Triumphrat

12-11-2005

Hey Guys,
I bought my first bike 3 years ago. The '02 bonneville, and the first weekend that I had the bike I spent 5 hours on Sat. and another 6 hours on Sun. riding up PCH and around LA its the perfect city bike. From day one this bike has made me a fanatic. The bike is my only form of transportation and has never let me down. My only complaint about owning a new Bonnie is the flak I get from vintage or old bonnie owners. Some guys are cool but often conversations end up as pissing contests on knowledge and dedication to Triumph. Hey, I would love to own a vintage bike, but I need something that I can ride every day I'm not a weekend warrior. I am very interested in any feed back from riders who have bored out their new Bonnies and have upgraded carburetors. Any other performance enhancement suggestions will be appreciated. I'm also considering changing the front sprocket. On the freeways the bike winds out and I find myself looking for another gear.

CarlS · 12-11-2005

First let me address the nay sayers, it is your bike and if you are happy with it, that is the only opinion that counts. I owned older Triumphs and loved them. Wish I still had my '66 TR6. That said, I don't miss the oil leaks of my '65, the fickle carbs, nor the Lucas electrics. I much prefer the the modern disk brakes. If a bike were my only transportation, I would have a modern Bonneville as opposed to either of my older ones.

There is a wealth of information on this site about mods - jetting, pipes, air box modifications, installing Thruxton needles, etc. It is not difficult to gain 7 - 10 HP at the rear wheel without doing a big bore kit. A big bore kit will gain even greater HP. I am at 63 rear HP with pipes, Thruxton needles, jetting and removing the snorkel. My next step is to upgrade my stock suspension. My wife's T100 has upgraded suspension and it handles and rides noticeably better than mine.

A lot of folks have gone up one or two teeth on the front sprocket to eliminate searching for that "sixth" gear, especially for those that regularly use freeways and open highways. Currently, I am back to the stock sprocket because that is my baseline for the dyno. I usually run an 18 tooth front sprocket and my performance increases more than offset the higher gearing. If I didn't ride two up often, I'd go to a 19 tooth sprocket.

Welcome to the forum.

Sheepdog · 12-11-2005

Carl is right on the money. I used to have a '60 BMW R60 and rode it a great deal. It was a real attention-getter and very reliable...but, I had to spend at least an hour or two a week to keep it that way. Every so often, a full day would be necessary and that is not to mention the difficult-to-find and expensive parts. My new Bonneville is a perfect fit for me. I still get a great many looks with it, but I haven't had to set any points, or solder on a condenser, or adjust valves, or clean generator brushes, or downshift for hills, or...well, I'm sure you know what I mean.

kingpindog · 12-11-2005

I've never had a Bonneville in my 35 years of motorcycling, but I've lusted for one off and on many times. I currently own a Victory Kingpin, but as I get older I think a lighter and nimbler bike is what I'll buy next and I think a Triumph Bonneville could be the one. When I get to demo ride new Triumphs, I'll probably decide which one is right for me.

CarlS · 12-11-2005

kingpindog, I think you will be hooked when you take those demo rides!

grumpyoledude · 12-11-2005

I have an 06 t100 and I changed to the 19 tooth front sprocket with no problems. I always ride 2 up and have plenty of power for the mountains in Westg Virginia. It really is nice when we have to use the interstate too. There are all kinds of enhancements for the Bonnie and you can pick and choose these after you have a few miles under your belt.