Which Bonnie Do I Want? Thunderbird An Option?

OK folks, well I am not long back at this biking lark having covered about 300 miles in three weeks on a 2002 Triumph Sprint that I picked up. The reason I bought the Sprint was to get some time in back in the saddle on a machine that costs less than £1500 before aiming to pick up a 'classic' model at substantially more outlay.

OK well I am looking at everything from the Street Twin to the Street Cup to the Earlier thruxton to the T100 early and current, T120, 1200R thruxton to the Speed Twin and even the Thunderbird 900.

The things I am really needing to find out are -

Which is the most fun and is that fun equal to it's price?

What are they like in regard to corrosion problems as I have read a lot about the spokes of the wire wheeled models in particular rusting when they are shown a picture of rain.

Are the Thruxton 900's really as dull and disappointing as they are described in online reviews?

What is the spares situation for the discontinued/old models like the Thunderbird 900, early model Bonnie and Thruxton 900? The reason I ask is that it would seem that, apart from bearing shells I couldn't find anything new for the Triumph Sprint RS being available where I was used to being able to get absolutely anything I needed brand new and stock (for a price) when I used to run old jap machines. This would put me off buying an early Bonnie, Tbird or Thruxton despite them actually being the most visually attractive to me.

Size? I am six foot three and twenty one stone, will I look like I am riding a mini moto? Despite my height I am only a 30" inside leg will I be comfortable on these machines as I have watched a number of online reviews where they point out the low height of the machines.

I can't deny that, to be absolutely honest I like a bit of bright colour and I find the new models from Triumph to be somewhat disappointing in their colour schemes and colour choices. I ain't big on Red, Black or Silver which leaves me little choice.

Interested to hear your thoughts and experiences and opinions.

 

How does the Street Cup stack up against the Thruxton 900 and Bonnie T100? I am a sucker for the single seat look and the alloy wheels attract me as they don't rust the way spoked ones do even if the don't look 'classic'. Can't say that the yellow/silver and yellow/black schemes are exactly 'eye-catching' or inspired though.

 

That's a pity as I did like the looks even if the paint options are pretty guff. To me it had kind of the café racer look of the 900 Thruxton which I have to admit that I prefer on a Triumph to the squared-off look of the ThruxtonR tank which I tend to think of as more in the line of a Norton or Triton look which ain't so pretty to me. I have a real problem as, while I like the looks of all the current 'Classic' models, I don't LOVE any of them.

My ideal, I think, would be two tone (classic style) Bonnie tank and seat hump but painted in metallic emerald and ruby with the classic 'Gate' or 'Grille' Triumph tank badges. Flashy modern alloy wheels that won't rust in the rain with wider tyres, Thruxton 1200 engine and plenty of polished alloy, rear sets and clip-ons. Basically classic cruiser looks that wouldn't look out of place with a young Marlon Brandon leaning against it but café racer performance and some shiny, shiny modern flash incorporated.

 

Been looking at the few Newchurch Bonnie's on ebay, anyone own one? Are they good? Still trying to figure out what I want exactly. I really dig the 'classic' Bonnie look rather than the Café Racer style. I would rather alloy wheels so that I don't have to worry about rusty spokes in wet weather, I am in Scotland after all which is a reason why the Newchurch attracts my attention, I know the Street Twin had similar wheels but the overall vibe I get from the way they look is more late 70's early 80's naked Jap bike than Sixties Bonnie.

 

The feet forward business puts me off the Speedmaster. Anything that starts to wander off towards the look of an, erm dare I say the name? Okay as long as I don't say it three times I guess - Harley is something I tend to avoid. If I really was mad and wanted one of those... things I would buy one of them.

 

Well, today I visited the Triumph showroom in Glasgow and I have to sadly report that I was rather disappointed. Firstly the 'salesman' didn't really try to sell me anything and actually spent most of his time chasing folks around who seemed to be looking for gear and wasn't interested in the thousands in cash burning a hole in my pocket.

Secondly - My God how small are most of them?!!! I found the Thruxton, Street Twin and Bobber really 'teeny tiny' in the flesh. I couldn't get my feet on and off the pegs of the Thruxton without a conscious effort to pull my knees up and my boot soles catching on the grips. I could see that resulting in ending up in a heap at lights or junctions if I wasn't careful. The missus loved the look of the bobber but, when I sat on it it felt like it was on a par with a childs spacehopper under my frame. Speed Twin wasn't too bad size wise (just) but I do not like that tank paintwork at all. For some reason, when I look at it I just think 70's/80's Yamaha or similar. It would so much better with some variant of the classic Triumph paintwork and badge to me as, in it's current livery, it's as much 'Classic Jap' as it is 'Classic Brit'.

Thirdly- They have no T100's or T120's in stock and won't have one as 'Shop Stock' this year although there is a T120 on order for a customer that I can come in and sit on when it arrives before he collects it. I guess they aren't interested in passing trade falling in love with the classic brit looks. Oh they had no speedmasters either but the salesmen didn't think that they would be any better in fit.

Fourthly - Green and white is not available as a colour option like it used to be and so, if I want that scheme I can just shell out another £1100 for a bleedin' extra tank In the right colours! Stuff that for a laugh!

I have to say that I am suspicious of the fact that, when I was trying to explain the difference between the 'classic' bonnie look and the other bonnie models to my wife I couldn't find a single picture or obvious brochure anywhere in the shop to show one to her. Are they dropping these from the range? I would have thought that would be suicide for the brand.

The one 'classic' model in the whole showroom that fitted me well were the 1200 Scramblers but the problem I have with that is that they don't really scream 'classic bonnie' which is what I'm looking for.

Sadly, while I love Triumph as a look, a history and a legend I am not in love with Triumph the dealership and whoever makes their design choices.

In closing I would like to ask fellow members on this here forum who may be of a similar build to me (six foot three, twenty one stone and 31 inch inside leg and a sole of foot to top of knee measurement of approx. 22 inches) if there are any of the Bonnie variants over the last twenty odd years and Thunderbirds also that may fit me better and have less of a 'mini moto' look under me.

 

Ooh that is sweet @Dozers Dad ! There is actually a bike on ebay just now, which has that same green (on the top of the tank) with silver sides and airbrushed union jacks separating the colours. It's an 01 Hinckley built T100 790cc with just 7800 miles on the clock for four grand in Market Drayton! It's one sweet looking bike and, if I was closer and had the time I would love to see if that one fitted. Big question is how easy it is to get spares if necessary and keep these bikes running?

 

OK another point I am looking for help and advice on - In order to get exactly what I want I am contemplating doing something that I am not terribly comfortable with and buying online from a dealer and having the bike delivered sight unseen. Anyone have recommendations of which dealers are good to deal with and which ones to avoid. Not sure if this would go down well on open forum so perhaps better if y'all could PM me with this sort of advice. Thanks in advance all.

 

Not quite what I was after @Helmut Visor Had a good look through the thread and it was mainly about servicing and the like where I am looking for anyone who may have bought online, sight unseen, and had the bike delivered or knows anything about dealers who offer the service and how they performed for things like customer service, accuracy of descriptions and was the bike delivered safely. One of those I am interested in as they have a number of tasty Trumps for sale is 'superbikefactory.co.uk' but there are plenty of others I would also like to hear experiences of.

 

Thanks for that @Helmut Visor You know I never even thought to do any Google or Trustpilot type searches, guess I'm a bit thick Jez did tell me a bit about the superbikefactory which kind of put me off them somewhat.