My Triumph review

[juspassinthru]

As an avid rider and long time motorcycle owner I have owned and ridden many brands.Many of which are Vintage American and Brittish bikes alike.
since 2001 I have kicked around the idea of the new Bonneville and last month I got serious and found a deal I could not pass up on a locally owned 2007 Bonneville T-100 in black and white ,my favorite bike and paint scheme of all the Triumph Modern Classics.
I got it home and removed the windshield, If I wanted a windshield I would ride in my car.I took her for a go and was very impressed with not only the performance but also the handling and comfort.I found the acceleration to be smooth and adequate keeping in mind im not loking to drag my knees at this stage in my life but still like a bike that handles good when the need arrives.I found it did very well at interstate speeds for a paralell twin weighing in at 500 lbs. the Brakes while spartan were fine for meeting my needs as a daily commuter and weekend toy as well.
To make it my own I installed a set of the black Norman hyde"M" bars in the down postion, removed the AI system, rejetted it and added a Bub full 2 into 2 exhaust system as well as a K and N filter and removed the snorkel.
The results were amazing it went from Camaro to Corvette and has a very distinct growl for an exhaust note.
This is not a " me too " bike it has a personality of it's own that Triumph carved in Stone many years ago and echoes the rider back to a time where it was about bikes before the fashion Show of over marketing , trends and Hype.
In closing I am proud to own this bike and everyone who sees it loves it, I feel Triumph hit a home run with this one and it wears the Bonneville badge well.
thank you,
Sonny Farmer

 

[Bullitt]

I got it home and removed the windshield, If I wanted a windshield I would ride in my car.

:headbang2: I love it! I feel the same way. Congrats on your new baby.

 

[T-boy]

Now you've got the spirit, Sonny. Congrats on a great lookin' ride.

 

[hs01jowe]

Nice review, how are the M-bars in the upside down position comfort-wise?

I still have the stock bars on mine but I should get my M-bars tomorrow..

 

[juspassinthru]

M bars

I like the riding postion and commute with it 60 miles roundtrip daily with no issues

 

[strokerlmt]

Sonny ....nice bike. I feel the same way you do...its a classic bike....a keeper.
LMT

 

[koifarm]

I always did like the black and white ones.....nice looking bike!

 

[Speed3Chris]

Nicely said Sonny.
Now let's see how much restrain you have on mods.

While I like a lot of different bonnies and Thruxton's, I like the B&W full fendered bike as well. Mine below.
Mod's on deck: LSL headlight bracket + Joker ignition relo + Hyde rearsets

 

[juspassinthru]

tailight

hey is that the plug and play style lucas light? looks great!

 

[Speed3Chris]

Thanks Jus...but not plug and play...I preferred to create my own harness and don't like the plug and play position as much as what you see. I put a Lucas LED thread in the Project Zone...which changed the rear lens also since the pic above...so have a look if interested. The factory lights as you have no doubt discovered don't flatter the great lines of these classic bikes. In fact the factory lighting is not only poor aesthetically but also in terms of illumination...from headlight, to turn signals to indicator lights to speedo lighting...Lucas lives on. There are work arounds for all of this however. Check out the Eastern Beaver thread in the Project Zone if you want a bit more output out of your headlight.
Enjoy your new bonny.

 

[strokerlmt]

nice bike......
LMT

 

[Speed3Chris]

Thanks Lash! I wish I had your wheels.

 

[msc66]

Nicely said Sonny.
Now let's see how much restrain you have on mods.

While I like a lot of different bonnies and Thruxton's, I like the B&W full fendered bike as well. Mine below.
Mod's on deck: LSL headlight bracket + Joker ignition relo + Hyde rearsets

Chris, can you tell me about your turn indicators?

Btw, your bike is beautiful.

 

[Speed3Chris]

msc66,
Thanks for your kind words. The story there is...I took delivery of my bike in the dead of winter...winter before last when it was 12 deg F...fricking cold transporting it in an open trailer and so had a bit of time to play with the bike before spring time. Many that buy the classic remake bonny are drawn to the proportion of the bike and to me the lights were an abomination and had to go so I stripped down the bike before I rode it.
What you see is the 3rd set of aftermarket lights I have had on the bike. I am fussy and when I saw the latest bullet turn indicators which are brushed aluminum sold by British Customs...referred to as large bullets, I had to have them. I also had their mini bullets on the bike but they are too small IMHO to fit the retro flavor of the bonny.
They also shed quite a bit more light at 23W than the stock turn signals which are 10W.
In front I relocated them below the bucket off of the headlight bracket using a Thruxton bracket which lowers the visual belt line of the bike. These bikes are a work in progress as you know and I was fortunate to score a new LSL headlight bracket recently off ebay and that will go on shortly along with a Joker Ignition relo bracket...both very nicely design pieces. To me the Thruxton headlight bracket looks a lot better than the bonny headlight bracket but the LSL minimalist bracket design trumps both as it bolts right to the fork tubes with no cover tube.
A couple more pics showing the lights.
Thanks again.

 

[tbirdsp]

Chris, that is one good lookin' bike!:worthy:

 

[Speed3Chris]

Chris, that is one good lookin' bike!

Thank you brother. I like yours as well. What's cool about these bikes is how you can personalize them and each model offers something a bit different. My problem is, I like them all. ...with preference for clean and uncluttered.

The trip you are going on with your motorcycle buds sounds awesome. I hope you take a lot of pics and share them with us.
Ride safe tbird.

 

[msc66]

Thanks Chris,
My preference would be no turn signals as I feel they clutter up the bike too much but they are a must from the safety view point. I saw those on the BC web site but wasn't sure of the brushed alum. A lot of guys take their bonnies in a modern cafe direction which looks killer but not the direction I'm thinking. I thought of getting them and having them chromed or polishing them but after seeing them on your bike they may work the way they are.

The new tail light will have to be chrome but by relocating the blinkers they shouldn't clash. For the front I thought of leaving them in the stock location and having them powdercoated black to blend in. We'll see. Guess I'll just buy them and take it from there.

Oh, and sorry for the thread hi-jack.

 

[tbirdsp]

I saw a pic of a spoke-wheel Bonnie Black with a black (vs chrome) headlight bucket. Was this a custom deal or did they come that way at some point? The ring around the light was still chrome though.

 

[Speed3Chris]

I saw a pic of a spoke-wheel Bonnie Black with a black (vs chrome) headlight bucket. Was this a custom deal or did they come that way at some point? The ring around the light was still chrome though.

Black headlight buckets that you see with and without chrome ring are done by owners. A pretty popular mod. Depends what you want. Nice to have some contrast on the bike in not only color but textures as well...why brushed aluminum + chrome looks good as well as in the case of the turn signals. I personally don't like too much chrome but a little looks nice. Kind of like engine cases...some prefer chrome cases and some the natural aluminum either brushed or polished. To me, this is almost a jump ball...depends on the bike.

Below is how the LSL bracket will look on my bike. Waiting for a window of time to pull down my front forks..easier than pulling up the top handlebar yoke to install the brackets. Retail for this bracket is outrageous and I have been looking a long time for a used one and got lucky to find one an owner bought but never mounted as I am not a fan of the stock bonny headlight bracket.
Cheers.