[sharpshooter]

I just picked up a november issue of Crusing Rider magazine and lo and behold there is my beloved tang and opal t-100 right there on the cover.

I could not get over how great it looked just sitting there in its simplicity. It looked like just the bike I fell in love with over a year ago. A naked bike.

Then I went out in the garage and looked at mine.

WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Saddle bag mounts, saddlebags, king and queen seat, sissie bar. Bike looked awfull compared to how it used to look I thought.

I spent the next couple of hours pulling off all the stuff I thought I had to have, (except for the performance mods.) then I took it for a ride.

THE MAGIC IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick...........................

 

[black-bonnie]

Now take your bike on a long ride. Tell me how much the "magic" is back sitting on the stock seat, having no bags to put your gear in, no wind shield, etc.

I agree with you. A naked bonnie looks best. Just like a woman. But then there's a balance of looks vs. practical. At least to me.

The nice thing is the bonnie can do so much. Just depends how you dress it, or leave it undressed.

 

[DrEnglish]

My Thruxton has kept all of its performance mods, but some of the cosmetic changes have gone back to stock, too. I guess one nice thing is that it's easy to make changes, so I figure I'll just mod the appearance back and forth as it seems right. You may decide to switch your bike between around-town and long-ride configurations, depending on what's on the menu. From your description, it sounds like the changeover would be a quick job.

 

[sweatmachine]

I have all manner of bags for my bike, but I strip it down as soon as I don't need them anymore. I like the bare-bones naked bonnie cafe racer look way more than the bloated black goldfish look.

The fact that stuff is easy on/off is one reason I like the bike so much, it's very versitle. I think once you add too much krap to the bike you lose the meaning.

It's a bonneville for Christ's sake, not a Concours. I'd like to have a Concours, but bonnie should be naked.

Sometimes it's good to only take what you can carry in your pockets. It's liberating to not be able to load down. Let's keep it pure, leave all that junk in the car where it belongs.

 

[dazco]

Thats exactly how i feel when i see all the add-ons and things a lot of people do to thier bikes. I bought mine in large part because it's looks just floored me. Yes, there are small things i've changed, but those small details can be bettered w/o changing the entire look of the bike. I stop short at anything i feel covers up it's beauty or changes it in a way that changes the lines to no longer have the basic look i fell in love with. To each his own, but like you i think a lot of the accessories ruin the look.

Another thing that really amazes me is that if a new cosmetic accessory comes out, people will buy it even if it's fugly ! Fugly is of course subjective, but i swear people would buy them no matter how they look just because they are so anxious to improve thier bikes and theres so little available for them that they jump at anything they see. I swear you could sell a square purple headlight and they'd be lining up to buy it. But many times i see them take those parts right back off after realizing the stock part looks better.

On 2006-11-20 05:49, sharpshooter wrote:
I just picked up a november issue of Crusing Rider magazine and lo and behold there is my beloved tang and opal t-100 right there on the cover.

I could not get over how great it looked just sitting there in its simplicity. It looked like just the bike I fell in love with over a year ago. A naked bike.

Then I went out in the garage and looked at mine.

WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Saddle bag mounts, saddlebags, king and queen seat, sissie bar. Bike looked awfull compared to how it used to look I thought.

I spent the next couple of hours pulling off all the stuff I thought I had to have, (except for the performance mods.) then I took it for a ride.

THE MAGIC IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick...........................

 

[sweatmachine]

less is more, you have not acheived perfection when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

 

[capoanj]

I agree...the Bonnie is not meant to be festooned. I feel like th small accessories...a little chrome here, a tax disc there, a flyscreen...provide just enough character adjustments to a brilliantly conceived bike. And the performance mods...I'm all for em! Toss some bags and a summer screen on for a long cruise. One mod I felt like I had to do, under aesthetic protest, was the rear sissy bar....for my wife and young 'uns...

 

[stevent]

I don't even like putting my tank bag on mine. The only non-performance mod I've done is putting a Corbin Gunfighter and Lady seat on there, the rest is suspension and engine breathing.

If I need to haul stuff I have my Explorer and my Range Rover, the bike is my escape.

:upthumb:

 

[sweatmachine]

the only thing I haul is ASS!

 

[doctorjay]

Wow...great discussion on looks vs function...I could go either way but when I need something, I'm glad I have it....This is the same argument my wife uses on why her purse is so big...She says" laugh if you want but if you need something and I don't have it, I catch he!! " I have a T100 with alot of stuff on it for a cruiser type package....Panniers, summer windscreen, highway bars, sissy bar....I like it and I like the way some of you have a cafe racer type style....What a great bike that you can do all this to!!

 

[MadMack]

Thanks all for opening my eyes to the beauty of an untouched Bonneville.

I keep looking at what mods I intend to do to my bonnie. Now, I am going with the K.I.S.S. approach.....Keep It Simple, Stupid.

My short list now is:

Shocks
Fork Springs
Staintunes
Fly Screen
Performance mods (AI removal, maybe NARK it or remove snorkel)

Thanks again for showing me the obvious, the plain beauty of an untouched bonnie.

MadMack

 

[357Bob]

I added the sissy bar. That is all I need. Plus performance mods. I can carry everything I need in a small backpack.
But I am keeping my square purple headlight.

 

[bonnevillebilly]

Ho.....Man.... you guys are making me feel bad
I'm going down in the garage and take off
my shield , my sissy bar, my saddle bags ,my tool bag
and my highway bars...........NOT!!!!!!!
Bill

 

[Thrux-ton-up]

I got your back to basics right here :wink:

 

[MES]

you have not achieved perfection when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

there it is in a nut shell.
Just think how bad it would look if it was hollow and you could actually see through it. Now that is retro.

 

[HiVel]

Function is beauty. Nothing but real stuff that works for me. Suspension, lighting, speed mods, gearing, seat, footpegs, loud hidden air horn, M bars, summer shield for winter riding, tank bag and rack, all important stuff and most easily removed or changed in an hour or less. I really want another bike (like a Thruxton) to really modify for racing and just let the Bonnie alone for the most part. However , one bike does it all for me now. Just a few simple changes and it is a bike for everyman! Love it!

 

[DrEnglish]

On 2006-11-20 16:40, Thrux-ton-up wrote:
I got your back to basics right here :wink:

I dunno, I see sliders on that mill. And chrome covers...