Triumphrat

Sebo

Hi,

First off, thanks so much for all the input on this great site. Valuable resouces such as these are great for the person new to motorcycling or just new to the Triumph brand.

I am one of the latter, and I have a few questions about the new Bonneville that I hope someone could help me with. In thinking about the purchase one thing that I'd like to know is how reliable is the machine? Has it changed much since it was first released due to working out the bugs? Is one year better than the next?

I guess the reliability question is the most important in my eyes right now. Any input on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks much,
MJA

[ This message was edited by: Sebo on 2007-06-22 09:36 ]

davidc

Well, Sebo, although I've only owned one since February, EVERYTHING I've read touted the overall soundness and craftsmanship of the new Bonnevilles. If you crawl around this site or read reviews from various cycle magazines, you'll see that as well. For many, if not all, it is this reliability plus the graceful, nostalgic look of the machine - something which attracted us back in the day - that makes the bike desirable. If you buy one, you will truly have something that's classy and apart from "the crowd".

imafunkyman

I've been obsessed with the Bonnie since they were re-released in '01. In that whole time, the only real negative I've read about is the seat. Having just purchased an '07, I can attest to that. The stock seat is not real comfortable. Otherwise, the bike has totally lived up to my expectations and in some areas, exceeded them. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of them. Good luck and happy hunting.

sponger

I just bought a new '06 a few weeks ago. I wanted something different and the Bonnie offered a lot that is different.

I too read and researched and felt reliability was not an issue. To be honest, modern bikes are going to pretty reliable. The problems of 20, 30 40+ years ago are not going to be an issue.

However, since my purchase I have noticed some "concerning" threads and can only hope these are rare occurrences and not systematic problems. Things I have found to be potential issues are:

Spoke durability/safety
"cheap" suspension components
"cut-out" in the rain (electronics weatherproof enough?)

Having owned other motorcycles, I have found my Bonnie is certainly "built" to a price point. I've enjoyed riding mine as it is a different experience than my other bikes, but I have found the bike to not be very comfortable for long rides (over an hour). I am hoping suspension and seat modifications will remedy that. Add the costs of these mods and the price of the Bonnie isn't as much of a bargain as it seemed at first, but I think it is still a nice bike for a decent price. I've had 2 Harleys since 2001 and have never had to take them in for any warranty work, ever. Even the recall on my Sporty for an improperly installed petcock didn't affect my bike. Hopefully the Bonnie will live up to the same standard of quality and reliability.

Greg

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'06 Bonnie Black - AI and snorkel removed, TORs, K&N, IKON rear shocks, Hagon fork springs, Pingel, Tach added, K&Q seat, centerstand, Lucas Style Sport lights

markbvt

I've got a 2001 Bonneville (first year). In all significant respects it's identical to a 2006 Bonneville (or even a 2007 one, aside from the increase to 865cc across the board). Reliability has been a nonissue. This bike is fantastic. What's more, it's a really fun bike to ride.

Buy any year New Bonneville with confidence. As long as it's been properly maintained, it'll be a great bike.

--mark

PS: Regarding the seat, just try it for yourself. My stock seat is actually very comfortable -- my neck and back will start to ache on long rides before my bottom does.

[ This message was edited by: markbvt on 2007-06-22 13:00 ]

__________________
Bennington Triumph Bash
Bennington, VT May 30-June 1, 2008
Thanks to all who attended!

Do you keep one bullet left for yourself, for when it's all over and done?

mecscc

They are very reliable. Keep in mind that a lot of what we do on a forum like this is complain and change things. You are not getting anything close to a sample of all the Bonnie owners here. You are not even getting most of the members of THIS site posting here, because only a small minority of members post.

Most of the time we have absolutely NOTHING to complain about and nobody would read that thread if we posted the fact. I have about 10K on my Bonnie and have never had a single problem with the bike. Oh, I had a flat but I blame that on the metal I ran over.

The seat will break in over time. Four touring I bought the King and Queen seat and use both: the bench is better for local riding in the hills and twisties.

Monte

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Monte

"The Old Ohio Preacher Man"

Iceseven

I believe that the Triumphs are very reliable and over engineered bikes. They are unique and you will always be asked what year it is and what a great job of restoration!

My only problem was with a coil (which failed me on my Bonnie Black at 700 miles).

The service that I have had has been top notch as was the warranty work (coil).

Monte is right about that you read from just a small percentage of Triumph owners here at Ratnet, so you probably do hear from people that have heard of a problem but never experienced it.

So far my Scrambler has been an excellent bike and one that I will hopefully have for a long time and maybe pass my ownership of my old 1974 Triumph of 20 years.

[ This message was edited by: Iceseven on 2007-06-22 13:41 ]

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2006 Scrambler, Previously had 2004 Bonnie Black, 1995 T-Bird, 1974 Trident, various street and dirt bikes.