[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Though you liked Bonnie, I thought you will buy a Striple or an i4.

I've always wanted an I4 but somehow the Street Triple did not appeal to me. Fantastic bike nevertheless, rode it a couple of times but couldn't find a connection.

My wife wanted a bike that was pillion friendly and when we went to see the bike the first time, I was drooling over it but she was bowled over when we took it for a spin. All she said was buy it, I love the bike. It's so comfortable and fast and sounds wicked...

Originally Posted by gautam99

I couldn't locate your thread and wanted to know if you have any suggestion to relocate the front plate on a street twin - it's on a bracket in an odd position which spoils the look from any side particularly the riders seat. Most countries don't need front plates so it's not incorporated in the design.

Here are the brackets which you may be looking for:

http://shop.triumphindia.org/product...le-se-and-t100

http://shop.triumphindia.org/product...-plate-bracket

I will be ordering it from them and getting it installed at the Triumph service center.

Originally Posted by MavericK46

Congos on the baby girl Adi !

I thought the friends who came for the breakfast meet to see your baby girl would be named !

That said... I didn't realise you were THAT miserable on the saddle during our return from Valparai. I'm glad we kept taking breaks and reached safely as we did.

Also, now that the Bonnie is here, when are we returning to Valparai?

Thanks Sundar. I only know you all through your real names and hence did not take a chance quoting incorrect alias's. Sorry for that. It was nice meeting you, Suhaas and Santosh as well.

Remember when we stopped for dinner at Krishnagiri? I was really fatigued.

Let's ride out this saturday, what say?

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

(Sorry Aditya for using your thread.)

No need to apologize, Sir. Your thread is a worthwhile read for all of us.

I've been wanting to ask if the braking technique on the bonnie is diffferent. On the ninja, I use only the front brakes, never use the rear and this was strongly advised in all the riding books, videos and the track school I went to.

Considering this bike is heavy and no doubt the brakes are powerful, what would be the optimal braking bias one should practice?

Originally Posted by PISTONS

Is there any way to get funding from banks on a pre-worshipped premium bikes in HYD?. Need help.

Most banks fund used bikes but the paperwork is a pain. HDFC was offering a finance option for my pre-owned bike. I wanted around Rs. 2.5L and clear it in 3 months as I was expecting some money to come in by then. Made no sense hypothecating the bike to HDFC for 3 months. Canara bank has low interest rates on personal loans and you should consider them. They are as good as vehicle loans on the interest front and no hypothecation issues as well.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

I've been wanting to ask if the braking technique on the bonnie is diffferent. On the ninja, I use only the front brakes, never use the rear and this was strongly advised in all the riding books, videos and the track school I went to.

Considering this bike is heavy and no doubt the brakes are powerful, what would be the optimal braking bias one should practice?

Aditya,

I would say not too different from what you do. I use the rear probably at the last 20% of a planned stopping distance I estimate in tandem with front.
My practice is almost 75-25 (front - rear). Ideally I think it should be around 70 - 30.

Actually I have replaced my front brake pads twice and the rear only once in about 30K on the clock.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[Shubz]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Aditya,

I would say not too different from what you do. I use the rear probably at the last 20% of a planned stopping distance I estimate in tandem with front.
My practice is almost 75-25 (front - rear). Ideally I think it should be around 70 - 30.

Actually I have replaced my front brake pads twice and the rear only once in about 30K on the clock.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

I guess with the disc braked bikes -- its all the same. Most of it front brake with last of it rear. Unless its wet/gravel etc.

Right Ram sir?

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by Shubz

I guess with the disc braked bikes -- its all the same. Most of it front brake with last of it rear. Unless its wet/gravel etc.

Right Ram sir?

Largely true Shubz.

As a thumb rule 70:30 is a good practice. Bur even with drum RD350 (with its fairly big diameter front drum) I always was biased to front and hence did not have any major issue on changeover.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram

[n_aditya]

Been a while since I posted an update.

Left the bonnie over at the service center for the 10,000 kms service. I never imagined it would be so soon. She had clocked 7200 kms when I got her home in end-Feb but didn't ride much due to delays in transfer of ownership at the RTO and I was out of the country for a month too. I had done a ride to Mysore, Nandi hills, a couple of home-office-home commutes and a recent trip to Wayanad.

Before I post pics of our recent ride to Wayanad with fellow buddies from Team BHP, I must post a little about how and what it feels to ride the bonnie after owning it for a couple of months.

Well, the acceleration is mind blowing. The absence of a tacho does not help either so I don't know how close I am to the redline. The TOR pipes sound mad and on hard acceleration, the exhaust notes are addictive. The sound also changes on the higher rev range to a much more urgent and racy tone and that is my cue to upshift.

The torque on this seemingly sedate looking bike is insane and it lunges forward in 5th gear (top gear) with a crack of the throttle at triple digits. The ninja feels a LOT less scary at high speeds as the windscreen does a fab job of deflecting the air away but on the bonnie the windblast is scary. It's a good thing at least for me since that's a safety net.

On wet roads or roads with even slight gravel, the bonnie tends to lose traction (even with the factory fitted Metzeler tires) if one isn't careful with the right wrist.

