#Bonneville

Triumph’s new Bonneville platform has already made a significant impact on the moto market in less than a year. Spearheaded by the 900cc Street Twin and followed closely by the 1200cc T120 Bonneville and Thruxton models, the retro-modern roadsters are selling as quickly as Triumph can build them, with strong sales forcing the company to add an extra shift at its factory to meet demand.

Introduced earlier today at a live event in England, the new Triumph Bonneville Bobber made its way to the stage ridden by none other than SBK racing legend, Carl Fogarty. Based on the all-new Bonneville released earlier this year, the Bobber receives a few notable items, namely a faux hardtail rear suspension setup, an adjustable solo saddle, and twin slash-cut mufflers.

After an impressive year with the modernization of the Bonneville platform’s engine,  Triumph has expanded the offerings of its 900cc High Torque powerplant with the new Bonneville T100 and Street Cup models.

The 2016 Bonneville Speed Motorcycle Speed Trials wrapped up this week with several riders again testing the limits of velocity. On Aug. 31, Valerie Thompson and the 7 Racing streamliner claimed a new record for the fastest ever time for a female rider with an average two-way speed of 294.782 mph. This video shows her fastest of the two runs, reaching a peak speed of 313 mph:

Triumph’s efforts at reinventing the Bonneville platform (which includes the Street Twin and Thruxton along with the T120 Bonneville) deserve huge kudos. It’s one thing to create a terrific new motorcycle that meets contemporary emissions and performance standards, but it’s another to do so while making the bikes look almost like they stepped out of a showroom from 50 years ago. They appear more authentically retro than the previous air-cooled generation, which is a massive accomplishment for bikes with contemporary liquid-cooled motors.

Land speed racing a motorcycle streamliner on the Bonneville Salt Flats means constantly pushing the envelope of what is humanly and mechanically possible. Sometimes, the salt pushes back. Yesterday, the motorcycle racing community lost one of the great ones when Sam Wheeler succumbed to injuries suffered in a testing crash. No details have been released, and they really don’t matter. Wheeler was a man who spent his life pursuing his dream, and his devotion to that pursuit should be both remembered and admired.

For 2016, Triumph launched two new Thruxton models, the base model Thruxton ($12,500) and the Thruxton R ($14,500). Both are huge improvements over the outgoing model Thruxton. The new 1200cc liquid-cooled parallel-Twin produces gobs more horsepower and torque, the chassis isn’t the flexi-flyer it used to be, and modern electronics (R-b-W, ride modes, TC, ABS) bring a touch of modernity to a motorcycle steeped in nostalgia. For a complete review of the bike and its performance check out our previously published  2016 Triumph Bonneville Thruxton R First Ride Review.

It’s sunny and 65 here today in SoCal, but that doesn’t stop us lusting after the new 900cc Triumph Bonneville, spotted testing near Triumph HQ in Hinckley in the UK on what doesn’t look like a very pleasant day.

Each year around this time the MO staff gathers to contemplate the new breed of tasty two-wheelers coming our way. This is also when each editor begins positioning himself for a particular press launch. Last year, Preemptive Editor, Troy Siahaan made it abundantly clear that only an act of God would keep him from the R1 launch. This year he’s communicated the same thing about the new Suzuki SV650, a bike that, democratically, didn’t even make this list (Ouch. -TS).

Wow, this is sort of dangerous ground Triumph is treading with its new Hi-Torque-engined Street Twin: Its all-new bigger, more modern, liquid-cooled 900cc parallel-Twin actually makes, ahhhh, less peak horsepower than the previous generation 865cc unit. That’s why they insisted we journalists ride the bike before the tech presentation, and kept the cocktails flowing the night before. Savvy marketing on their part. Triumph claims just 54 horsepower (at 5900 rpm) for the new motor, which is at least 10 hp less than I’d have estimated from my butt-clench dyno after a day’s spin around Valencia and environs on the new bike.

A week or two ago I sang the praises of one of my favorite jackets, this Dainese Street Rider. Today, it’s time to confess my love for the jeans that complete the ensemble. I’ve had these Bonneville jeans for six months now, and they’ve become not just my favorite motorcycle riding jeans but my favorite jeans period. For me, I guess that’s almost the same thing; thanks to the hot summer we’ve been having that’s only now segueing into a hot winter. I only put on pants when I’m going somewhere on a motorcycle. (The rest of the time it’s the Spongebob boxers or the Speedo.)

Earlier this week Triumph announced to the world its three new engines and five new models for the 2016 Bonneville line. Included in those three new models are the 2016 Triumph Street Twin, Triumph Thruxton and Thruxton R, and the new Bonneville T120 and Bonneville T120 Black. That last model in particular, the Bonneville T120, is the inspiration behind this week’s Church feature. Digging through the MO archives led us back to 2007 and a review of the Bonneville T100 from our European correspondent Tor Sagen. As the models that stay the truest to the original Bonneville of old, the T-series Bonnies promise a retro riding experience. Here’s Tor to tell you more about the T100. 

Carrying the banner of the Bonneville’s racing heritage, Triumph looked to the Thruxton, appropriately taken from the 500-mile racing series that first helped garner the Bonnie’s racing cred. While, as with all the new Bonnevilles, the authentic appearance is important, the primary emphasis with the 2016 Triumph Thruxton and the R was on power and handling.

UPDATE: Triumph has announced U.S. pricing for its 2016 Bonneville lineup. The Bonneville T120 and T120 Black are available in Jet Black for $11,500. The Cinder Red Bonneville T120 is priced at $11,750 while the two-tone Cranberry Red/Aluminum Silver and Jet Black/Pure White options will be sold for $12,000. The Bonneville T120 Black will also be available in matte Graphite for $11,750.

UPDATE: Triumph has announced U.S. pricing for its 2016 Bonneville lineup. The Street Twin will be available in Jet Black for $8,700 while the Aluminum Silver, Cranberry Red, Matt Black and Phantom Black paint options are priced at $8,950.