Boner-ville

[Triple]

Originally Posted by fasternyou929

From the pics it looked like you had it home with 4 miles on the odometer. So the dealership had a foot-pump sitting in the box next to the bike outside?

I took that pic before I rode the bike home, obviously. I always bring my little foot pump whenever I pick up a new ride, and this time I needed it. The tires had less than 20 pounds of air in them.

Originally Posted by Tsunami

Very nice Triple! I wonder if I can fit it if its derf sized

My wife is 5-foot-2, about 100 pounds, and she fits pretty well in the pilot's seat. The seat is low and the bike is small front to back, but it isn't light. Takes more effort than you'd think to push it around the garage, but it's very balanced and easy to maneuver while you're actually riding it.

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Looks pretty good, even seen a couple urban "hipsters/metros" with one. Surprised it doesn't have a tach though.

A tachometer is an option. Of course I would have preferred one, but as a leftover 2012, I didn't have a choice.

[fasternyou929]

Originally Posted by Triple

I took that pic before I rode the bike home, obviously. I always bring my little foot pump whenever I pick up a new ride, and this time I needed it. The tires had less than 20 pounds of air in them.

Ahh, gotcha. I would never have thought of that... shows how often I change bikes.

[Particle Man]

Very nice!

[Tsunami]

Originally Posted by Triple

My wife is 5-foot-2, about 100 pounds, and she fits pretty well in the pilot's seat. The seat is low and the bike is small front to back, but it isn't light. Takes more effort than you'd think to push it around the garage, but it's very balanced and easy to maneuver while you're actually riding it.

Can she get it off the side stand?

[Turbo Ghost]

Originally Posted by Triple

The Nighthawk 750 I bought new in 2003 was probably the best do-it-all motorcycle I've ever owned. This Bonneville has a very similar feel and time will tell if it lives up. That Honda took me to school, work, and across the country half a dozen times.

I was strongly considering Honda's new CB1100 as well, but I couldn't find anything within $3000 of what I paid for this Triumph. I think the Bonnie is the [slightly] more attractive of the two, anyway:

I realllly like the new Honda but, the price is way too high and I was quite disappointed in the power numbers it's supposed to be putting down.

[OneSickPsycho]

Those Bonnie's are sweet looking... there's a guy here in town I see every once in a while on my way to work... he has one all cafe'ed out... looks awesome, sounds good too.

[Triple]

The Bonnie reminded me today that it is NOT, in fact, a sportbike.

[Scot]

I loooooove the Bonnies. I didn't want to like it as much as I did. My first ride on one lasted 300 miles.

[Triple]

Added a few minor upgrades: Ryjzq (TEC) shocks, OEM center stand (bought second-hand for $50 versus $230+ retail), and a Norman Hyde rear rack / side pannier set. The Givi E21 side cases were left over from my previous bike. I have a kit to attach my Givi Monokey trunk to the rear rack, but I won't install it until I really need it. I like the way it looks as-is.

The TEC shocks are cheap but still a huge improvement over stock, even on their softest setting. They did not include an appropriately-sized spanner wrench and it looks like the pannier racks might prevent shock adjustment anyway. Clearance between the racks and shocks is super tight. Can't say for sure until I actually find the right wrench and give it a try, I suppose.

The racks themselves were a bitch to get straight (still a little crooked, actually) and build quality doesn't quite meet actual Givi standards, but they are the best set available for this model. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to mount the rear signals on the extended stalks attached to the racks; if I do, I'll have to replace the OEM tail-light assembly with a Lucas-style piece. Otherwise, the original unit will have two big, ugly holes on either side to let in water and road grime. I could just cut the stalks off and plug the holes with rubber stoppers, but I'm not really comfortable with the little LED signals buried between the two hard bags.





Last month I took a 2000+ mile round-trip to Michigan and back. I took the scenic route on the way there but had to slab it the whole way home. My ride north took me through a few of the Appalachian "musts" (Deal's Gap, Cherohala Skyway, etc), but some of the remote two- and one-lane connectors were just as good. I tried to hit some roads I'd never ridden before, but ended up in some familiar places by accident. Still a great ride overall. The bike performed flawlessly. I made the following trip in two very long days; it would have been much more comfortable taking three or four:

[Turbo Ghost]

Love the chrome rack! It looks perfect on there!