Triumph Bonneville (2000-current)

I am the happy beholder of a '02 Bonneville, a bike scarcely equiped as stock. It does however carry the essentials, unless you count a tacho as essential. Most importantly it rides well, pulls nicely through the rev-band, brakes adequately (for this kind of ride anyway), looks the part and feels the part. Ownership is to my experience a walk in the sunshine; no worries regarding durability, no big expences in either maintainence, depreciation or insurance, and servicing is fairly cheap. If you are a bit handy you can do most of the servicing yourself. However, I found my stock Bonneville a bit too stock for my liking, so I have had a few tweaks done, all of which in my opinion makes the bike even better. Although I do not consider the Tachometer an essential on a bike of this kind, it does not mean I do not find it useful. Of course I do. So I fitted the tacho you find on the plusher T100, for both practicality and appearance. I tend to think it looks better with twin clocks rather than a single clock. I also fitted chromed engine, clutch, crankcase and cam covers (again as you find it on the T100). All of these tweaks weren't required if I only took the trouble of getting a T100 to begin with. Which I didn't. Hence the upgrades. The one upgrade I would have had to perform whichever guise my bonnie came in, is the exhaust system. This is by far the most successfull upgrade I made. I felt the stock mufflers made the engine sound feeble and knew right away it would need fixing. It just gave away too much of the lovely parallel twin, and thus sounded disappointingly. I fancy the looks of the original mufflers though, and would not go for anything radically different, like an arrow-system for instance, or Predators, although they all sound nicely as well as enhancing power output. Some, I've learned has opted for the Norman Hyde Peashooters. However, these aren't that differnt looking from the Predators. Rather then I would consider the Togo mufflers from Norman Hyde. They look more like the stock pipes. And sound good too. Which is more than half the point. Finally it all came down to Triumphs own aftermarked (off-road) mufflers. Boy do they sound good! And there is nothing setting them visually apart from the stock pipes, which to me is a good thing. I also had changes made to the airflow filter to allow the engine better breathing. These two tweaks changed the feel of the bike entirely. Now it sounds as it should have sounded in the first place, and as a healthy bonus it performs notably better in the mid-range. Upgrade well done! Not fitting your Bonnie with better breathing pipes is close to crime given the potential of that beautiful parallel twin engine.

I bought a Bonnie on the rebound from owning a Blackbird, which I found to be too threatening to body, soul and licence - and I have already had one hernia. The Bonnie was a disappointment. It looked the part at face value, but doesn't come across as genuine over time - it pretends to be something it is not. The finish I found to be quite good, not too difficult to clean and brushes up quite well. I didn't have any mechanical or reliability problems either - starts first push every time. The engine is positively asthmatic and has no virtues. I am not into speed, but I am into bike competence at speed, and I found the bike to become increasingly incompetent the faster you go. Handling becomes unsure, there is no oommph in reserve, and the brakes lack assurance. Equipment is dull, even for retro, it is dull - and clocks mist up in the damp. They are not expensive to buy, but for the money there are much better bikes around. I have had a lot of bikes over the years, and this is one that I have enjoyed the least. In fact, if you want a bike that puts you off biking, this is probably the one ... and I love biking. It obviously attracts buyers, and has a fan club. But - caveat emptor - if you are looking for something with character and retro - this is not it.

bought a 04 t100 brand new 4 years down the road wheels starting to pit same with the rear shocks paint on back mudgaurd gone slightly crazed engine block coating bubbling black on bottom of cylinder pinged off come on triumph you can do better than this

It's hard to find review of the 865cc model and I'm not entirely sure why. It's comfortable, has classic looks and makes you feel like a true biker! Theres no auto choke, no fuel warning lights, no digital gizmo's, just you, an analogue trip counter, the bike and the road! (I gave the bike 5 stars for equipment, because it has all you need). The Bonnie has superb acceleration, yes it will top out before most other nakeds, but naked bikes can rarely be ridden for any real time over 80-90mph comfortably, with that in mind, the Bonnie is actually a direct competitor! There is an instant feel of solid build quality, when first coming in contact with the bike. It also feels light and easy to ride. The fuel consumption is exellent (as would be expected) and its basic engine design gives supreme confidence in its ability to run forever! The front brake is a bit wooden, and does lack power at pretty much all speeds. The Bonnie I have has not been ridden much however, and the lacking 'feel' could be down to something on the pad/disc surface. Aftermarket upgrades are obtainable should the owner desire improvements in this area. Though ironicaly, most upgrade parts for our British bike, are only available from America! Recommended alterations would be; removal of the air injection system (cost of £25 for parts from Triumph), it makes the engine run cooler and prevents 'blueing' of the downpipes. Triumph's own race silencers are a must! It wakes the Bonnie up and makes it the bike it was always supposed to be. Removal of the air box and the installation of a couple of nice pleated filters should finish it off, freeing up the Bonnies breathing further. The latter must be baught as a kit, as there are replacement jets and brackets to get it right. I have had many bikes, naked and sports. I can honestly say, hand on heart, I have never had such a desire to go riding, as I do with the Bonnie. This bike, is biking!

