[2bikebill]

"....if it ever does develop some major problem I'll be without a bike to ride until it's fixed...."

This the reason I bought my W650 a year ago. The G5 was about to be collected by Watsonian for major repairs and I was going to be without a bike for I didn't know how long - just as a freak heat wave had begun in UK! The W800 had recently come out and taken my heart, but I just couldn't bring myself to take on that much credit card debt! When a W650 with only 1300 miles on it was put in front of me I was a goner. Bought it over the phone. It's now got 7500 miles under its belt, and is my ride of choice 9 times out of 10 - even if I've gone into the garage to take the Enfield out I often just can't resist getting on the W instead.
Do I still enjoy the Enfield? Yes I do, when I'm in the mood for a bit of a vintage evening ride. Would I set out on it for a three hundred mile trip? Not bloody likely!
Does the W650 have the character? Yes it does - tons of it! It's much more like an old Bonnie that a new Bonnie is - only properly made! And it gets as much interest as the Enfield does when I park it up...
If the Enfield hadn't been such a pain in the arse last year I would likely still be only dreaming about getting me a 650 twin, instead of having had the huge pleasure of actually thundering about on one all these months. Yet again good fortune comes disguised as bad.....
I have to tell you - if one of em has to go...... but let's not even think about it ....

[2bikebill]

  Some hours later.....

  -  I took the Enfield out for a jaunt this lovely spring afternoon, and as usual, fell for its charms all over again  -  big silly grin - you know the story.....

[The Garbone]

Well, since my HD is eating headlamp fuses and leaking from the front rocker box as well as needing a little bit richer main jet I went out to the garage and rolled it out. 

Without the Harley in there I had more room so I could work on building my 95 into a 535..   Now have the head and rockers all in place and torqued down.  Working on the external oil filter and once I am done with that the next big step is to put on my new drive sprocket and the primary back together.   Sweet.. 

Rolled the HD back into the garage when I was done for the day.  I really need to work on that thing.     

[Desi Bike]

meh.  its a harley.

[bob bezin]

i took the srx out for a ride,about 20 miles of twisties ( thats all we have around here) but the thing has a current leak. by the time i get home the nutural light is very dim also the head light .so back on the charger  the battery measured 12.5volts and when connected and running it measured 14 or15 volts. the turn signals never worked. but man is it a blast to ride.

[prof_stack]

After a couple of months of iffy weather and my busy life, I said enough to chores and took the Guzzi out for 50 miles of cool fun in the 50F sun.  The 750 twin has a great vibe to it around 2.8k rpm, and up.  So glad its mine.

I miss the thumper riding more than some might imagine from my posts.  But for now the Breva is my two-wheel ticket to cycle-therapy.   

[singhg5]

Every once and a while I get to thinking that although I have had no real problems with my Royal Enfield G5, if it ever does develop some major problem I'll be without a bike to ride until it's fixed.
That would be a real bummer!

With this in mind, I rode the RE up to the Triumph dealer today to look over the new Triumphs.

I was surprised that the cost of the Bonneville was only $2100 more than the base price for my G5 Deluxe.

I came to the conclusion that the Bonneville was just about what I would want to buy after noting that the next higher priced version was the Bonneville with a two tone paint job on the fuel tank and the addition of a tachometer.
For reasons that escape me, those two features added $1000 to the price tag.
The T100 was even higher priced than that.

The sales guy suggested that I take a test ride on one of their  Bonneville's so I thought "why not?".  It turned out to be the solid gold version and I think if I get one, that's the color I would go for.

I only put about 30 miles on it but that included riding on one of our freeways and I found that running it up to 80 mph was a no brainer.
Just a little twist of the throttle and a click thru the gears and before I knew it I was doing 85 mph.

I must say it certainly has a LOT more power and is much smoother than my RE.
The old "push on the butt" even in 5th gear with just a twist of the wrist was just like my old BMW K bike would do.
No vibration at any speed either.

This model weighs around 500 pounds and the extra 100 pounds of weight over my Royal Enfield does reduce the ease of making quick changes in direction if I'm comparing it to my RE.  It felt a bit sluggish although it was easy to handle.
This sounds a bit conflicting but you guys who have ridden one will know what I mean.

