Triumph Bonneville America

Just quickly, we should have a squiz at the current Bonnie. Triumph was on a hiding to nothing when it tried to use the emotion-laden name of Bonneville. The Meriden originals from decades ago look very cute, lithe even, and they ride poorly. Really. Handling is fine, but vibration has to be experienced to be believed. Give me a Norton or Vincent HRD (single or even a twin) any day.

Hinckley took a deep breath and released a 790cc twin with the emotion-filled name almost a year ago. It copped lots of criticism on the styling front (I agree with some of it), but a totally unfair bollocking overall. The current Bonnie, given the performance pipes, is a fast and enjoyable motorcycle that won't break easily.

Enter the America. It's sort of using the Bonnie powerplant, running a 270-degree firing order rather than 360, to give an off-beat cruiser engine feel. Yep, okay. I've ridden it and can't say the whole idea of firing angles - or whatever - got me excited. Leave well alone, is my advice.

What I did like is the brutish and heavy styling of the thing. Something that begs for a little customising and - gee, what a surprise - the T brand is happy to assist with a bunch of accessories. Good on them. The only clumsy element in this area is the very ordinary casting for the lower triple clamp.

Though the seat is low, the reach to the foot controls is long, and the reach to the sidestand also long. Which is a little weird, as it would otherwise have been more user-friendly for shorter folk without that.

It was a surprise to see a rib-pattern front tyre, though the handling package is way above average for the cruiser class. Braking requires a lot of lever travel, but feel and power is fine. It steers well, given the feet-forward pose, and has a lot of cornering clearance. Rear suspension struggles and runs limited travel. Your footpegs will scrape first.

Stock power delivery is mild and, like the standard Bonnie, is good for a tops speed of just over 160kmh.

Story: Guy Allen