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Apart from being one of the simplest ‘big-bikes’ that you can own right now (we’ll get to the reasons in a bit), Bonneville also holds huge aspiration value. For starters, it has been one of the most iconic British motorcycles of all time. Being named after the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, you also immediately associate the motorcycle with speed. And finally, the Bonnie has seen a production run long enough for the manufacturer to roll out any creases.
The Bonneville is a classic-styled motorcycle with a modern motor propelling it. And as far as the retro styling is concerned, Bonnie has got it right. You get upswept handlebars with round headlamps, two-tone paint job, the long, comfortable, flat seat which ends in a simple grab rail and tail lamp. Heck, they’ve even thrown in the headlamp-adjacent ignition key position and a fake carburettor body that actually hides the fuel-injection system!
The air-cooled 865cc mill produces a healthy 68PS of maximum power at 7500rpm – which we felt was a very wide band of power, as the gearbox mated to is a five-speed. In numbers, the motorcycle manages to churn out a peak torque of 68Nm @ 5800rpm – on the road we felt that all these come together to make the Bonneville a very hassle-free motorcycle to ride inside the city and on the highway. It crosses the 100kmph mark without even breaking into a sweat, and it’s only past the 140kmph mark that you start feeling vibrations on the footpegs and up your arms through the handlebars.
On the road, the Bonneville defies its weight – for a motorcycle that weighs 225kgs, it is quite agile and nimble on the road. The Metzeler tires give an additional boost of confidence around corners. That said, the really wide turning circle can be a bit of a bother inside the city. Sweeping highways is where you can attack big corners at high speed. The suspension is slightly on the stiffer side, but manages to work well with Indian roads.
At the end of the day, the Triumph Bonneville is a motorcycle that makes you really happy. You get to manage it easily inside city, and yet gun the throttle on the expressway. If a retro motorcycle with a refined engine is what you want, this one’s for you. The Bonneville costs ₹5.7 lakhs and the Bonneville T-100 costs ₹6.6 lakhs (both prices are ex-showroom, Delhi).
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