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I am a beginner. I just finished my Harley-Davidson Rider's Edge class yesterday, and have been riding for three days on my own bike. I've only got about 100 miles on my own bike now, and maybe 15 miles on the training bike.
From that perspective, I do like my 07 Triumph Bonneville T100 as a beginner bike. I strongly urge beginners to take the MSF or Rider's Edge basic riding class before riding their own bike. The skills you will pick up will be invaluable, and translate well to street riding.
I did some cruising over the weekend (where most of my miles came in), rode to my class on Sunday, and rode in to work today. Not a lot of miles (like I said, about 100 so far) but it was thoroughly mixed riding environments and I can say that the Bonneville is perhaps easier to ride than the Buell Blast bikes that they used in class. Even though the Bonneville is a much more powerful bike, it is also a much more predictable bike. Power deliver is very smooth, not jumpy. The controls are all very smooth. Braking is smooth and predictable, not jumpy/jerky. The clutch and transmission also work very smoothly. Yes, smooth is the operative word for this bike. And just from my own point of view, that's what makes it a good bike for a beginner. No surprises. You just ease off the clutch, lightly roll the throttle, and go. Getting started from a stop is not an "event" like it could be with those Buell Blasts. No fighting to go back and forth between 1st and 2nd without hitting Neutral by mistake. No odd stalls or lurching. Taking the class on the Blast was more challenging than it should have been, but gave me a really good appreciation for how nice the Bonneville is to ride.
While I have had my Bonneville on the Interstate, I prefer taking the 45mph roads and the occasional 55mph stretch not because of my own skill level or anxiety or anything like that but just because the wind at interstate speeds is a bit tiring on a naked bike. I think a wind screen would do wonders for this bike on the interstate. But for the local main roads, the Bonneville is flat out AWESOME. I love it!
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