Triumph Bonneville

[_imp]

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/016_zpsb4471463.jpg.html]

The Bonneville above being ridden by my younger brother used to be mine. I sold it to him. I bought it new in 03 and except for a broken spoke put 20,000 trouble free miles on it. He has since put another 10,000 trouble free miles on it. At last check a valve has never even gone out of spec. My wife and I toured all the national Parks in Utah and Az on it. I thought it was a really nice bike, looked good, sounded decent (although not great) with the TOR (Triumph off road) pipes, very smooth motor. It was a little underpowered, and braking power was weak as well...but it was a very fun bike to ride. I enjoyed it alot as has my brother.

Before buying the Bonnie I test rode a Moto Guzzi Breva 750. Owners seem to like them a lot, but I found it terribly under powered..way more so than the Bonnie, and that sideways twist that Guzzis do drove me crazy. Brakes were weak on it as well, and the bike was physically tiny.

I rented a BMW R1200R for 9 days in Europe and found it a very satisfactory bike, plenty of power, awesome brakes, geared way to high and no way to change it, and thought about getting one when I got back to the states but they wanted $16 grand for one and I wasn't going to pay that. I bought a left over ST 1300 for $10K and it's been a great bike. I've put 36,000 miles on it I think.

I bought a used 750 Nighthawk, and 1 new and 1 used Yamaha FZ-1 between the Bonnie and the CB 1100. Sold the new FZ-1 to my son, sold the Nighthawk and the used FZ to buy the CB.

Great side by side picture of 2 nice bikes just getting along.
36,ooo miles is an awful lot.When I used to average 6,ooo miles
a year for 2 bikes I felt that was a lot of miles.I've had the Rune
for 10 years as of this past July.It's got around 23,ooo miles.
BTW ... what is the manufacturer for yer windshield.?
It's seems about right.Of course it won't shield the head from
wind buffeting ... right.Of course no windshield is likely to with
this rather high sitting CB.

[Mike_imp]

Yes you are correct. Two weeks ago I started up a new Bonneville T100 in a showroom down in Ft. Myers, Florida. It sounded much better. Nice bike now.

[CB4ME_imp]

Nice picture of a Bonnie with the "King of cool" himself, Steve Mcqueen.

[the Ferret]

Guarantee you even the newest Bonnie doesn't sound as good as THAT one...or look as good either. Perfect proportions on that mid 60's Bonnie.

[Mike_imp]

Mr. McQueen is the reason I got in to motorcycling early in my teens. Could never jump a fence like him on my old Honda 305 scrambler but I sure loved pretending I could. He is also the reason I (and many others I imagine,too) own a Triumph Bonneville!

[bubblerboy64_imp]

Good write up and discussion on the Bonnie and CB. I agree with all. The biggest critical difference is the 10 or 15 percent difference in the size of the two motorcycles. You can see it on the picture of the bikes nose to nose. THAT is going to be the deciding advantage one over the other. If you are 6ft tall you ain't going to like the Triumph much. If you are 5'6 or under the Triumph is the way to go.

The Triumph is a GREAT bike after you do the typical mods. I see on the forum seems like the CB might be going down the same path?

Neither bike is a long distance hauler nor is it represented to be one. But if you are intending to use it for long runs go with the Honda.

I like my Sportster as well. If you want a bad ass hooligan bike buy a sportster and put the loud pipes on it and raise H. Not my style but a sportster is what motorcycling is about for many people. The sportster with the larger front tire and rubber mounted engine is a totally different beast from the sportster of just a few years ago.

[the Ferret]

The best looking 1200 Sportster I have ever seen

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/photo_zpsb00d0bee.jpg.html]

[Deanohh_imp]

The best looking 1200 Sportster I have ever seen

[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/theferret111/media/photo_zpsb00d0bee.jpg.html]

That one might be a Shirley-Davidson.

[bubblerboy64_imp]

Nice farkle on that bike for sure. Not too old to "window shop"

[the Ferret]

Hey..I'm actually talking about the BIKE! Lol