Anybody else tried it yet? I have a 2014 Bonneville - the basic one (Didn't want to be cleaning wire spoked wheels!) Love it but do like the look of the new one in matte black. So Bill Smith's in Chester invited me to take it away and try it yesterday. And. Love it - BUT! Mine sounds nicer - the new one does sound great but it's not quite the 'right' great. It finally dawned on me after an hour with it - it sounds like a single - it sounds like my old BSA B50SS 500 single. I'm no engineer but is it something to do with the changes to the crank angle I read about? Is the firing now more regular and less uneven than before? One of the greatest pleasures of riding mine is listening to it when cruising anywhere between 20 and 50mph - would really like the new one but think I'd miss the noise too much :-(
Yes the new Bonneville has a 270 degree firing order (like the Scrambler) and not the 360 degrees of the old model.
A 360°crank gives even pulses of sound; a 270° gives slightly off-beat pulses. 270° cranks are fitted to Scrambler/Speedmaster & America.
Still confused then - can see how the 360 would be more 'even' and following on from that more likely it might sound like a single - but from what I'm being told it's the other way around! And (apologies in advance!) I love the fat sound of a Harley - and my Bonneville is a similar sound... Oh well - will check out the 1200 when it arrives.
One of my other toys is a Yamaha trx850 and that has also a 270 degree crank and was made to sound like a Ducati from which it's copied from. There is a difference in the way power is put down compared to the more even balanced engines but I just think it's a sound thing and I couldn't say if it's better power delivery or not.
