Triumph Bonneville ridden

By MENG YEW CHOONG | 1 August 2014


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My first and only ride on a Triumph did not turn out too well.

It was a Speed Triple R sporting a litre-sized engine.

No complaints there about the power, smoothness and feel.

Alas, it was too tall for me, and I rode it with the constant fear of having a bad fall.












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It did not happen, but then, I was more than happy to return the bike to Fast Bikes Sdn Bhd, Triumph’s exclusive distributor here.

Is there actually any Triumph a 1.64m guy like me can ride?

The good folks at Fast Bikes took note of my review, and were brimming with confidence when they offered the 2014 Bonneville.

“By the end of the day, you are going to ask me for the price,” enthused Fast Bikes managing director Razak Al Malique as I picked up the keys.

Such was his certainty that I would like this classic bike that sports fake carburettors to hide modern fuel-injectors, just to maintain the look that enthusiasts are used to.

The name Bonneville (taken after the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah, where many land speed records were attempted) needs little introduction as it stands for freedom, open roads, independence and style.

On first impression, the bike does not look too big or intimidating, and I am happy to note that I am able to firmly plant both my feet on the tarmac, instead of having to rest on my toes, when the bike is at a standstill.

The key slot is still near the headlights, in keeping with the “good ol’ style.”

The air-cooled, DOHC, parallel-twin 865cc engine comes to life easily, and one is able to ride straight off.

The nice but not garish – as in having just the right amount of chrome – exhaust sports a very “pure” tonality which is very pleasing to the ear, proving that all the marketing talk about connecting you “to over 50 years of heritage” is not just talk.

Despite weighing 225kg (wet), the Bonneville feels surprisingly manoeuvrable, proving that weight distribution is just as important.

For me, this bike is a winner as it is so easy to ride, and even with a pillion through urban traffic, the balance remained remarkable.

The missus gave her thumbs up for the overall low height, with the rider’s seat at a mere 740mm (29.1 inches) supporting a not-too-wide saddle.

No doubt, some cruisers like Harley may have low seat heights, but their fat saddles cancel out the advantage, again causing the “inseam challenged” like me to struggle with balancing at low speeds.

The Bonneville is obviously not built for outright speed, and has a form of “natural” speed limiter in the form of wind blast that the rider can expect to feel.

Seating in a comfortable upright position, I find the most comfortable speed range to be from 80-110kph.
Anything more than 120kph results in an unbearable wind blast.

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But then, this is not a problem for me, for the Bonneville invites the rider to slow down, to soak in the surrounding, to smell the roses, so to speak — an experience no less pleasurable than blasting through the expressway at 200kph.

The five-speed transmission shifts smoothly, even on a test bike that has barely clocked 200km.

Power delivery is smooth (especially when compared to a giant single-cylinder engine), thus making this bike suitable even for learner riders.

Doing a few hundred km through urban traffic returned me 19km per litre, but strangely, cruising leisurely on an expressway (Kuala Lumpur to Tapah and back) only upped it to about 22km per litre, not a great improvement in my book.

For some strange reason, Triumph did not disclose the compression ratio for this engine, though I believe it should be lower than the Speed Triple’s, which actually did emit a lot of heat when the bike slowed to a crawl.

No such “roasting” for my shins ever took place while riding the Bonneville, even through the most severe crawl (and on that note, neither did the temperature warning sensor ever came on, proving that the air-oil-cooler combination for a relatively large engine works even in the tropics).

Perhaps the chain needs the help of another great British (actually Scottish) invention known as the Scottoiler, and I believe that better mileage can be obtained with regular chain lubrication.

Refuelling is another interesting experience, as no key is needed.

Just twist the fuel lid off, and put it somewhere secure before refuelling.

The Bonneville scores in the looks department as well, with it maintaining a rather handsome look that is not overdone.

The cast aluminium alloy, 7-spoke, 17-inch rims fit right in, and so do the single-disc brakes at the front and rear.

There is nothing that I do not really like about the bike, even though I had expected fuel consumption figures to be slightly better than what I achieved after clocking more than 400km.

Mostly, I am glad there is now a Triumph I can ride, though the next mountain would be to pony up RM63,900 (nett price) for this fully-imported ride.

Fast Bikes is currently having a promotion for its bikes.

Enthusiasts near Penang can also test the Bonneville (actually Thruxton) at Triumph’s showroom at 27, Jalan Gottlieb.

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