I even got a , "Nice Triumph!" from a guy in a pickup truck while I was getting on it at a local store.

As I was riding my G5 home I got to thinking about the Triumph and my RE.

The Triumph is a great bike and I may even go ahead and buy one but it doesn't seem to have the "character" of the G5.

If I do get a Bonnie, the RE will remain a part of my collection.  That's for sure.

Thanks for the review and your experience on Triumph Bonneville.  

That is one bike which is always at the back of my mind, tempting me for a long time. I wanted to take one for a spin last summer but the dealer said they do not have a demo bike !  After reading your post, I am encouraged to find another dealer who has a spare bike.

Only complaint I have heard is that Bonneville's seat is not comfortable for long rides.

[GreenMachine]

Removed my yamaha 1100  front auxillary ligth bar, front main light and steering  to get to the front metal cable harness ...I had to grind off a small edge with a dremel in order to facilitate fitting the fairing hardware...Everything back together and went for a spin...Still trying to determine where the front ringing sound I hear in all gears at approx the same higher  RPM'S....Doesn't do it  in neutral while giving it throttle..only when I  shift and goose it harder than normal....if i ride normally I don't hear it....It doesn't sound like it coming from the engine...Bike is a shaft drive. Been fiddling and don't sense its damgerous but curious to find out what it is..

[Arizoni]

Singhg5

I only rode the Bonnie for 30 minutes and I noticed the seat was fairly hard but not uncomfortable.

The one big fault I saw with the Standard Bonnie was the exhaust.

It was quieter than the exhaust on my BMW K bike.  That is to say, it was almost dead silent.

I mentioned this to the salesman and he said there were a lot of aftermarket silencers available and their mechanics could remap the computer for just about anything including a straight pipe.

I told him I wasn't interested in a straight pipe but I would like to at least hear those twin cylinders doing their thing.

[RGT]

Bought it (actually a friend back in the states bought it for me) an '83 XR 1000

I took my Bullet for its last ride in Fireball trim this evening, drained the oil, pulled the exhaust, carb, and fuel tank. Will pull the engine out of the frame tomorrow and reinstall the 350, will be sad to see it go but I am keeping the best part.

[jartist]

While my G5 was in the shop for a time on warranty work I bought a '79 Vespa P200E to alleviate my withdrawals. Last weekend I joined in on an endurance scooter race and put on 396 miles in 7 hours and twenty minutes- three laps around the Salton Sea in southern California. FUN!!!

[bob bezin]

sounds like a blast. 56 mph ave is great

[prof_stack]

Today I rode about 70 miles in the (finally!) Spring weather in Seattle.  Wow, almost up to 60F.  The tank got 53mpg on fillup.  I am no longer trying to get ultimate gas mileage.  The Guzzi is more fun above 3k rpm than just toodling about.

It is SO nice to be on the freeway grooves at 70mph with no wiggle or wobble and plenty of power to accelerate.  I felt like a (somewhat more mature) 16-year old out there, goosing the throttle and listening to the twin pipes make heavenly music.   

[GreenMachine]

changed the oil in the yamaha and Hyosung..Took both out and got then nice and hot...Temps are perfect for air cooled engines , mid 60's....

[TWinOKC]

Arizoni,

I like your write up of the Triumph Bonneville.  I have owned my T100 for about a year now, mine has the two tone paint with spoke wheels and a tach.  I still have my C5 and plan to keep her for a very long time but the extra power and classic styling of the Bonnie make it a pleasure to own.

Singh- You are correct, the stock Bonnie seat is literally a pain in the butt!  I replaced the stock ironing board seat with a gel seat made by Triumph.  Like the RE, Triumph offers lots of aftermarket accessories.

Although there are some pretty good Triumph forums, they are not as good as this one (IMHO).   Kevin Mahoney is the greatest.  I really appreciate all the guys on this forum and have learned a lot about how to do simple repairs on my RE.   It really irritates me when guys come on this forum just to complain about their bikes or brag about how great their "other bike" is.