Funny, I have this discussion with a few of the guys at the shop here in Denver and they refuse to believe there is a reason to build a cruiser with a displacement between the America and Rocket. I tell them to logon here and they would find about 1000 guys ready to buy a 1200cc Triumph cruiser. While the local guys may not be wise enough to see this I believe Triumph corporate is.
As far as a beginner bike goes - I don't know if you will ever see a single. Buell/ Harley tried this and it wasn't particularly successful for them. Likewise, I'm not sure a 500cc twin would be much of an advantage over the 790cc. Weight-wise you only shave off maybe 30-50lbs. and with todays higher compression motors it would still be plenty fast to hurt yourself on in a hurry. Outside of the seat height, the standard Bonnie is actually a pretty good beginner bike. It feels like a big heavy bicycle and with less rake than the America or Speedy it has better handling manners at low speed.
You are correct though. Many new riders end up on small but very powerful 600cc sport bikes (620 Monster, SV650, Speed Four) due to their size and weight. Especially those folks who don't care for the "cruiser style".
Keith