However, the throttle response is nowhere close to the japanese bikes and at low revs in low gears (traffic), the bike tends to be jerky and feels like it's going to stall. You have to blip the throttle and let go of the clutch to move at crawling speeds.

The stock headlight is pathetic and is practically useless while riding past sundown. I will be picking up LED aux lights (20w) tomorrow which I am told are super bright. They retail for around 9.5k at Biking Spirit (behind Keerthi Triumph on Residency Road). I will get them installed over the next weekend. I bought this for the bonnie along with a stainless steel bracket to relocate the number plate from the existing location to just in front of the rectifier which is housed between the front forks.

Here are a few pics from our ride to Wayanad with team-bhp buddies. Kerala is one of my favorite destinations. It is so relaxing to ride in the tea estates amidst all the greenery.

Meeting point at NICE road-Kanakapura exit:



Group pic just before we reached the homestay:





At the homestay:









A secret admirer:



Fanstatic view in and around the homestay. We were bang in the middle of the forest.

















Some pics on our return leg:

[amitc7]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Fanstatic view in and around the homestay. We were bang in the middle of the forest.

Hi Hope you have many more happy miles, do share a few more details of this homestay, the location looks great. No doubt you are a pretty decent photographer.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by amitc7

Hi Hope you have many more happy miles, do share a few more details of this homestay, the location looks great. No doubt you are a pretty decent photographer.

Hi Amit, thank you for your kind words. The pics were shot from my Xiaomi Mi3 phone. I am no good at photography, it's the camera doing its thing.

Regarding the homestay you could ping @mashblue for details. Here is a link to his profile page where you can send him a PM.

[n_aditya]

Just got the bonnie serviced and here is the breakup of the costs incurred.



P.S. just check the tax breakup.

The estimate was 8k when I called a week ago for an appointment but since I replaced both sets of brake pads, the cost went up by around 5k for these alone... plus labour for the aforementioned part.

The service guys couldn't fix the headlight grill to my disappointment. Called the Triumph Riders India staff and they asked me to send the part back and they'll replace it in about 10 days time when stocks arrive.

I had called them before ordering the part and they mentioned it fits the bonnie and their blog has detailed instructions too but what they didn't tell me was that it takes 3 hours to fit this. The mechanic gave up in half that time so I'm clueless whether it's actually a part issue or mechanics patience.

I'm getting the aux lights installed on Saturday. Bought these from Biking Spirit, Bangalore. It's imported by A2Z motorcycle superstore and I'm guessing from China. Build quality is good though. Cost me 9800 for a pair. Hopefully this install goes smoothly.

[TheCelestial]

Congrats Adi! Just saw your thread, will read through it in time.

I am planning another trip soon, so keep some time free so I get a chance to ride along with the bonnie

[jkdas]

Thanks for sharing the bill I gotta check mine too to compare.

Mine's done almost 9.6k and got it 10k service done but still on the first brake pads.
I did get the clutch cable changed though.

Couple of friends got LED fogs installed locally for around 3.5k. Gotta check if its 3.5k for pair or for one.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Thanks for sharing the bill I gotta check mine too to compare.

Mine's done almost 9.6k and got it 10k service done but still on the first brake pads.
I did get the clutch cable changed though.

Couple of friends got LED fogs installed locally for around 3.5k. Gotta check if its 3.5k for pair or for one.

2.8k for a pair! I will try to add pix later.
Also, did you add horn? I am thinking of adding Windtone or so.

And, service is costly here. 2200 per hour and 900rs for wash and detailing.

[dinu2506]

Originally Posted by jkdas

2.8k for a pair! I will try to add pix later.
Also, did you add horn? I am thinking of adding Windtone or so.

I'm running Roots Windtones. Pretty loud and suits the character of the bike.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by dinu2506

I'm running Roots Windtones. Pretty loud and suits the character of the bike.

Where can I source original roots wind tone horns in Bangalore? Having trouble with fakes that are apparently all over the market. Trying to find the bangalore dealer /distributor but no such luck.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by jkdas

2.8k for a pair! I will try to add pix later.

JK. Can you share a few detailed pictures of the Aux lights and it's throw and spread at night?

Also, do let us know the wattage of the LEDs

Originally Posted by dinu2506

I'm running Roots Windtones. Pretty loud and suits the character of the bike.

What's the price of Roots Windtone? INR 900?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by jkdas

I did get the clutch cable changed though.

Why change the clutch cable so early on?

Originally Posted by jkdas

Also, did you add horn?

Nope. Staying with the stock horn. The pipes are loud enough so don't need an aftermarket horn.

Originally Posted by mobike008

JK. Can you share a few detailed pictures of the Aux lights and it's throw and spread at night?

Also, do let us know the wattage of the LEDs

I got the 20W LED lights. Each unit has two light sources and I got one unit on either side of the headlight. It looks super bright and similar to the lights on Beemers and Audi's. I'll click a few pics on my way back home from work today and post them up. As of now, I can say the width and length of the beam is wide and far and I'm kinda concerned it'll blind oncoming vehicles.