Team-BHP > Motorbikes > Superbikes & Imports


Reply
  Search this Thread
44,126 views
Old 3rd April 2017, 17:03   #31
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Bengaluru
Posts: 30
Thanked: 6 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Hi Wangdu (Nipun),
Enquiring with a certain T100 owner in BLR and ended up buying one. Super pick. There are a lot of fine improvements in the next gen T100 along with a surge in torque which you are going to love.
BTW, I have picked up a Versys 650 and it is a completely different beast. I am loving it.
Cheers,
live&ride.
live&ride is offline  
Old 4th April 2017, 15:48   #32
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NCR
Posts: 255
Thanked: 601 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by live&ride View Post
Hi Wangdu (Nipun),BTW, I have picked up a Versys 650..
Is that GP on V there? That's just a very different type of steed than Bonnie you rode, but I guess you were able to add a few inches to your height at this age because unless that happened (with V's seat height)you are going to have a fall every other day. lol.

Congrats , Now that you own a V, I reckon you are going to be spending more time on road (western coastal belts calling) touring. After all it's made for that purpose.

cheers!
wangdu is offline  
Old 5th April 2017, 08:48   #33
Distinguished - BHPian
 
mobike008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 11,656
Thanked: 14,551 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by live&ride View Post
BTW, I have picked up a Versys 650 and it is a completely different beast. I am loving it.
Congrats and Welcome to the V World !!! Are you part of the Versys India Group?

Quote:
Originally Posted by wangdu View Post
but I guess you were able to add a few inches to your height at this age because unless that happened (with V's seat height)you are going to have a fall every other day. lol.
Is there any basis to this comment? I agree taller folks will have it a bit easy but, why would someone fall of a bike just because they are short? There is something called "rider skill" that comes into play for such situations along with a certain knack to manage a tall bike with a short stature

There are plenty of V owners who are 5.6 or even less and they are enjoying the stock bike thoroughly (one of them has lowered the height of the bike)

Some of these short riders even own the Versys 1000 which is a much larger bike. One of them whom I keep quoting is 5.5 or 6 and has done 30K kms in 1 year and also completed the iron butt as well (1600 kms in 24 hours). I met this young lad and I practically tower over him and imagine he is enjoying the bike to full potential
mobike008 is offline  
Old 5th April 2017, 11:02   #34
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NCR
Posts: 255
Thanked: 601 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by mobike008 View Post
Is there any basis to this comment? I agree taller folks will have it a bit easy but, why would someone fall of a bike just because they are short? ..
Well, that was a light hearted comment on myself/my old friend live&ride more than a sweep. But in the context, from my limited experience with V, a short height rider might not fall the bike literally all the time but a 5'6" (my height) or shorter will be tip toeing at best (on stock setup) and that's very inconvenient while crawling through traffic or maneuvering during parking entry/exit, etc. Compound that with dense traffic dynamics, performing U turns (esp. when being on the inside of the turn) with two up or luggage, a slight miscalculation of turning radius could get all the weight one sided. But of course that might not be a big factor with much experience & caution but still I would feel uneasy maneuvering V with in the city while open roads are where I wouldn't want to get down V's saddle.

BTW, staying with Bonnie I wanted to ask you if free flow exhausts that you 'd recommended are same as V&H pipes, I guess no? I had checked with dealer here and they know only about V&H, no arrows/others.

cheers!
wangdu is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 5th April 2017, 11:40   #35
Distinguished - BHPian
 
mobike008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 11,656
Thanked: 14,551 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by wangdu View Post
BTW, staying with Bonnie I wanted to ask you if free flow exhausts that you 'd recommended are same as V&H pipes, I guess no? I had checked with dealer here and they know only about V&H, no arrows/others.
I'm not sure if the "Hi-Flow" pipes are known as V&H (Vince & Hines) but, these pipes are very popular in the Bonnie fraternity and as mentioned before they used to cost around 22K compared to Arrow Twin pipes which costed a bomb (60K)

My strong recommendation is to stay away from Arrows and just get these "Hi-Flow" pipes and you will be set for your entire ownership period
mobike008 is offline  
Old 5th April 2017, 11:53   #36
BHPian
 
djpeesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: London
Posts: 621
Thanked: 777 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by wangdu View Post

BTW, staying with Bonnie I wanted to ask you if free flow exhausts that you 'd recommended are same as V&H pipes, I guess no? I had checked with dealer here and they know only about V&H, no arrows/others.

cheers!
The new bonnies only have the V&H pipes as an option from the showroom (a few others available online). The TORS (free flows) and Arrows are for the older (air cooled) bonnies.

I think there're Zard and Yoshimura exhausts available for the Street Twin (same engine as the new T100)
djpeesh is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 5th April 2017, 12:09   #37
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Bengaluru
Posts: 30
Thanked: 6 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by mobike008 View Post
Congrats and Welcome to the V World !!! Are you part of the Versys India Group?
No I am not yet a part of the above group. However I am in the local BLR group. Suddenly the amount of whatsapp messages on the phone has skyrocketed to a new level along with the BRATs.