Easy to manage, give it some welly it responds, people love to look at it. A great commute and weekend bike. Strengths: Build, style, sounds a lot better after 2-3000 miles.   Weaknesses: Low tank range 100 -110 miles. Not good for commuting. Also needed to fit a small screen to ease windblast, but its a naked bike. what do you expect?

I BOUGHT THIS BIKE IN JULY 2005 AFTER A LONG PERIOD WITHOUT SO I WANTED SOMETHING THAT WOULD NOT KILL ME ! IT IS A LOVELY GREEN AND SILVER MODEL . MY FIRST IMPRESSION WAS OF A VERY NICELY BALANCED AND COMFY RIDE WITH A GOOD LIVELY PERFORMANCE . I ALWAYS LIKE TO CHANGE A FEW ITEMS ON ANY BIKE SO THE FIRST MOD I MADE WAS A MOTOTWIN AIR ELIMINATION KIT TO PREVENT THE EXHAUST POPPING, IT WORKED WELL, THE NEXT WAS TO FIT SOME MOTOTWIN SS SILENCERS, I HAD TO REJET THE CARBS (EASILY DONE BUT FIDDLY) AND ALSO FITTED A UNIFLOW AIR FILTER, I NOW HAVE A BIKE WITH A LOT MORE POWER THROUGHOUT THE REV RANGE BUT ESPECIALLY LOW TO MIDRANGE AND THE SOUND AND LOOKS ARE FANTASTIC . NEXT I FITTED SOME MOTOTWIN LOWER HANDLEBARS TO IMPROVE RIDING COMFORT AND GIVE THE BIKE A MORE SPORTY FEEL . I NOW HAVE A WONDERFUL BIKE THAT LOOKS GREAT AND IS A JOY TO RIDE. Strengths: I FREQUENTLY GET ASKED ABOUT THE BIKE AND IT ATTARCTS ADMIRERS EVERYWHERE IT GOES, THE QUALITY OF BUILD AND FINISH IS FAR SUPERIOR TO JAPANESE BIKES, IT IS A SUPERB TOWN BIKE DUE TO THE LOW CENTRE OF GRAVITY MAKING MANOEUVERABILITY EASY AND THE LOW DOWN PULLING POWER MAKES IT QUICK OFF THE MARK . THE TRIUMPH NAME AND TRADITION ARE STRENGTHS AND THE BIKE ACTUALLY MAKES YOU THINK YOU ARE RIDING SOMETHING SOLID AND WITH A QUALITY FEEL. Weaknesses: THE ONLY REAL WEAKNESS IS THE LACK OF OUTRIGHT PERFORMANCE WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER MODERN MACHINERY BUT THIS IS MORE THAN COMPENSATED BY THE STRENGTHS .

After two years on a CB450 anything would seem good, but that does the T100 a severe injustice. It's a treat to ride and makes me look for excuses to go out on it. It may not be right for everyone - you won't be winning many races on one - but if there's a cooler looking bike out there, I haven't seen it. Oh and another thing. I love red traffic lights now. People just stop and stare at the bike, something that never happened with the Honda, and if it did, they were usually sniggering.. Strengths: Great looks, very easy to control. Weaknesses: Not the quickest, but that doesn't bother me. The cost of Triumph add-on's/parts, it's scandalous.

I bought the T100 to complement my 1955 Speed Twin, which is great fun to ride but not to mix it with other traffic. I also own a GS1200 and another Jap classic. The T100 is great fun, looks nice, goes & stops well, lacks a bit of character perhaps. I would imagine it to be a very good novice bike, or as a second bike. Unless you're really set on having one, however, it might prove to be disappointing. A GS650 single has more grunt & sounds better! But that's missing the point - this is a retro Brit twin, more of a lifestyle choice. Strengths: Looks gorgeous, especially in Sapphire Blue. Good VFM. Weaknesses: Standard exhaust far too quiet. Upright riding position on this naked bike means one has to 'hang on', even at modest speeds. The bike lacks the grunt one would expect from a British Twin.

No significant difference in performance except the new one has better pulling power. The bike is easy to ride and handles well. The local area is rife with cameras so performance is irrelative to me. It will cruise all day at the legal max. without effort although the fitting of a small fly screen has helped lessen the wind effect. Running costs are low. Strengths: Its late 50's/early 60's looks. Weaknesses:
Could be a little lighter,as I would presume its main market to be fragile old folk, like myself.