Triumph Bonneville America

"This thing is a Christmas tree - you can hang anything off it." Those words were recently uttered by the Dealer Development Manager for Triumph Australia, Gary McDonnell, at the local unveiling of the new Bonneville America - and he is right.

Like any purpose-built, dedicated cruiser, the America - an unashamed Triumph offensive on the Yankee cruiser market - wouldn't be the 'real deal' if it didn't lob with a full range of accessories, so that's why prospective owners will not only have the choice of four custom paint schemes, but also three screens, three seats, nine luggage options, a silencer, 11 chroming extras and 14 'other' products.

Cripes, when you input those figures into AMCN's in-house Dexter, you come out with 1,654,543 different possible custom combinations. Something to keep in mind - well Christmas is only 12 weeks away.

For a mid-range custom cruiser, the Bonneville America may be leaving Triumph's Hinkley production with a conquer stateside brief (the Bonneville was the biggest selling 'big' bike in the 1960s), but it still emits all the vital signs that say Triumph, including the trademark parallel twin engine and distinctive, muscular styling.

And those sorts of things are universal, which goes some way to explaining why 20 Americas have already been pre-sold in Australia - with the first shipment not due for another couple of weeks.

"We (Triumph) are confident that the America will prove to be as popular as the standard Bonneville," declared McDonnell. "That's why we are going to bring them to Australia in large numbers, as we think the machine will appeal to a number of different groups, including women, people getting back into motorcycling and disenfranchised Harley-Davidson owners.

"It's just a pity that we couldn't tell more people in Australia about them earlier and gets the juices flowing, as there was an embargo on the machine until it was launched in America late last month," McDonnell added.

MORE SPIN-OFFS
The chronological time line leading up to the birth of the Bonneville America was outlined in the last issue of AMCN (Vol 50 No 5), a process that relied on the feedback of focus groups, who were initially shown 120 drawings of bikes way back in January 1999 to kick off the project.

I won't go into too much detail about that novel process in these pages, suffice it to say that the signals emanating from the focus groups suggested a look that married traditional Triumph elements with a heavy, bulky, exterior.

From that blueprint, and under the sponsorship of master stylist John Mockett, the distinctive Bonneville America was born, with the first pilot production bike ridden in April of this year. A 27-month project from start to finish - but one that seemingly hasn't come to an end, with more spin-offs to come.

"There's no doubt that tooling costs associated with the development of the Bonneville America were enormous," revealed McDonnell, "so there's no doubt that it's going to spurn new models. Just what they are I can't tell you..."

POSITIVE SIGNALS
So, as a new addition to the middleweight cruiser brat pack, how does the 790cc, air-cooled, four-vales-per-cylinder Bonneville America stack up? Well, if aesthetics had the casting vote, very well, as the machine does have a presence which is simply a missing link in some cruisers. That's partly a function of Triumph 'borrowing' some styling hues from the Triumphs of the '30s and '40 such as the instrumentation. And the powerplant, despite its parallel arrangement, does send out positive visual signals - although not quite as many as a V-twin arrangement.

The standard Bonneville engine forms the basis of the America donk, except that it has been redesigned with a 270-degree crank throw compared to 360 degrees for the parent. The altered firing order produces a more upbeat lilt, which unfortunately the standard slash-cut twin pipes don't do the ultimate justice to. A set of aftermarket silencers ($589) definitely increasethe tempo - pity they are for off-road competition use only...

The five-speed gearbox on the America is very precise - one of the best in the business from the Triumph stable. The gear ratios are very widely-spaced; similar to the standard Bonnie except for a taller fifth. An overdrive really.

That makes for a loping, long-legged ride with the torquey engine - which is claimed to produced 6.12kg-m at a leisurely 3500rpm - although for a quick overtake at 100kmh you really have to bang it down a gear and give it a handful.

The low-revving engine is fed by dual 36mm carbs, which help provide seamless pick-up from a closed throttle. Go juice comes from a large 16.6lt fuel tank, which is adorned with a warning-light dash - which on my testbike was mounted slightly left-of-centre. A quick peruse of the fleet revealed that mine was the only one afflicted - hopefully only a once-off.

There's no transmission snatch to speak of unless you choose to fall below 60kmh in top gear - noddy land for most people anyway.

LOTS OF CLEARANCE
With a 33.3-degree rake, 1655mm wheelbase, pulled back handlebars and forward-set pegs, ride on the America is as you'd expect - very casual. Add that to the light controls, and this is one machine that's not going to test you too much - although with ample ground clearance, there is some margin for frolics should the mood take you.

The America does possess a lot more clearance than many of its middleweight Japanese counterparts, many of whom are fitted standard with footboards.

The suspension is trademark cruiser, with 41mm front forks and chromed twin rear shocks in charge of bump duties. Initially, feedback from the rear was a bit too rough and tumble on my bike, but after winding the preload back two notches it improved somewhat. There's five-way preload adjustment on the rear.

After a 220km return trip from Parramatta (in Sydney) to Lithgow, I'd have to pronounce myself satisfied. A project that probably started off as an adventure has delivered a $14,490 (plus ORC) real-world motorcycle that is stylish, appealing and robust - more than a match for its direct competitors.

Whether that will strike a chord with the target American audience remains to be seen, although with so much form and function - and retro flair - I can't see it not making an impact. Now for that Christmas accessory list...