The Backstory
The Backstory
My wife, long a fantastic pillion, said in early 2012 "I think I'd like to ride my own bike." Hmmmm. "Take the MSF course," I suggested. "Then you'll see if you really like it. You already have all the gear, and they will provide a bike."
She did. She passed, although according to her, by the skin of her teeth. Of course, I wasn't allowed anywhere near the training facility, you understand.
Figured I'd wait to see whether she pursued a purchase. Suggested a few bikes…she was particularly enamored with a Suzuki TU250X, mostly because of its looks and light weight. A bit tough to find, but after a few months we went to look at a supposedly lightly used example. Not so much…low mileage, sure, but clearly dropped several times and owned by what appeared to be a crack head masquerading as a college student. We passed.
Some time goes by, and I find an almost new 2012 Triumph Bonneville locally, with only 2400 miles on it. Bigger than she really wants, but low seat height, relatively low weight, and the classic good looks she likes. We go take a look.
Bike is perfect, older guy who has ridden it gently, always garaged and still under warranty. She sits on it and declares, "I can ride this." After a test ride by me, we negotiate and leave a deposit, with pick up the following week. This was a Thursday.
That weekend, we were heading 2-up on our R1200GS to New Mexico. Beautiful ride, great trip. Heading home, west on Rt 152 up and over Emory Pass, we encounter what every experienced rider has: someone cutting the corner, over the centerline, and headed directly for you. About 2 feet over the line, and this time there were three vehicles: a Harley, a car, and another Harley. One bad rider and two sheep.
I'm against the center stripe waiting to late apex the 90 degree right. Don't want to turn early because we're going "quick," not fast, but still don't want to drift wide on the exit. Wait, wait, wait, now… Brush the right boot, add throttle and we're thru, no problem. Reach back, pat my trusting wife's leg and continue on to Silver City for lunch. Done this many times before; I expect I'll have to do it many times again. Just the cost of doing business.
We roll into a cafe for lunch. She pulls her helmet off and you can see the dried tears on her face. "If I was riding my own bike, I'd be dead; I stared at them the whole time. I can't believe you were able to get us out of that." Well, shoot, call me Jorge Lorenzo… "Really, hon, it wasn't that close, we had room and lean angle to spare, you did great." "I don't want the Bonnie, I just want to be your passenger." "Ok, we'll talk about it later, let's get some lunch."
That weekend, her feelings didn't change. "I'm going to buy the Bonnie anyway, and play with it for a day ride bike." "Ok with me," she says.
So begins Bonnie travels…
Initial Impressions
First off, this is a good looking bike. Classic. Brings back memories if you're a certain age, and I am. They got the proportions and the details right. For example, she's fuel injected, but they made the throttle bodies look like carbs. Plus, I like twins. In fact, counting the Bonnie, my last five bikes have been twins: two BMWs, a Ducati and a Honda Superhawk. I like the cadence, the feel, the sound.
Here she is, box stock:
Most would consider the Bonnie to be an "entry level" bike, and I suppose it is. The power is there, but not in abundance. Decent torque and, most surprising, it is dead smooth. The counter balancers are very effective, especially compared to its namesake, which could have doubled as a paint mixer.
Riding position is neutral and upright. Not a lot of legroom because the seat is cut way down. And the seat itself is marginal at best. The rear shocks are very over sprung with way too much compression damping. That, along with the seat, makes for a pretty rough ride, and bumps upset the bike's handling substantially.
Ground clearance is limited, especially on the left, where the center stand and shift lever drag easily. On the right, the foot peg drags first. I'm going to have to pay close attention to this...
Initial Impressions
First off, this is a good looking bike. Classic. Brings back memories if you're a certain age, and I am. They got the proportions and the details right. For example, she's fuel injected, but they made the throttle bodies look like carbs. Plus, I like twins. In fact, counting the Bonnie, my last five bikes have been twins: two BMWs, a Ducati and a Honda Superhawk. I like the cadence, the feel, the sound.
Here she is, box stock:
Most would consider the Bonnie to be an "entry level" bike, and I suppose it is. The power is there, but not in abundance. Decent torque and, most surprising, it is dead smooth. The counter balancers are very effective, especially compared to its namesake, which could have doubled as a paint mixer.
Riding position is neutral and upright. Not a lot of legroom because the seat is cut way down. And the seat itself is marginal at best. The rear shocks are very over sprung with way too much compression damping. That, along with the seat, makes for a pretty rough ride, and bumps upset the bike's handling substantially.
Ground clearance is limited, especially on the left, where the center stand and shift lever drag easily. On the right, the foot peg drags first. I'm going to have to pay close attention to this...
