Following on from Chris's post... I can't be the only person who wants to take the new Bonneville out on the road, can I? Do you all know something I don't?!

Talking of knowing things I don't: luggage. Has anyone seen hard panniers for the Bonnie.. or recommend someone who can make some?

Cheers
--Mike

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Hi There I have a 2003 Triumph Speedmaster & have a trip planned round the Baltics this year in july, 2800 mile round trip in 15 days. Re the Hard luggage I got a set of panniers with easy brackets (Lets you lock the panniers on & off the Bike)from the USA http://www.newbonneville.com

Take it easy
Martyn

Martyn

Thanks for the reply and the link - I hadn't come across them before. Great to see.

My only fear is that the panniers won't be big enough for me, for a longer trip. I'm no techie... would it, perhaps, be possible to take their Hepco and Becker rack and use that as the base for a self-build with larger aluminium panniers? (I have much to learn...!)

Thanks again for the reply and the tip - happy trails.

--Mike

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I saw an advert recently in the BMF mag that said Metal Mule now have a kit to fit the Triumph bonneville.

The picture showed panniers & a top boxed fitted to Bonnie.

Regards

Martyn

That's fantastic news (almost as good as the news that a woman *may* put an offer on my flat this afternoon, meaning I'll be able to get on with all this!)

It's also fantastic that you saw the advert, remembered this thread, came back and posted. Thanks very much. What're you drinking?

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Hi folks,
On the another thread Mike wrote "*please* help me populate the Triumph section of the HUBB. It's getting embarrassing." so I thought I should 'show my colours as a fellow Triumph rider. ;-)

I have a '99 Thunderbird & a '73 Daytona 'special'.
& did a 14,000km trip on the T'bird without problem, ( http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/lock/ ) but would not consider it for a 10 year rtw trip. Too heavy.

More significantly, although I hate to say it, I would not be confident of spares availablity 10 years down the track, stranded in the middle of woop woop. I wonder if this will apply to the Bonnies too.

Having said that, being a Triumph 'diehard' from way back, were I in the position to be setting off for 10 years, then I guess I'd still want to pick a Triumph, along with the potential for getting stranded with no spares. (These pitfalls should they occur are just part of the adventure). Which would I pick....hmmmm .... well like your goodselves, I'd go for the Bonnie (despite my old Meriden biased/luddite criticisms/gripes of the *NEW* Bonneville ....underpowered/overweight) ;-) .

I've only ridden New Bonnies on bitumen, but imagine they'd cope reasonably well on gravel roads too. Easy bike to ride, manageable size in tougher going. Probably too soon to know what they're long term , high mileage reliability/performance will be like, although to date I'v'e not seen anything to suggest they are anything but reliable.

I'm sure if you take a Bonnie you could easily 'cultivate' a band of loyal supporters around the world if you wished, especially us old 'Jupiter' fans. :-).

Regards
Cuppa

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Cuppa
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The new Bonnie is a very able bike and like all the new Triumphs is detuned to give a ralatively bullet proof engine. That said it is designed as a boulavard cruiser, and how well it would stand up to dirt roads, and extreams of temperature are not really known. Like all bikes there is no bike currently made which you could take off the showroom floor and ride round the world with out some modification.
Shortly after i emigrated out to NZ from the UK. Chris and Kirsten arrived on my doorstep with their two bonnies they had ridden from the UK (http://worldtriumph.co.uk/index.htm)
When I spoke to Chris about the problems they had had with old Meridan bikes it made me wonder not if the new Hinckley bikes would make it, but would they be repairable if something went wrong. Don't be fooled into thinking factory support is the same throughout the world as it is in the UK, even in a civilised country like NZ its sometimes quicker to e-mail Jack Lilley's in London for parts than get them from the local dealers.

I've just bought a Bonneville, and I emailed Sprint Manufacturing they said:

"We can supply Givi/Kappa fitting kit for a 3 box system for £240. Boxes start from £99 pair. A typical 3 box system with x2 K21 and x1 K48 top box would be £498 complete. See www.kappamoto.com or www.givi.co.uk for box range."

see also http://www.davidledbury.com/sprintma.../pricelist.php

Hello Scott

Snap! I just (finally) bought my Bonnie too.. picking it up on Saturday. It's all starting to come together.

Thanks a lot for the info - especially the link to Sprint. I can see costs spiralling.. I sort of hoped that there were so few accessories for the Bonnie that I could get away with it!

Seriously, I should point you towards another specialist with a healthy list and by all accounts a brilliant reputation:
http://www.normanhyde.co.uk/

There's no doubt in my mind, we have the best looking bikes on the road. Now we have to get out there and prove it...

--Mike

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I still have to pass my test which is in late March, hopefully after that I'll be back on the road to Morocco.