I am loving the rides on the Versys 650 and I must say it is quite nimble even in the notorious BLR peak hour traffic. Running in and hit around 200km already in a week where mostly I was away from the bike. Every 1K rpm increase with every 100km is the plan before the 1000km service is done.

Suddenly in the span of 3 months my acquisitions increased from British to Italian to the Japanese.

T100 still seems the bike to keep for nostalgia and play around with the mods (wishful thinking), while the V is for pure adrenaline.
live&ride is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 5th April 2017, 13:35   #38
Senior - BHPian
 
dinu2506's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,077
Thanked: 958 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by mobike008 View Post
I'm not sure if the "Hi-Flow" pipes are known as V&H (Vince & Hines) but, these pipes are very popular in the Bonnie fraternity and as mentioned before they used to cost around 22K compared to Arrow Twin pipes which costed a bomb (60K)

My strong recommendation is to stay away from Arrows and just get these "Hi-Flow" pipes and you will be set for your entire ownership period
The High Flow pipes from Triumph used to be called TOR (Triumph Off Road). They were available for the old Bonnies. I run them. Had bought them for around 25k. Arrows were way too expensive at around 60K and I particularly did not like the sound which sounded to me a bit tinny. Not sure about the new bikes in the Bonnie family, whether the TORs are available.
dinu2506 is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 6th April 2017, 12:28   #39
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NCR
Posts: 255
Thanked: 601 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by dinu2506 View Post
..Not sure about the new bikes in the Bonnie family, whether the TORs are available.
For Bonnies, Triumph has these high flow chrome silencers (requires specific engine tuning) but these are being promoted for off road only (these are the TORs I guess) and for regular on-road usage, there's the peashooter shaped V&H slip-on set but I didn't find those impressive enough (sound wise) over the stock pipes. There are no other at least at the moment unless I am mistaken.

TOR silencers:
https://shop.triumphmotorcycles.com/...lencers_-_Long

V&H on-road option:
http://www.triumphmotorcycles.in/acc...tion=000000000

Since you have the TORs on your Bonnie, how do they fare performance,mileage/L & sound wise in on-road conditions? I wonder why does Triumph provide off-road exhausts for Bonnies which aren't built for off roading primarily? Thanks.
wangdu is offline  
Old 6th April 2017, 12:58   #40
Senior - BHPian
 
dinu2506's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,077
Thanked: 958 Times
re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by wangdu View Post
For Bonnies, Triumph has these high flow chrome silencers (requires specific engine tuning) but these are being promoted for off road only (these are the TORs I guess) and for regular on-road usage, there's the peashooter shaped V&H slip-on set but I didn't find those impressive enough (sound wise) over the stock pipes. There are no other at least at the moment unless I am mistaken.

TOR silencers:
https://shop.triumphmotorcycles.com/...lencers_-_Long

V&H on-road option:
http://www.triumphmotorcycles.in/acc...tion=000000000

Since you have the TORs on your Bonnie, how do they fare performance,mileage/L & sound wise in on-road conditions? I wonder why does Triumph provide off-road exhausts for Bonnies which aren't built for off roading primarily? Thanks.
For me, this was one of the best investments i made in my upgrades. I felt the tonal quality to be really good, bassy as I wanted and not too loud. No change in performance or mileage and looks totally stock. I guess they brand it off road probably because it's louder than legally permitted maybe. But Arrows for eg are far louder and tinny than this, something that was not to my taste. TORs were just right and complimented the character of the bike

Last edited by dinu2506 : 6th April 2017 at 13:00.
dinu2506 is offline  
Old 11th April 2017, 14:37   #41
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NCR
Posts: 255
Thanked: 601 Times
Re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Update at 500 km:

Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100-20170411_070835.jpg

Going through a break-in phase so you know how it feels but then Sultana is learning the turf and her master while lubricating its mechanics through this time. The usual problem of staying within rpm limits, patience through every thought of speed followed by corrective action and all that's required during engine break-in. A problem for sure but a good one to have for she shall yield delightful rewards in the long run if reared carefully. It's been a special 500kms on the saddle 'ever' to say it simply (as expected I think since I've been an RE owner most of my life with brief stint on N300)

Experience so far:

Highs:

The engine's rev push that I had mentioned earlier is quite a help in the city. For example, the bike when accelerated in 1st gear till 40kmph (say) and due to engine braking the speed reduces but then eventually holds on to 15kmph without letting the bike jerk. Likewise, it keeps the bike at 20kmph in 2nd gear, 40kmph in 3/4/5 gears.