What to do first
Cafe racer? Tourer? Rat bike? Although I've been chasing performance in virtually every vehicle I've owned, car and bike, I was thinking "classic, comfortable and fun" for the Bonnie. Tasteful changes that would keep her retro, while at the same time upping the performance at least a bit.
I also wanted her to be capable of travel, at least overnights if not extended trips. That meant some type of luggage system because I simply hate the bungie/tie down approach.
Dart fly screen and Ventura system
Naked bikes look great, but the wind blast is pretty tiring. I wanted something that would cut it down, but still keep the Bonnie's good looks. The Dart fly screen fits the bill. It is beautifully made, goes on in 15 minutes and takes the wind off your chest, leaving your helmet in clean, quiet air. It doesn't provide any real "protection" like a touring screen would, but personally, I think it looks great, and there's enough of an improvement for my purpose.
I also wanted her to be capable of travel, at least overnights if not extended trips. That meant some type of luggage system because I simply hate the bungie/tie down approach.
Dart fly screen and Ventura system
Naked bikes look great, but the wind blast is pretty tiring. I wanted something that would cut it down, but still keep the Bonnie's good looks. The Dart fly screen fits the bill. It is beautifully made, goes on in 15 minutes and takes the wind off your chest, leaving your helmet in clean, quiet air. It doesn't provide any real "protection" like a touring screen would, but personally, I think it looks great, and there's enough of an improvement for my purpose.
I've used the Ventura luggage system in the past, and am a big fan. Already had the small tail bag, and a large 45 liter travel bag that goes on the taller rack. Attaches with four bolts, the bags never touch the bodywork, are completely secure, and come on and off in a flash.
Engine mods
Engine mods
Intake and exhaust led the performance list. Stock, the bike is whisper quiet; that simply won't do… After some research, ordered a set of Predator pipes from British Customs. Beautiful finish, lighter than stock and I'd heard them on a friend's Thruxton…sound fantastic.
They didn't fit. Not even a little. The pipe diameter of the inlet was identical to the diameter of the header pipe…without using a pipe spreader, no way these were going on. In addition, no stop for the center stand; that I could work around, but for $550 they should go on like the 15 minute job it is. To their credit, BC took them right back.
Decided on the TORs, for "Triumph Off Road," direct from Triumph. My local dealer actually had a set in stock, put them on while I waited, and reflashed the ECU all in about an hour. Sounds much better, you can feel a slight increase in power and "sharpness" of the power band.
Next was the intake system; very restricted because of a snorkel that leads to the air filter and a "baffle" inside the air box. Pretty straightforward to remove both, and replace the stock air filter with a reusable, less restrictive, K & N.
Here's the baffle removed:
Next was the intake system; very restricted because of a snorkel that leads to the air filter and a "baffle" inside the air box. Pretty straightforward to remove both, and replace the stock air filter with a reusable, less restrictive, K & N.
Here's the baffle removed:
This restricts the airflow down to the small hole, instead of the entire area. These three modifications (pipe, ECU reflash and intake mods) transform the Bonnie's power curve. It is snappy, reasonably quick to rev, sounds much better and is generally "happier" going about her business.
Rear shocks
The stock rear shocks are abysmal. Really bad; transfer every jolt directly to your spine. Worse, if you're healed over in a curve and hit a bump, the bike gets very unsettled. There are lots of aftermarket choices available, but first I had to decide if I wanted slightly longer shocks to get a bit more ground clearance.
Ultimately, I decided to go with a stock length shock because I didn't like the "ass high" look longer shocks create…too much space between the rear tire and the fender. Besides, the Bonnie was never going to be a speed demon and slowing down has other benefits…you actually see things when you ride…
I chose Hagon Nitros, built to my specifications and am very happy with them. I was able to get the collars in gold to match the lettering on the bike as well. They are firm without being harsh, keep the bike firmly planted regardless of the road surface, and look "classic" but a bit beefier.
The seat
Had to go if I was going to do any touring. I've put about 6500 miles on the bike during the above modifications, all day trips of between 100-250 miles. With each ride, the seat seemed to get more uncomfortable. Once again, lots of aftermarket alternatives; in fact, that's true for the Bonnie in general, there is a plethora of aftermarket suppliers for virtually every aspect of the bike.
The seat I chose was from Burton Bike Bits, and mimics the original Triumph Bonneville seats, right down to the little chrome strip on the bottom and the gold lettering on the back. It is much, much more comfortable as well. Taller than the cut down stocker so you get more leg room, firm without being hard, with no hot spots.
Before and after:
Bonnie is now genuinely all day comfortable, and I've got a three day tour planned shortly to test it all out. In the meantime, she's my day ride partner, now with a tick over 9000 miles. Puts a smile on my face every time. And never fails to start a conversation when you stop, even parked next to much more exotic machinery.