In the end I contacted http://www.mototwin.com/ who have just started supplying a Hepco and Becker system for the Bonneville.

Indeed the Bonneville looks fantastic, I just hope it proves to be reliable.

I know the press has been full of the new Scrambler being nothing but a fancy boulevardeer. But it can't be that incapable, can it?
Have to say I was a wee bit sceptical myself until I saw one, in British Racing Green, blast past me in Rome last week, and I am now.thoroughly.hooked.
Want one. Want it now!
cheers
Paul

the bonneville is a great road bike, but off road?
the scrambler is just a bonny with scrambler "looks", like different wheels and tyres and colour scheme etc. it has the 270degree crank from the bonny america for some strange reason, and a different exhaust, but mechanically its just standard. all those bolt ons like the bashplate etc are just for show, not for function, and your just bolting weight on.
save your money, buy a decent normal bonny and spend a few sheckles sorting the suspension out and beefing up the rear subframe for some luggage. if you want a high mounted exhaust get norman hydes, but then the luggage is a problem. the engine is a bombproof peach but get to know the electrics very well. put in a switch to cut the headlight or the battery will go flat before you find why it doesnt start.
if you are going anywhere even slightly rough get the wheels relaced with stronger rims and spokes, the triumph ones are made of cheese.

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Well... that's what Triumph's Scrambler was back in the 60's too. It was a street machine, not a purpose-built dirt bike. It had slightly longer suspension travel, dirt tires, and high pipes, but was otherwise a bonnie. No different today.

And when it really comes down to it, that's all the big BMW Adventure bikes are. Street bikes with some marginal off road capability, good for dirt roads and such, but totally overwhelmed on the gnarly stuff. I think the Scrambler fits that role perfectly, but does it with style and at roughly half the price.

I wouldn't hesitate to take either the Bonnie or the Scrambler off road... but look at it this way. The Scrambler costs $500 mor than a new Bonneville (and $300 less than a T100). It comes with dirt tires, a flat bar, longer shocks, and high pipes. It'd cost more than $500 to put all those things on a new Bonneville.

To me, the Scrambler has more of the things I want. To me, it's a lot closer to what I'd take on an adventure tour. Add a luggage rack, a Givi top case, some tank panniers, an aluminum case on the left side only, a small windshield, connections for heated clothing, and a plug to charge my cell phone and I'd call it ready for a trip from NY to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Charles.

Charles.

My Bonneville is from September 2003 but I bought it last September - just after the 3rd "birthday". It is a stock machine fitted with an alarm.

I still like it for the reasons I bought it - it looks great and I love the easy riding style. Problem has been it's electrics, reliability and tendency to corrode as soon as the clouds pass over.

I have tried to nurse it through a very mild Scottish winter - with a lot of difficulty! My bike seems to cut out in any wet weather - very quickly indeed. Then, if you try more than a few times to get it back to life after some use of WD40 and tissues around the sparks, you will suffer the click of the dead battery. And do not travel at night. 3 trips I made of any distance after dark, twice the headlamp blew - it was wet but I cannot believe that should happen! Dual carriageways, at night in the rain without lights are a bad experience. Last weekend it died for about the 5th time in a fortnight and it now has new coil fitted.

I am going to put on a switch to cut off the headlamp when it fails - I am resigned to it failing now! - to help with the battery issue. I am spending heavily to make this bike keep going and ride well. However, given that it is housed every night - and under an Oxford bike cover, gets cold washed and treated with AC50 almost every time it gets used - it has corroded like a lump of pig-iron in a riverbed. Two rear spokes have gone - I was kindly informed to try and avoid riding in wet weather by the Triumph dealership to help the huge corrosion issue around the spoke/rim connection? What?

The crowning glory was the head of one of the two brake caliper retaining bolts dropping to the ground outside Halfords - with the remainder still in the thread. Great fun trying not to damage the rather tender parts remedying that! Also - I am going to try some heath-robinson contraption involving lollipop sticks and fishing gut to stop the mirrors going jiving any time I get over 70!

It also has a new front disk since the previous disk was so uneven as to render it more liability than asset.

In spite of all this - I love the bike! However, personally I would no more use it for a long journey than a skateboard. Especially in cold and wet conditions.

Sorry for such a negative post but I did want to be honest. I really wanted a Bonneville and am pleased with how it looks and the ride - but next winter I shall use a cheap 2nd hand Honda, or such, for travelling about and keep the Bonnie charging over, indoors!

Dave's suggestions especially are duly noted -- but with fingers crossed, because I'm now 6000 miles into my trip round Europe... very little offroading, though some of the 'roads' so far have been interesting to say the least.

The bike's been fantastic. Though I've already spotted the thing about the headlights & the battery...

--Mike

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