The first 400 km were nice and easy for the engine with max rpm being 2.5k-3k across all gears. After 400kms on the odo, stage 2 of break-in has started where the engine is being "exposed" to peak 4-5k rpm range per gear. The bike is accelerated linearly and sometimes quickly (not wheelie kind of acceleration) to reach and is purposefully held at 3, 3.5, 4k rpm for up to a few minutes at each. This exercise makes the engine work out of its "comfort zone" over a sustained period. Doing this with a mix of gear changes at optimal rpm range is showing its results. While early on the bike felt a bit stressed at 3k rpm in lower gears, now the engine doesn't feel stressed with increasing rpm resulting in refined acceleration.

It's a distinct high for a rider when he feels the engine perform & is building itself the way the rider intends to.

Ride Experience: Silky smooth, refined and perhaps a bit too perfect. I love the bike's performance in urban conditions (in sparse traffic) where oodles of torque is available in everyday usable rpm range making overtaking, lane changes and likewise so much easy and refined that it speaks volumes about her pedigree. Cruising at slightly higher speeds is a bliss, there are zero vibrations and distances are covered fast. Riding my RE over long distances wears me out soon because with RE 'Speed' is mostly static so it’s the time that increases while here on Bonnie I end up taking more breaks as I cover lot more distance in shorter time but then physical exhaustion is replaced by mental exhaustion as it requires being super alert at high speeds which Bonnie gets me to, too soon.

Exhaust Note: the stock peashooter exhausts delivers low bassy thumps with much appreciated, dignified quieter notes in higher gears. During long rides as the engine warms up the bassy sound intensifies and is a great aural experience when rev'd then after.

Sighs

Out there on highways I attempted to find that elusive 6th gear at times. Should I have bought T120 instead, I half-heartedly wondered then. But now after 500kms I think T100's 5th is doing just fine. Sultana's engine now in “my” stage-2 break-in gathers up high speeds in 5th without feeling stressed at all. I'm sure if my RE can do relatively good speeds in 5th after break in, Bonnie will be a delight in times to come.

Gear changes: Have tried all the 4 clutch lever positions but the gear changes aren't smooth, there's a "cluDD" sound like the gear is engaging with a rubber pad on (during 1-2-3) and many a times I;ve found myself stuck in N while shifting from 1-2. In comparison, my RE Electra's gear shift change experience has been perfectly smooth since day 1 (ditto like my CL500 few years ago). It's a first point to be probed during upcoming first service.

Overall so far so good. More later as and when there's to update,

cheers!

Last edited by Rehaan : 11th April 2017 at 17:39. Reason: As requested
wangdu is offline   (3) Thanks
Old 11th April 2017, 18:14   #42
Senior - BHPian
 
jkdas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Thiruvananthapu
Posts: 9,687
Thanked: 1,492 Times
Re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by wangdu View Post
Update at 500 km:
Out there on highways I attempted to find that elusive 6th gear at times.

cheers!

Congrats wangdu!

I still do the same even though I have done 13k on my Bonnie.
Met a 'RAT' here who owns a black T100. Loved the pea shooter' sound; pretty good for stock which should keep majority happy when you compare the sound with the older Bonnies.
jkdas is offline  
Old 13th April 2017, 16:52   #43
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NCR
Posts: 255
Thanked: 601 Times
Re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by jkdas View Post
Congrats wangdu! ...Loved the pea shooter' sound; pretty good for stock which should keep majority happy when you compare the sound with the older Bonnies.
Thanks Jkdas. Here's the stock T100 sound (pump up the volume for better feel). This is at odo less than 500, pretty sure the engine whining sound would reduce and it would get more bassy after a few more hundred kms. How does this sound compare with pre-2016 model and hi-flow exhausts if you would know? Thanks.
wangdu is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 13th April 2017, 19:55   #44
BHPian
 
djpeesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: London
Posts: 621
Thanked: 777 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by wangdu View Post
How does this sound compare with pre-2016 model and hi-flow exhausts if you would know? Thanks.
This is nicer than the previous stock pipes, but the TORS are a different story. I used to love an i4, but this is an altogether different story.



The video doesn't quite capture the bass

Last edited by mobike008 : 18th April 2017 at 14:55. Reason: Avoid quoting images, videos etc.
djpeesh is offline  
Old 18th April 2017, 11:44   #45
BHPian
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NCR
Posts: 255
Thanked: 601 Times
Re: Going the Bonnie way, advice? EDIT: Sultana - My Bonneville T100

Quote:
Originally Posted by djpeesh View Post
..The video doesn't quite capture the bass
This sounds nice. It does give a fairly good idea of TORs.

Maybe its just me but the peashooters look much better on retro styled 100/120 (w/ spokes) and the ones in your video look great on sportier Street twin (w/ alloys) kind.

I'll be visiting the dealer and service center (1st service) shortly and will check out the notes of Hi-flows if these are already available/installed on any new Bonnie.
wangdu is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks