Triumphrat

Triumphdrummer

Hi everyone

New to forum and first post. My short list for a new bike had been narrowed down to either the new BMW F800ST or the fairly new R1200R. So this last weekend the local BMW/Triumph shop had an open house. The idea was that I'd test the new BMW F800ST and then select which bike to purchase. I rode the F800ST but quickly wrote it off, so I was ready to purchase the R1200R, but then, just on a whim thought, "Since my first bike was a '73 Tiger, I should at least ride the Bonnie." Big mistake. Although quite a bit underpowered compared to the BMW, it is actually much smoother than the ST and the transmission is much, much smoother. In short, I was smitten. What a fun bike.

I plan to do some cross county riding, 2 or 3 rides of 2,000 to 3,000 miles each year, so I'll put some kind of windshield and bags on it. The problem is the tank range, or lack thereof. I don't want to be stopping every 150 miles or some for gas. Anyone aware of any aftermarket tanks for the Bonnie? Do you think it would be worth pursuing having a custom tank built (yeah, it would be very expensive, but still much, much less than the cost of a R1200R). Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is very feasible, but before I spend the bucks on the BMW, I'd at least like to pursue any options.

Another question, I rode the 790, and while there is plenty of power below somewhere around 50, it's a bit anemic above 60. Does the 890 have noticeably more power?

I've always stated that simplicity is the way to go and the Bonnie definitely fits the bill - the antithesis of the BMW.

Hmm. Maybe a second bike is in order.

Thanks for your input.

vertwrks

Once you open up the intake and exhuast, I am runnings bubs and K&N pods you get a lot better power especially noticable at higher speeds. I have run quite a bit over 80mph two up and my 04 790 pulls strong.

The tank issue is one I cannot speak to, good luck with that one. It would be nice to go further between stations on a trip.

I agree simple is better, air cooled etc, so easy to work on.

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04 Bonneville w/904 kit, 1mm over valves, ported, ARK'd, Bub's, HSR 42's, F3 forks, kyb rear shox, F3 clip ons, Brembo M/C, 6 pot caliper, 17" Excel's, this & that

Orpheus

There's a Norman Hyde tank that I'm ordering pretty soon. It raises the fuel capacity to 4.9 UK/5.8 US gallons. Very pricey, though.

You might also consider buying a used/dented tank and having it widened. Maybe rodburner has some idea about how costly that would be.

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2006 Triumph Bonneville T100, 1968 Honda CL350K0, 1973 BMW R60/5 LWB Toaster

toontownT100

your point about the limited range on a tank of fuel is very true. I have an '05 T100 - 865cc. I believe all the Triumph twins are now the 865cc. I have never got more than about 300 kms on a tank - (which is I think something like 180 miles?) and even then I went quite a ways on reserve and was mildly worried. so you're about right when you estimate 150 miles. And after you do a few odds and ends like better pipes, free-flow filter, rejetting etc, your fuel consumption will increase even more. Stock it's supposed to use only about 5L/100km but mine now is usually closer to 7. And remember that the tank is about 16.5 litres (3 3/4 gallons here or something like 4 1/2 of your little us gals).

The good news. You can buy a bigger tank. Norman Hyde in the UK have a 4.9 Imp Gal tank (so that's just over 22 litres).

The bad news, they want 700 quid for it - and given the rate at which your currency is sinking, buy quick, cuz that amount is getting larger... (hey, give me a break for being snide, it wasn't that long ago that we were paying C$1.60 when travelling south of the line and it's kinda nice that it's 1.15 now...)

The good news - the bonnie's a great tourer - I went on a rockies trip last summer - 3000km 2-up. It was great.

More good news, there's great luggage you can get for the bonnie - I particularly like the hepco-becker hard cases (30 litres each) and there's a big top case as well. All lockable, decent looking, and in my experience, as waterproof as they claim to be.

Wait for it, the bad news is the hepco luggage system is made in germany and the exchange rate (for both of our dollars) against the euro is, well, let's just say it's something less than ideal...

I haven't gone for a new seat yet - most people complain that the stock seat is too hard. I don't mind it - and for my part I like the look of it better than any of the aftermarket seats I've seen.

There are loads of aftermarket suppliers. newbonneville.com and bellacorse in the USA. In Britain, Norman Hyde, Jenks Bolts, Sprint and Mototwin. And mecatwin in France. I'm sure there are more.

cheers and good luck.

Orpheus

The Hepco racks and luggage aren't too bad, really. You can order them through newbonneville.com or twistedthrottle.com.

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2006 Triumph Bonneville T100, 1968 Honda CL350K0, 1973 BMW R60/5 LWB Toaster

toontownT100

twistedthrottle.com - a new one I haven't heard of. I wonder if anyone has ever made a list of all the aftermarket suppliers out there... I've only seen the big tank from NH and there's no way I've got $1600. I guess I'll stick to stopping every 250km :evil:

Bonafide

Here's another supplier for an aftermarket tank. Bonneville Shop out of Germany sells a 21 liter version called "slippery sam" and it will require (just like the NH tank) that you use something other than a stock seat with it. Tank is 790 euro and their seat is like another 260 euro.

Orpheus

As far as I know, the Norman Hyde SS tank fits with the stock seat. The TX tank does not.

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2006 Triumph Bonneville T100, 1968 Honda CL350K0, 1973 BMW R60/5 LWB Toaster

ivar

look here for some ideas:
http://www.mototwin.com/showroom.php

I had a 3000 mile trip last summer. With a Bagster tank bag, Triumph soft panniers and renntec rack I could carry quite some stuff. A dart windshield and a throttle rocker was very nice when doing miles on the highways.
For the upcoming season, I will put on some better rear shocks and swap out fork springs. And a better seat would be nice too. I found that the stock seat foam compressed too much, hampering blood circulation to my lower regions. To alleviate this , I moved my feet around, from using the normal foot pegs , hanging the heels on my boots on the passenger pegs, and simply letting them dangle. I guess "billybars" would be nice for those occasions.

As for the Bonnie being the antithesis of BMW, I have a buddy riding a R1200GS. While he love the ergo's and handling of the bike, he's less than impressed by all that hi-tech gadgetry with the ability to leave him stranded. 1 or 2 times , the bike had just died on him, he had to get the bike trailered to the dealer so they could hook up their diag computer to "reboot" his fuel pump... :???: (All things on that bike is contolled by a CAN-Bus network)

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02 Bonneville - Originally green/silver , now going black. Dual headlights/black fly screen. Emgo Shortys, rubber bellmouth, Uni, AI, 120/42, thrux needles, no shims. Thruxton seat and low bars. Ikon 7614 shocks, renntec rack. A Bonnie Cafetourer..

Orpheus

I called Norman Hyde this morning (many time zones different!) and asked about their SS tank. Turns out the SS stands for "Street Scrambler" not "Stainless Steel"! The tank is alloy, will fit with standard Bonnie family seats and comes unpainted, polished as an option. I asked if other caps would fit in place of the Monza cap and the answer was yes. So if you'd like to use a tank bag with straps, there's still hope for you.

I asked if they could de-value the pound for me, but strangely that didn't get me anywhere.

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2006 Triumph Bonneville T100, 1968 Honda CL350K0, 1973 BMW R60/5 LWB Toaster