Hi, this is my first post on the forum. I am looking to buy a Bonneville in the new year but am wondering about the physical sizes of them. I test road a Street Twin earlier this year and, although it wasn't physically too small for my 6'2'' frame, it certainly felt like a small bike. I have looked up the dimensions of the Street Twin, Air Cooled 865 T100 and the new water cooled T100 and it would appear that they get slightly bigger in the order I have listed them here. However, human experience, in this case, will be of more value to me than stats. Has anyone ridden both an air cooled Bonneville 865 T100 and a Street Twin? Does one feel bigger than the other? How does the old air cooled T100 compare in size to the new water cooled T100? Any answers to these questions would be appreciated. Regards, Jammy.
The Street Twin wheelbase is 1415mm to the older 865’s 1493mm - about 3 inches! I have the 865 T100 (it is starting to get confusing which is which!) but the comparable old Bonnie is the SE with smaller cast wheels. The Street Twin is just that little bit smaller overall - probably to attract more female and first time riders in the States. I could not compare them directly but imagine strong similarities albeit the later bike meets more stringent emission regs with a bigger and slightly more strangled motor that pushes out respectable torque. Your budget is what ultimately limits your choice......but sitting on a Twin in the showroom it did feel diddier than my T100 which is not that big itself.
I have owned both, a 2005 T100 790cc and currently have a Street Twin, the Bonneville is a bit taller, heavier and with less midrange power, otherwise they both feel similar to ride.
Welcome to the forum. I've owned a 2004 790cc T100 and currently own a 2012 865 SE. I've recently had the new water cooled T100 as a loan bike for a day. Can't honestly say I felt much difference in size between them - if anything, the new T100 felt slightly smaller than my SE, but not by much. The water cooled 900's develop more torque than the air cooled 865's but have less BHP and consequently, a bit less top end speed. The seats are different however! The original seat on my SE was more sculpted than the old T100 seat and about 20mm lower as a result. I found that this slightly cramped my legs on long trips and so changed it for a stock T100 seat.
Thanks everyone for your replies, this is great. Is the only size difference between the air cooled SE's and T100's in the seat height, which you can swap out for a taller aftermarket seat, or are their frames also different?
Hi Jammy, Welcome to the forum, I feel your pain, I am 6'3" and 16 stone, most modern bikes seem made for small people!
Have a look here..... https://www.triumphtwinpower.com/triumph-twin-power-efi-tunes.php# Drop down menu ‘Twin Tech’ then ‘specs by model’ The key difference in model seat heights is achieved through smaller diameter wheels rather than major variation in other cycle parts. Faster steering but otherwise largely aesthetic. Everything said about respective engine torque is true......until you mod the 865. My last of the carbs bike with a gutted airbox, bigger main jets and more open pipes is no faster in a straight line but has gained 15-20% mid range torque. It will easily pull steep Borders hills in 4th where previously I was on the edge of dropping from 3rd to 2nd. The Efi bikes benefit similarly. The Street Twin needs de-catting to gain oomph.
If you are thinking about an 865 Bonnie https://www.thetriumphforum.com/threads/2015-bonneville-newchurch.16685/
Thanks again for the contributions everyone. Do you think it would be fair to say that the 865 SE and the Street Twin are more or less the same size as each other, while both the T100's (air cooled and water cooled) are more or less the same size as each other?
Hi Jammy and welcome ! Good luck with your decision, see if you can go ride both again if possible and see which you feel more comfortable with.
Welcome aboard Jammy. Put a bench seat on the Street Twin to give you a tad more height, as I did. 865 with spoked wheels are taller than the alloy wheel ones and Street Twin. 900 (865i) Scrambler is taller still, but heavy. Current T100 is tallest of the current family.The Street Scrambler is quite tall too.
I very much appreciate everyone's input, thanks again. Come springtime, I hope to test ride an 865 T100. I just hope it feels bigger than the Street Twin. At the moment however, the closest air cooled T100's for sale are in northern England, while I live in central Scotland.
I went with a mate when he test rode a street twin, I was on my mag wheel 865 bonnie. We swapped bikes for a while and the first thing I noticed was how cramped the street twin riding position was compared to my bonneville. I was glad to swap back. I have JSL touring bars and a slammer seat which open up the riding position a bit over standard, but the bonnie is by some measure the roomier bike. I've also got open pipes, modded air box and stage three TTP tune, with which the air cooled 865 more than matches the street twin for mid range and has much better top end power.