Bennington Triumph Bash

My dad was up here Sunday and Monday to do some riding on the '83 Kawi I'd picked up for him; he definitely seems to be enjoying getting back into it. I took him to the Triumph dealer Monday morning, and he test rode the new '09 fuel-injected Bonnie. He loved it, and it looks like he'll be buying one next spring.

And I'll get to break it in for him.

--mark

Lucky Dog let us know how the FI models compare.

Jimmy

I test-rode the same bike a couple weeks ago. I loved it. The FI is really well sorted out. This bike has TORs and the corresponding FI map, and the throttle was like a rheostat -- super smooth and linear in every gear. Felt about the same, power-wise, as my '01 Bonnie with Predators and pod filters, except the power was spread evenly across the rev range instead of mostly being in the upper half of the range like on my Bonnie.

In terms of ride and handling, the bike was typical Bonneville. Nothing's changed on this bike aside from the EFI (and a couple minor things that don't effect the ride, such as the slightly larger tank and redesigned rear hub), so I would have been surprised if it felt different to ride.

It's funny, because I recently rode a BMW F800GS and didn't like it much, but when I got back to the dealership after riding the new Bonnie, I had a giant grin on my face. That bike just feels so right.

The only drawback I can see regarding the EFI models is that they'll be much harder to mod in the ways we're all used to, ie, AI delete, free-flowing pipes, pod filters, etc, since remapping the EFI is a lot harder than swapping out a few carb jets.

Still, I've got my '01 Bonnie to mod to my heart's content. I may eventually pick up an EFI Bonnie as a daily rider and tourer -- with a windscreen and a few mods for comfort, I bet it would make a really fun commuting and touring bike.

--mark

So do ya think your Dad will come to the BTB next year?


Todd

I doubt it. He's not into motorcycles in the same way we are, and likes the Bonneville solely because it looks good and rides well. He couldn't care less whether it's a Triumph or Honda or Harley or even Chinese mystery brand, as long as it looks good, rides well, and is reliable.

He's also the sort of person who has no interest in riding to work, he just occasionally wants to go for a ride through the countryside, maybe do a tour once every couple years or so.

I'll mention the BTB to him, but I'm pretty certain he won't be interested.

--mark

Thats cool that he doesn't care what anyone else thinks and does his own thing; and though I'm partial to the Triumph Marque I believe everyone that gets on their bike should be thinking "everyones crazy not to want to own a bike like this" no matter what it is. Hey, never know, maybe he'll go.



Todd