited them twice)

Lets catch up for a coffee sometime this week, while sipping a hot cuppa i will put the cards on the table as I have test ridden the Iron 883 extensively yesterday ( a short review of it coming up on comparison thread) and you can decide what suits you best

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcx (Post 3403169)

Also like others views too on the best color among the three options available( though its purely a individual taste).

Black- Classic, Understated, good base color for customization
Silver- Classic, easy to maintain and neutral
Off White & Blue: Classic, Stands out , shows the Bonnie's size/proportions well (or) is it like one of those police bike's

Perfectly described. Infact, I havent seen anyone apart from me buying a black bonnie so iam kind of unique till date

As mentioned above, color is a very personal choice and you can choose whatever you like best. Dark colors make the bike look smaller and light colors make it look slightly bigger

Nice to see those Bonnie pics and would love to go to this organic breakfast place you guys went to. Quick question Avi: did you take a lockable fuel lid for your Bonnie? I asked at the showroom and he has quoted 3k for it and on order so wanted to ask you.

I certainly feel I would require this for sure as I am sure leaving my bike with a fuel lid which does not lock will surely lead to a lot of trouble. Your thoughts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanketdesai82 (Post 3403576)

Quick question Avi: did you take a lockable fuel lid for your Bonnie? I asked at the showroom and he has quoted 3k for it and on order so wanted to ask you.

I certainly feel I would require this for sure as I am sure leaving my bike with a fuel lid which does not lock will surely lead to a lot of trouble. Your thoughts?

If you plan to take the Bonnie to a movie theatre, office, malls or any other place where you will leave the bike for extended period of time then it makes sense to get the fuel lid lock. But, if you plan to use the bike like how i do only for rides and other casual jaunts where the bike is in front of eyes at all times, you dont need it

Having said above, Hyderabad is a very safe place and such petty thefts of fuel pilfering is almost unheard of...

Avi- As for your boot choice unless you are going to use the bike for office commute (semi formal shoes for office), I would suggest that you go for proper riding boots that have heel, toe and ankle protection. Some years back a friend had a small spill and there was some serious damage to his toes as he was wearing non riding shoes.

Ideally good riding boots can take a lot of abuse and they anyway come with the toe-shifter protection. Their soles are also contoured for the footpegs and have better grip on wet-surface etc. Besides, they will last a very long time with minimal care. If you are not keen on motorcycle specific riding boots, even the Caterpillar kind of steeltoe will be a good choice......they also gives you that rugged tough biker look :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haroon (Post 3403792)

Ideally good riding boots can take a lot of abuse and they anyway come with the toe-shifter protection. Their soles are also contoured for the footpegs and have better grip on wet-surface etc. Besides, they will last a very long time with minimal care. If you are not keen on motorcycle specific riding boots, even the Caterpillar kind of steeltoe will be a good choice......they also gives you that rugged tough biker look

Thanks a bunch for your suggestion Haroon. I was wearing suede shoes and sports shoes until now as you may have noticed:D ...So, till i buy proper riding boots, I thought I need to buy something that is decent for riding. Hence, these boots !!

Only upper leather of these boots are soft. Otherwise, the bottom portion is rubber soled and quite strong and even the front toe as you can see is solid but, does not have a toe protector and shifting gears with toe may brutalize the leather.

My primary parameter to buy these were "lightness" of the boot ( Iam a bit averse to heavy boots). It's very comfortable and iam sure iam going to enjoy using them

I plan to slowly but, steadily accumalate my riding gear starting with a jacket and helmet which is to be sourced from US in Aug-2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008 (Post 3403731)

My hunt for decent riding boots is completed when I found these.

These are extremely light weight, soft leather, comfortable to wear and have a grippy sole !!

My only concern is due to toe shifter on bike, left shoe may worn out faster than the right one:D

Nice boots mobike008. They are really decent by the looks albeit, my only concern is that they should not touch your toes. The leather of these boots do not seem to so soft that the left shoe will wear off in a hurry due to gear shifting. The leather on those boots will endure and with regular polishing it is deemed to give a long service too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008 (Post 3403841)

Mobike008 you do need proper riding shoes or boots..these are ok for the city short distance travel. A friend of mine had a minor accident recently and the SIDI boots protected him from breaking a bone. I do personally feel safety gear should not be neglected or compromised. There are various brands that cater to all budgets..like RJAYS jackets that range from 8k onwards, gloves 3k onwards, SIDI boots from 10k onwards. Helemts from Airoh and HJC from 7.5k onwards. Oh and i almost forgot..you can get bike sock (hope i got the name right) its a rubber thing that goes onto the gear lever of the bike and protects the normal shoes from getting spoilt, it costs Rs.1000 and is available in a variety of colours.

Nothing takes the place of good made for the purpose riding boots.

And nothing is gained from owning such boots but them lying at home while you ride around in normal shoes just because its a "small/city/chai" ride.

A friend has a Ninja 650. He went down trying to avoid a moron in an I10 who U-turned in the middle of a two way road. Friend has all the gear, Alpine Stars boots, but was wearing normal Woodlands loafers.

The Ninja 650, all 220+ kilos of it, crushed his right foot as it got caught between the engine casing and the road. Broke 6 small bones of his right foot.

Total hospital costs way more than the price of the best riding boots available.

Plus in a walking cast and working from home for 4 weeks.

Moral of the story Avi - get riding boots and wear them. That;s a serious bie you are riding. You need serious riding gear. I notice you don't have riding pants either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedy (Post 3403903)

Those exact brands are on my buy-list. As mentioned earlier, it will be sourced from US in Aug-2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonho (Post 3403919)

Get riding boots and wear them. That;s a serious bie you are riding. You need serious riding gear. I notice you don't have riding pants either.

Yup Doc. Point well taken but, iam not too keen to buy riding pants immediately. It's at the bottom of my gear buying list