I'm through with Bonnevilles

grumpy_1944

grumpy_1944

750cc
As soon as I can I am getting rid of my 2008 Bonneville black. Why? you ask. I thought the new bonneville would be like the 60-70 bonnevilles (and other brands) and could be worked on with a set of proper fitting wrenches, crescent wrench and screwdrivers. They are an engineering disaster/nightmare. I have discovered that one must have a PHD in engineering, a 29th degree black belt and hands smaller than a newborn infant to even change a sparkplug on one of the damned things. The thing was designed for one purpose, to make the stealers rich repairing the damned things. Can't find parts for one when you need them and when you do find parts, gotta wait weeks for them to be delivered.

Lost the last two riding seasons because the damned thing refused to run, period.:mad2: I Winterized my wife's sportster last two falls, kept it on a battery tender all winter and it started right up at springtime. After spending lots of $$$$ got to ride about half the last season. Winterized the damned Bonneville last fall and when spring arrived, it refused to even start, won't even fire. :mad2: Changed the plugs, coils and CDI. Still will not run. Still waiting for the Mechanic to figure out what is wrong (this time) and the good riding weather is almost over.

I'll probably buy a Harley since they haven't changed much since the 60s-70s. Parts are available almost everywhere and anybody standing under a shade tree with a crescent wrench and screwdriver can keep one on the road. Oh yes, they over winter and start right up which a Bonneville will not do.

:finger2: Bonnevilles
 
N

normandy

Street Tracker
Yup, that's grumpy all right.

Sorry to hear you got a lemon but there are lots of guys like me who have had years of great service without issues. Ride on brother, no matter what you ride.
 
D9

D9

Vendor
Smell like lemons. They're out there... from every maker.
Fewer things more frustrating and disappointing than owning one... doesn't matter
if it's a power tool or an automobile or anything in between.
Better luck down the road with whatever you end up riding.
 
S

strokerlmt

Moderator
Grumpy….ditto…..sorry about your problems and frustrations. Nothing worse than having a lemon. Good luck with whatever you decide. Respectfully though I have to say that in 2003 when I bought my Blue/White T100 I was just a self and father taught junior wrench er. I have taken my now Viper Red T100 down to the frame and back 5 times in 11 years. I have a haynes manual, metric wrenches, Hex heads, sockets, torque wrench and no special tools. The only thing I did was take a spark plug socket and grind it down to a thin wall and it works perfectly. The 2005 Bonneville that I made into my RAF bike sat idle for 7 months. The tank was full of gas, I ran the bike until the carbs were dry and the bike shut down. 7 months later I drained the gas from the tank, put in my car, put in new gas, choked and she started in 6 or 7 rolls. FOR ME these bikes are solid and easy to work with. Again sorry about your troubles….wish you luck…..best
LMT
 
K

klem

Scooter
Grumpy
Sorry to hear of your experience i have had my T100 2012 since new it has been fantastic to own and ride. Never have done any mechanical work in my life but my bike has never seen a garage except mine. i have done all my work on this bike for the full 22,000km and has been a very simple process even the valve clearance check and shim replacements re tuning the ecu and many other mods. The simplicity of this bike was why i bought it and so far it has not let me down at all.

PS i have had to do a lot of reading in order to get my head around the procedures but have enjoyed that also.
 
Hedge

Hedge

American Infidel
Sorry to hear that but I understand how prolonged frustration can lead to this. Is your kill switch on? Ask me why I ask such a stupid question! My 2007 Black was rock solid up until the overheating disaster. I have since done 2 things. The first is im rebuilding the engine so I will have a brand new engine on my Bonne. The second is I bought a brand new 2014 leftover Honda CB1100 that im already modifying before I even fire it up for break in!
Good luck to you going forward!
 
beemerrich

beemerrich

Street Tracker
grumpy_1944 said:
I'll probably buy a Harley since they haven't changed much since the 60s-70s. Parts are available almost everywhere and anybody standing under a shade tree with a crescent wrench and screwdriver can keep one on the road. Oh yes, they over winter and start right up which a Bonneville will not do.
Click to expand...

What winter? The info you entered sez you're from California! I trust you know about stabil for the fuel and running the carbs dry before putting her up for the season...

Hate to break the news to you, but Harley's have changed quite a bit since the AMF days. On the plus side, the bits don't rattle off as often since the motor company discovered allen head fasteners & loctite blue and the alternators don't seem to throw magnets as often such that you end up buying a rotor/stator every other year or so. The fact that they are now fuel injected and have CDI ignition (just like your bonnie) will probably not be to your liking.

