Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Bad review of a Bonneville, I think the Author....

is crazy. Not an America, a standard Bonnie, but still, where does he get off?

http://motoring.telegraph.co.uk/motoring...8/20/ixmot.html

well you can say different strokes for different folks, I sure love my TBA

sorry for the double post mates, oh god I'm starting to talk British now, haha

CW,I fail to see a bad review here.Please point out the offending passages.I rather enjoyed the article. Al

Hey Vegas, I used to live out there in 96-97. Kind of miss it. I'm a Surveyor and Seven Hills was one of my jobs, it was just taking off back then. Here are the offending passages.

"But don't expect speed. Or handling. I have no idea how our Motoring Correspondent managed to get the thing up to 100mph. At 70 I was in a flat panic, weaving all over the place, my innards roiling as each tiny surface contour travelled up the Bonnie's frame. I bottled out, and I suspect he is lying anyway.

When I started the bike for the first time and pulled away, both engine note and power delivery conspired to put me in mind, unfairly I accept, of the legendary Honda 250 Superdream, dubbed "Wet Dream" by riders unimpressed by its performance. If you buy a new Bonneville, see what you can do about de-restricting those exhausts. The noise restriction Nazis have a lot to answer for.

The machine wheezes up hills and is positively treacly two up. And for God's sake make sure you acqaint yourself with those authentic, old-fashioned braking distances before entering urban traffic.

Keeping the twin on the boil takes enormous amounts of revving and footwork. And it simply laughs at you if you try and open up the throttle in high gear at low speeds. "

he's the type that would complain about no cup holder.

Sounds like an inexperienced rider at worst....

I don't think it was a bad review at all. It just showed that he really doesn't know how to ride a Triumph. He obviously was not keeping it in the power range. shifting too soon, and trying to accelerate in top gear from a slow speed. He needs a Harley.

The article was nothing but editor's bait to generate replies (and readership hits). Think nothing of it.

If at 70mph he had problems it just shows he should stick to driving his Jag.

CW,Well most everyone on these forums complain about the harsh suspension.We all know just how crappy the exhaust note on a stock bike is.Lots of folks have complained about the roll on performance at speed.Just about everyone starts dicking with the engine in one way or another,to get more power.The one thing he did not complain about was the seat, which most of us change out to something more comfortable.We all love the British invaders,but fault can certainly be found with these great bikes.I think you may have not liked what he said because you preceived him as a casual rider with little experience. Las Vegas is growing in giant leaps and bounds.I have lived here for twenty-five years now,and do not care much for living in the city anymore.Most of the Vegas that was here back then(1980),is long gone.I was driving around in the area where I worked many years ago,and the building that I worked in for over ten years is gone,covered now with an expressway overpass. I almost cound not find the original location. Al

I agree with Vegas concerning the review of the Bonnie (although I haven't read the review - just the "offending" parts posted on this thread.)

However, the Bonnie is marketed as an upgraded/updated version of the original classic. As such, it has some inherent limitations that we Triumph affectianados accept outright or attempt to improve to suit our needs. Riding and enjoying a Triumph classic requires some getting used to, and keeping the revs up to stay in the power band is one of those techniques the reviewer clearly hadn't mastered. There have been times when I've not downshifted adequately myself and the engine bogged. Evidently, the reviewer was more used a larger motorcycle, or one with a wider power band than the Bonnie engine has, or wasn't briefed on how to properly ride a classic Triumph.

We love them for what they are, but there are certainly better performing bikes out there - if we wanted to buy one.

I disagree with the author, he knows nothing. Our bikes are modern classics and outperform All other bikes in their displacement range.
They have plenty of power stock, even without mods, give me a break, he's all over the road at 70, and I personally think the rear suspension is fine. I refuse to accept these false negative views! Have I made myself clear

As with all product review, taking one and accepting it as being "right" is at best a dubious way of using the information. Reading five or six is a better idea because then you get other perspectives. I do this all the time for movies - if I bother to read the reviews at all. The Rotten Tomatoes site is excellent because it gives so many different points of view that you get a better overall idea about it.

Of course, we are all a little biased when it comes to our TBAs - otherwise we wouldn't have them.

Siggy

But he ALSO said:

"I love this machine. I love the peashooter exhaust pipes, the chrome, the spokes, the pear-shaped tank and the wonderful orange and white paint job. It is a friendly bike that sits unthreateningly in my driveway, offering a laid-back British retro-hello as I squeeze my suited frame into leathers and fumble with the irritating (but authentically positioned) ignition.

I even patted the tank affectionately after the machine slid to an inexplicable halt a mile from my home one morning, offering me that real Triumph-of-yore experience: lots of time sitting on a pavement edge waiting for someone to come and collect you. As it turned out, a scooter bandit had passed by the parked bike earlier, slashed the fuel line and filled up his bloody Piaggio or whatever at my expense.

