Triumphrat

tlbranth

I pretty much gave up on British bikes in the late 60's because of their leaks, unreliability etc. Back then I'd owned a Triumph, Norton, Villiers, BSA. In 1970, I bought a Honda CB750 and rode all over the place without problems. My 750 is in bits now (unused for 20 years or so). I recently picked up a '99 Goldwing which is an incredible touring bike but miss the feel of a REAL motorcyle. So I'm considering a Bonneville. I'm leery of all the old fears: oil leaks, crapping out in the middle of nowhere, messing with chains etc. So would some of you with recent experience please help me with a little info? Is the o-ring chain any better than the old roller chains? From what I've read, they still need to be lubed and adjusted all the time. Is the bike reliable? Could I go on a 3,000 mile trip and expect to get home without performing an overhaul on the way? Are the leaks fixed? Is the engine noisy? And what sort of gas mileage are you getting?
Sorry for all the questions. Would really appreciate some honest answers though. I'm not going to get them from a dealer. Thanks in advance for your input.

jostalli

I had an old t120 that had all those problems and got rid of it. I still have a 1971 Honda CB450 that is solid. I bought a used 2002 Bonneville about four years ago. You don't have to do anything to these new ones. I've never had a problem. It never needs to be "tuned up" like the old ones. Get one. You will love it. Oh, they get around 50mpg.

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2002 Bonneville Silver, Superbars, Napoleon Bar End Mirrors, MAS Racing Seat, Sprint Mufflers, 160/60 Rear, Lucas Taillight, Custom LED signals

saphena

Welcome to the new world and let me summarise the new bonnevilles for you:

Looks like a Bonnie, sounds like a Bonnie, runs like a Honda

I'm no expert on chains, I assume that all chains need to be lubed and I've fitted a Scottoiler to take care of mine. I've only done about 5000 miles on mine but haven't needed to adjust the chain yet.

5000 miles and the only trouble so far is 2, yes TWO, punctures No leaks, engine sounds just fine. Gas mileage: 55mpg-uk or 45mpg-us or 5.13l/100km

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Bob - not dead yet
Switch to reserve ~130 miles, fuel panic ~170

metasac

i don't know jack about motorcycles - this is my first "real" bike. i'm learning as i go. i've owned it for a year and a half - bought used on ebay - have put 3000+ miles on it since it got it. i'm the third owner and it has 13k miles on it. who knows what the two previous clowns did to it. in spite of all these variables, i've had no problems. it's been very reliable and hasn't leaked even a solitary drop of oil, although i occasionally hear others' reports of such incidents. i just rode it up to canada and back and it performed like a champ. from what i've read, the only thing the modern bonnies have in common with the oldskool ones are the contours - those classic good looks - the guts are entirely different. that's my two cents. i hope you get one and join our community.

~m

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2001 Triumph Bonneville
mods:
BellaCorse Slip-on Teardrop Mufflers, Nology coil, Nark airbox removal kit and K&N pod filters. stock needles + 1 shim under each. 150 mains, 42 pilots, 3 turns out.

Mattrat

There are a few minor issues with the new bonnevilles. I had a couple of oil leaks right off the bat, but once those got figured out no problems in the last 6000 miles.

propforward

Yep, I echo the other sentiments here.

I got a new one in 07, have 4500 miles on it now, about 40 to 45 MPG. Haven't adjusted the chain at all, but I do clean and lube it. I expect it will need a slight tweak shortly. Modern O ring chains are much better than the older ones.

All drive chains on all motorcycles that have them need this same maintenance.

No oil leaks or starting issues. The only issue I had was a mouse making a home in my air filter - I soon remedied that, and keep mice out by stuffing dryer sheets in the air orififce - got to remember to pull them out before riding though!

The bonnies are great bikes with lots of character - simple, straightforward motorcycling at its best, with a minimum of fuss.

I like performance bikes too, but these have a lot more character, and from my experience, all the reliability.

Hope this helps.

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If you ever drop your keys in molten lava, forget about them, because man, they're gone.

OzRover

I've owned my 2001 Bonnie from new and have put nearly 70000 kms on it now.
It's always started/run/stopped when I wanted it to.

Only problem I've had was a few oil leaks meaning I had to replace the gaskets.
I usually give the chain a quick spray of chainlube after every new tank of fuel (not on longer trips) and have replaced it and the sprockets once.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Bonnie.

Get one , you'll love it!

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'01 Bonneville

CAPTDON

Got 8000 mi+ & done nothing but oil & filter! Oh a rear trire & brakes. As reliable as any Honda Iever had!! ++1 on buying one. Id look for an 03-06 tho? JMOP? The new ones have gone "plasctic fantastic"! What are you gonna do w/ the old CB 750?? Got a friend that has done many. May be interested depending on where you are? Never had a drop of oil from anywhere on the bike!@! Gotta dust it off reg!! Newer Bonne- go for it!! What ya doinw/ the old 750??

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CAPT D

CommandoRdster

Don't let all those guys talking about oil leaks scare you off.Most of us have never had a leak.These bikes have nothing in common with the old ones except the name,and the styling.Besides,I've seen plenty of leaky Hondas,including the one I had.

It will not only be more reliable than your Honda,but it will live longer too.I met a guy a while back who had over 80K on his BonnieBlack,with nothing but routine maintenance. I have never seen a SOHC 750 Honda go that far without at least a top end.And two clutches,by then,too.


Cheers!
Bruce

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kurt_3_0_1

certainly not trying to bring down the positiveness of this thread the bikes are great bikes but they are not real unforgiving of ignorance that being said I have been an ignorant owner on a few occasions. the first thing I would do is disconnect and splice the kick stand safety switch. I have never forgotten to put my kick stand up on take off in 18+ years but for some reason I know it kills the engine whenever I pull in and I forget to turn off the key because most people start talking to me about it right away. this usually results in a dead battery I have done this twice and both times it required a battery replacement since the bike will start but it runs like crap becuase it kills a cell and their charging and electrical systems are pretty sensitive. next thing is I have had a few oil leaks to but nothing serious just a little seapage on the bottom and some around the head cover gasket. should this happen it will be covered under warranty and they are good about fixing them. next thing is as soon as you get one spend a few hours going over every single bolt you can see and make sure they are tight I would even go so far as to suggest using locktight on everyone you can take out and put back in without being a contortionist. my bike has not left me stranded yet but there have been times on those bad batteries when it took a great deal of finess and work on the part of the starter to get me home. for some reason they used to make bikes where if the battery was dead you could still push start them. I dont know why but this is no longer an option on these bikes. even if everything is good and you disconnect the battery it will completley die and not be able to run on its own power. if there is ever a way to make this happen I would love to redo my charging system to accomidate this feature but I have not learned how yet. its no different than any other new bike now though, they all require a battery to run at all. So in short if you are good to it it will be good to you and be uber dependable but if you drop the ball in any area you are going to have a little wrenching to do to get her back to speed. just my $.02 and just so you know I am used to all these little ownership lessons that I told you about now and have learned them the hard way but still I know so with that, when it comes time to trade in "SweetB" i will deffinatley be getting another one. they just have to much going for them not to. they are such a universal platform. you want offroad get scrambler accessories, you want a cruiser get a windshield some bags and a billy bar you want a cafe racer that will keep up with most anything on the road get the big bore kit some pipes eliminate the air box and throw a fairing on with a thruxton seat and you got it. they are like a jeep and the possibilities are simply limitless and I am a guy who loves options. good luck and I hope to see you on the road. oh and P.S. i get about 36 to 42 miles to the gallon with no mods.

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With my new bonneville I have something most harley riders will never see. The Title ha!