Whatever you end up with, hope it works out for you this go around.

Good luck,

--Rich
 
W

whyme

TT Racer
I have had the same problems after winter...a real winter though. dreading my start-up this Spring again.
 
J

JustJohn

moped
grumpy_1944 said:
As soon as I can I am getting rid of my 2008 Bonneville black. Why? you ask. I thought the new bonneville would be like the 60-70 bonnevilles (and other brands) and could be worked on with a set of proper fitting wrenches, crescent wrench and screwdrivers. They are an engineering disaster/nightmare. I have discovered that one must have a PHD in engineering, a 29th degree black belt and hands smaller than a newborn infant to even change a sparkplug on one of the damned things. The thing was designed for one purpose, to make the stealers rich repairing the damned things. Can't find parts for one when you need them and when you do find parts, gotta wait weeks for them to be delivered.

Lost the last two riding seasons because the damned thing refused to run, period.:mad2: I Winterized my wife's sportster last two falls, kept it on a battery tender all winter and it started right up at springtime. After spending lots of $$$$ got to ride about half the last season. Winterized the damned Bonneville last fall and when spring arrived, it refused to even start, won't even fire. :mad2: Changed the plugs, coils and CDI. Still will not run. Still waiting for the Mechanic to figure out what is wrong (this time) and the good riding weather is almost over.

I'll probably buy a Harley since they haven't changed much since the 60s-70s. Parts are available almost everywhere and anybody standing under a shade tree with a crescent wrench and screwdriver can keep one on the road. Oh yes, they over winter and start right up which a Bonneville will not do.

:finger2: Bonnevilles
Click to expand...

Buying a Harley? Christ you are genuinely pissed.
 
monty

monty

Street Tracker
I' ve had my Bonnie for fourteen years this year. Not without problems, Drowned in the wet a couple of times, usual yearly strip of the back brake, finish is a bit ropey in places. Mines a keeper. I've had some great times on mine which far outweigh the odd problem.


To summarise,

I'd rather push a Bonnie than ride a Harley. ...

Monty.
 
S

strokerlmt

Moderator
Hi Hedge,
I am going to delete this post again simply because I don't like stereo typing in any way. Thanks for understanding.
LMT
 
Hedge

Hedge

American Infidel
strokerlmt said:
Hi Hedge,
I am going to delete this post again simply because I don't like stereo typing in any way. Thanks for understanding.
LMT
Click to expand...

Wow - I thought I for got to post. I also thought we were pretty wide open here . . . You better get busy deleting the Paul Smith thread, Wouldn't want to stereotype anyone who bats for the other team! :-D
 
Last edited:
Roger

Roger

Street Tracker
Are you referring to those gaily coloured Bonnevilles from a while back? If so, those were an assault on the eyes.
 
grumpy_1944

grumpy_1944

750cc
update

I'll withdraw part of my original post/rant to this thread. The reason the Bonneville quit running was the krap that the Republik of Kalifornia mandates as gasoline. The mechanic told me that it plugged the jets and passages in the carbs. Still, After trying to work on the fuel system, I found it to resemble an "explosion" in a spaghetti factory in that area. There is just barely enough room in this area for my little finger little on any tool of any kind.

I went and perverted myself and bought a Harley, XL1200T, mainly because of the support available while touring. Every time I needed something for the Bonneville, I had to special order it and then wait for it to arrive. This is totally unacceptable to me when touring. In the five years my wife has owned her XL883L, when ever a part was needed, the parts department always had it in stock.

After riding this particular H-d for a few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that those that bad mouth Harleys, are like I was, having never owned/ridden one. They are totally different type bikes for different purposes but, both are very good at what they were designed to do. The Bonneville is sorta like a two wheeled Miata or Porsche and the XL1200T is sorta like one of the many GT cars so popular these days.

For this old worn out body, the ergonomics of the XL1200T are more comfortable than the Bonneville's were. I can ride longer on it than the Bonneville, even though the Bonneville's suspension was better after I upgraded it. I'll know more after I get the $$$$ to upgrade the suspension of the XL1200T. Power of both bikes is different but both are/were adequate for my purposess.

As far as those that dis H-D from now on, I'll consider they are uninformed or prejudiced. Also, I absolutely refuse to get a bunch of tattoos and/or skulls/eagles etc. Sooooo, if you see a plain guy on an all black H-D with out all the "stuff", wave, it's me having a good time touring, which is what it's all about.

grumpy
 
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