The Bonnie is a welcome alternative to the smug Japanese multis, clad in acres of plastic and capable of power outputs you could not hope to use legally on British roads. It enables mid-lifers like me to ride with dignity. It is a true friend of the forty-something."

True stuff!

AND...

"But I protest far too much. The Bonneville, with its sedate styling and sit-up-and-beg riding position, never tries to con you into thinking it is a café racer. This beauty costs just a tad over £5,000 and offers more biking pleasure than machines double that price. It turns heads and comes into its own as a metro commuter bike or country-lane scratcher.

If I had my way, and my wife was a little more ready than she is to let me to ride motorcycles, the Bonnie would be my basic workhorse, supplemented by something with a fat rear tyre and 140bhp under the tank for those racier forays.

I can't wait to get the Triumph back from Andrew so that I can bring it home and park it next to my Jag. In Kent."

Hey I use Rotten Tomatoes also, good website, I trust the user reviews as opposed to the professional critics.

I still think he is misprepresenting the bike's performance and therefore even tho he says a few nice things the whole review is not well done, IMHO

I could care less what this review says, I mean I didn't use it to base my purchase on, however someone else may find the negatives (in my view false) outweigh the good.

Here is a link to an excellent site for user reviews of Motorcycles, there are some great reviews of our bikes as well.

http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/enthusiasts/review_list.asp?vehiclecategory=1

Quote:

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If I had my way, and my wife was a little more ready than she is to let me to ride motorcycles,

---

Well at least we know who wears the pants in that family. How can anyone take this guy seriously when it's his wife who decides whether he rides or not? I think I'll send him a copy of this magazine.

Gotta agree with vegas and JB here, guys.

Look at it this way....If you wanted to buy a modern reliable mid-size bike that handles well, is reasonably priced, and has pretty good power for it's size, you'd buy a Suzuki SV650.

BUT if you did, you wouldn't find yourself in the garage every few days just ogling the machine, and thinking about how often someone comes up to you, smiles, and says something like..."Now that is how a motorcycle is SUPPOSED to LOOK!"

That's why we put up with the cheap-a$$ rear shocks, the poor front Nissin brake, the uncomfortable stock saddle, and the "sewing-machine" sounds that those stock exhausts emit.

WE KNOW that a truly CLASSIC and classy bike's heart beats under all those little niggles.

You could spend thousands on making that SV650 an even better bike too, but you'd only end up with just another non-descript machine(but a nice one, none the less...YAWN!)

Dwight

Right on Dwight! I'm throwin in with Skillet and JB - I thought it was a good article. Yeah, yeah, I know we took vows to defend and protect Triumph, and okay, I know we're all true believers and members of the church of St. Bonnie, but still...

Just thought I'd mention that the T100 is a very, very different bike - ever ridden one? I rode the Bonnie before I got my BA and got a bit unnerved at 70 - wanted to slide backwards on the flat seat (been ridin cruisers since '85 kids), and things, well, felt a bit tippy. I liked it, but I was definitely puckered...

And about the engine being a bit, um, less powerful than some of us (those who have done the exhaust swap, new jets, freaks, etc and et al) would like? Well hey, I think the secret's out.

Still? There's lots to like about Americas and Speedys - they're a class ride and for a small investment (ha ha ha) you can bring out the beast. And if you don't plunk down the change? Either flavor's a class ride.

Del

SalMaglie

That magazine cover is hilarious!

(Er, do you know the subscription address? )

Siggy

I thought the article was pretty accurate but written a little tongue-in-cheek coupled with a little hyperbole to make for an interesting read. I know why some would be offended concerning some of the remarks because you just dropped a couple grand more than a comparable SuzukiYamaHOndaKawasaki of a similar displacement…which I would add does boast more HP and get-up-and-go than the Bonnie. However, those bikes just are one in a sea of “plastic” chromed, non-inspiring junk. IMHO.

I have never ridden the TBA but I have ridden the speedmaster and wrote a review about a year ago. My observations were as followed:
1.) Lacked umph at highway speeds. Let’s face it guys/gals, the single most discussed topic on any Bonneville-based forum is how to improve the HP on these bikes.
2.) I thought the bike handled GREAT! I am surprised that the TBA could be that much worse than a Speedmaster so he must be comparing that aspect to a crotch-rocket.
3.) Much more action in the shifting department than I am used to. In my recent past I have owned a Suzuki Intruder 800 and a 92cu Victory cruiser and am spoiled by keeping the bikes in a higher gear and just rolling on the throttle. Why do I want a SM or TBA? The Victory handles slightly better than a firetruck and the Intruder is just plain ugly. I am willing to sacrifice Umph for a great looking bike that has character in spades. Which, by the way, the Intruder sorely lacks!. If I want speed and handling in a bike a Ducati will fit the bill--anything but a SuzukiYamahondakawasaki!

My 2 cents.