Good day folks, New rider here I the Great White North looking to buy a Bonnie for my first bike. Wanted to pop in and hopefully get some advice. I'm trying to decide between two different bikes. One is a used 2013 Bonneville SE with 4000 km on it for $8000 CAD. The other is the blacked out 2017 T100 for $11900 CAD. I know generally for a first bike used can be the better way to go but I'm more curious if the liquid cooled extra 45 cc and HP are worth the extra $$. I'm 5'8" and 170 lbs so the slightly lower SE on the 17" mags wouldn't be a problem. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Cheers
Welcome to the forum Jord. I have a 2012 Bonnie EFI, brilliant all round bikes. If you have plenty of dosh go for the newer model. Have you considered the T120, considered by many as the best Bonnie ?
Welcome in to the forum. Just like Ade says - you really need to test ride both as they are quite different. I have a 2012 SE, which I am slowly modifying to my taste and love it - but have ridden the Street Cup (same engine as the T100) and there is a difference. The Bonnie is no sports bike as Ade alludes to - but consider what Forchetto (the font of all Knowledge on the Triumph RAT forum) had to say on it if you are worried about lack of performance. "The way road testers and the less discerning and ill-informed riders of inferior machinery (read BMW!) criticise our Bonnies, you'd think they were slugs, but the Bonneville is no slouch really. It might be compared with the current crop of sports bikes capable of mile-long wheelies and tyre-shredding burnouts, but consider its real world power, torque and performance parameters and it should satisfy 95% of sensible, mature, God-fearing, law-abiding riders : For example, for the SE the factory claims 67 bhp (50kw) @7500 rpm and 50 ft/lbs (68Nm) @5800 rpm . These figures are at the crankshaft. For comparison, the original Honda CB750 that turned the motorcycling world on its head and introduced us to the "Superbike" apellation also produced 67 bhp. We were impressed then. Rear wheel figures as dyno-tested by Rider Magazine August 2009 are 40.9 lb-ft of torque at 2,600 rpm with its peak coming at 44.7 lb-ft at 6,500 rpm. This is a very satisfying flat torque curve. Note that 90% of available torque is produced at just 2600 rpm. It pulls like an steam engine in any gear. In terms of power at the rear wheel the Bonneville is making 40 horsepower by 5,000 rpm, 50 by 6,000 rpm and peaks at 58.6 horses at 7,400 rpm. This, for a weight ready to ride of 496lbs(225Kg) is not too bad and gives pretty respectable acceleration and top speed figures as follows (Cycle World road test): 0-60 mph: 4.9 sec Standing 1/4 mile: 13.24 sec. @ 100.66 mph Top speed: 115 mph The 0-60 and quarter-mile figures are similar to another British legend, the Aston Martin Vantage, by the way..."
Hello Jord and welcome to the Triumph Asylum. The two bikes in question may appear similar, but are in fact significantly different in their engine depts. Not better or worse, just different. The 2013 bike's engine is a 360° crank and air/oil cooled, the 2017 T100 has a 270° engine with water cooling. Comparison of the two? The new bike is a lot more economical, has lower power but more torque (especially at lower revs). As a result of the torque it does not feel less powerful, quite the reverse. The engine is also mechanically quieter. Is it worth the difference in $ ? Only you can decide that my friend. Just one piece of advice if I may? Do not, whatever you do, test ride the new T120. If you do, you will force yourself into buying it even if it means selling Granny to the sex trade.
Thanks very much for the warm welcome and information! I did look at the T120 and it a beautiful machine but when I called my insurance company there was a significant difference in the quotes. Since the T100 and the used Bonnie are under 1000 cc it made a big difference....at least since it's my first bike. Hopefully a few years of clean riding will help offset that down the line. I will definitely give them both a ride. Thanks again.
Welcome in! Tough decision but also one you shouldn't regret either way! I owned a Thruxton 900 EFI with the 70 hp output. No mods except for the Arrow exhaust. A gorgeous machine. Now I have the T120 and yes, it is very special and rewarding. But power is not all that makes a bike. In parallel to the story above I swapped a 98 hp Japanese bike for a 53 hp American one and man do I love that less power thingy. Best advice has been given way up above: test ride them both and let your heart decide. (Your brain already narrowed it down to a pair of excellent bikes... ) Enjoy the forum! Cheers, Daniel
Thanks again for the warm welcome. I opted for the used SE. The price was better and unfortunately had to be considered. For my first bike I have no doubts that I'll enjoy it. Now if I can just get through the next week while they certify and license it......
Hi Jord. I own an SE and a Street Twin. The Street Twin has the same engine as the T100 but in a lighter frame. The T100 has the classic Bonnie looks of course, whereas the Street Twin still nods in that direction but is slightly more contemporary looking. The more modern 900 water cooled engine is, imo, a significant improvement over the 865 air cooled, and the modern technology on the newer bikes is well worth having. Plus the SE fuel consumption and tank range are quite poor in comparison. I'm selling my SE, but that said, I've been riding it every day this week and loving it. I seem able to scrape the pegs easier on the SE than I can on the Street Twin, and it's no slouch on the back roads, easily flying round the bendy bits and holding it's line like on rails at 70/80mph. I do have Ikon shocks on the SE so can't comment on the stock ones. You could always use the cash saved to personalise the SE with better shocks, exhaust etc, and put the rest of the $$$ in the tank. And it'll hold it's value better than most modern bikes I should think. I guess that hasn't helped. Go test ride.
Well here it is. I finally got to pick it up today.....and I'm grinning like an idiot. I put ~160 km on it today and filled it up again to see what kind of mileage I'm looking at (very rough estimate of course) and it only took 8 litres. Cost me $9.20....that's crazy.