A few words about those round black things
The "mag wheel" Bonnie comes with 17 inch wheels and tubless Metzeler Z4/Z2 tires as stock. Although I love the classic look of wire wheels, I'm not wild about tubes, especially on any bike used for travel -- too tough to plug a flat. Although not as classic, the cast wheels still look good, but the stock tires needed replacement at about 6200 miles, especially the front, which is somewhat unusual. I put that down to carrying a fair amount of corner entry speed keeping up with friends on significantly higher horsepower bikes; you need the corner speed to keep up because the power is modest.
Because of the stock sizes, there's not a lot of tire options. The Metzelers are a relatively "old" design, are expensive, but are still available. Some choose to go to a bias ply tire, and if you do, there are several possible choices from Avon, Pirelli and Michelin. I wanted to stay with radials so ultimately put on a set of Continentals, a Road Attack 2 in the front, and a Trail Attack 2 in the back.
Although the TA 2 is a 90/10 adventure touring tire, it is more than capable of handling Bonnie's power on the street, in fact, these are stock fitment on both the new KTM 1190 Adventure, and the wethead BMW R1200GS, both significantly more powerful bikes. The Conti combo is quicker turning than the stock Metzelers, have a unique "traction skin" that obviates the need to scuff them in (it is a slightly pebbled, rough finish right from new) and stick like glue right up until everything starts scraping on the ground. I've got about 3000 miles on them right now, and hopefully they will last at least as long as the stockers.
Day Trippin'
Mount Lemmon
Kitt Peak
Rear shocks
The stock rear shocks are abysmal. Really bad; transfer every jolt directly to your spine. Worse, if you're healed over in a curve and hit a bump, the bike gets very unsettled. There are lots of aftermarket choices available, but first I had to decide if I wanted slightly longer shocks to get a bit more ground clearance.
Ultimately, I decided to go with a stock length shock because I didn't like the "ass high" look longer shocks create…too much space between the rear tire and the fender. Besides, the Bonnie was never going to be a speed demon and slowing down has other benefits…you actually see things when you ride…
I chose Hagon Nitros, built to my specifications and am very happy with them. I was able to get the collars in gold to match the lettering on the bike as well. They are firm without being harsh, keep the bike firmly planted regardless of the road surface, and look "classic" but a bit beefier.
The seat
Had to go if I was going to do any touring. I've put about 6500 miles on the bike during the above modifications, all day trips of between 100-250 miles. With each ride, the seat seemed to get more uncomfortable. Once again, lots of aftermarket alternatives; in fact, that's true for the Bonnie in general, there is a plethora of aftermarket suppliers for virtually every aspect of the bike.
The seat I chose was from Burton Bike Bits, and mimics the original Triumph Bonneville seats, right down to the little chrome strip on the bottom and the gold lettering on the back. It is much, much more comfortable as well. Taller than the cut down stocker so you get more leg room, firm without being hard, with no hot spots.
Before and after:
Bonnie is now genuinely all day comfortable, and I've got a three day tour planned shortly to test it all out. In the meantime, she's my day ride partner, now with a tick over 9000 miles. Puts a smile on my face every time. And never fails to start a conversation when you stop, even parked next to much more exotic machinery.
A few words about those round black things
The "mag wheel" Bonnie comes with 17 inch wheels and tubless Metzeler Z4/Z2 tires as stock. Although I love the classic look of wire wheels, I'm not wild about tubes, especially on any bike used for travel -- too tough to plug a flat. Although not as classic, the cast wheels still look good, but the stock tires needed replacement at about 6200 miles, especially the front, which is somewhat unusual. I put that down to carrying a fair amount of corner entry speed keeping up with friends on significantly higher horsepower bikes; you need the corner speed to keep up because the power is modest.
Because of the stock sizes, there's not a lot of tire options. The Metzelers are a relatively "old" design, are expensive, but are still available. Some choose to go to a bias ply tire, and if you do, there are several possible choices from Avon, Pirelli and Michelin. I wanted to stay with radials so ultimately put on a set of Continentals, a Road Attack 2 in the front, and a Trail Attack 2 in the back.
Although the TA 2 is a 90/10 adventure touring tire, it is more than capable of handling Bonnie's power on the street, in fact, these are stock fitment on both the new KTM 1190 Adventure, and the wethead BMW R1200GS, both significantly more powerful bikes. The Conti combo is quicker turning than the stock Metzelers, have a unique "traction skin" that obviates the need to scuff them in (it is a slightly pebbled, rough finish right from new) and stick like glue right up until everything starts scraping on the ground. I've got about 3000 miles on them right now, and hopefully they will last at least as long as the stockers.
Day Trippin'
Mount Lemmon
Patagonia
Mount Hopkins
