Triumph Bonneville - Rally Ride 2000

You see, the bike has been delivered of the brand's greatest strength, tradition. A tradition built on a staggering 300,000 units which saw that proud name emblazoned on sidecovers worldwide.

Boasting a 790cc air-cooled, DOHC, 360 degree, eight-valve, parallel twin, the new bike had a lot of pressure on it to invoke its hallowed name in a faithful manner. Such was the brief when the idea for a twin-cylinder model was first floated at Hinckley way back in April of 1997. It was almost unanimous that the bike had to pay tribute to its famous namesake. It had to have authentic styling cues and it had to replicate the sound and general feel of an old Bonnie. For this reason alone the bike was given its 360 degree crankshaft (pistons rising and falling together) and a twin shock rear suspension set-up. The best capacity for the new bike was argued. Should it be a 650 like the first of the Meriden Bonnies or perhaps a 750cc version like the last of them. Torque' and lots of it was the order from upstairs and therefore the capacity decided upon was the larger 790cc.

By December of 1998 there was a running engine prototype built and by March 1999 the bike was ready for full-scale testing. After building six bikes to carry out this testing, it wasn't until July 2000 that the bike was finalised, just two short months prior to the world launch at Intermot in Munich. Okay, that's the timeline. Now, how about the bike. Does it stack up?

NOW, NOW, NOW...

There is no doubt that Triumph has nailed the look of the '69 Bonneville T120. There will always be those to suggest that this isn't right, or it needs this to look real, but the fact is the general ambience of the bike is perfect. By its very nature, there had to be some styling compromises, but they are all there for a real-world 2001 purpose, and critics need bear in mind that this bike is indeed a Triumph Bonneville not something styled to look like someone elses bike. Like the press blurb says, it's "The Real Thing". There's the famous heart-shaped timing cover, pea-shooter mufflers and the logo adding to the atmosphere. In fact the bike's general dimensions are very closely aligned to those of the T120. To illustrate this, there's a story kicking round that a senior British bike journalist walked past a prototype of the new model at Hinckley. Apparently the scribe never batted an eyelid. While it was generally considered an urban myth, it is an absolute fact, confirmed during the Australian Bonneville launch at Jindabyne (NSW) by Triumph's Export Sales Manager, Ross Clifford. It's fair to say that the crew at Hinckley derived much satisfaction from that piece of real-life theatre...

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The rain Gods decided to concentrate on Jindabyne on the weekend of the Triumph Rally. I'd seen the bike in Munich at its world release, but it was during one of the few intermittent breaks in the weather at Jindabyne that I threw my leg over the Bonneville and thumbed the starter. First impressions count for a lot I reckon. Nice low seat height, rich, chocolatey timbre from the aftermarket exhaust-equipped unit I rode first and a seating position that will not tire too many. The bars are a little high for my liking and I'd probably go for flatter numbers, but that's going to be one of the beauties of this bike, personalisaton. Yep, there'll be more add-on bits available than you can poke a conrod at and that, once again, harks back to the old Bonnie doctrine. Make it your own...

There's a nice spread of power on offer. No real surprises there, but the engine is nicely balanced between offering the sort of vibes that a Bonnie engine should and real-world comfort. Sound is just about right. Okay, just about everybody will opt for the noisy cans and in that guise the bike sounds lovely. Don't look for mind-blowing acceleration however. That's not what this thing is about and expecting huge top-ends is just silly.

Torque is placed nicely from as low as 2500rpm, where it should be and the power curve has no real dip, with the claimed 62ps coming on in a flat and composed manner. There's a healthy mid-range on tap and topping the bike out to its redline is a little pointless. Once again, that's not what this thing is about. The five-speed box is nice and precise and the clutch is lovely, with changes simple. Like they should be. The front-end is delightfully planted and although the bike steers quite slowly, it inspires confidence. In short, there's a lot of feel on offer at the helm. The rear however felt a little squishy to me with a bit of wallow evident in longer, sweeping corners. Never a problem, but it's a twin-shock rear-end on a conservative chassis and you can tell. Good brakes, the front single disc doing the job and the rear works very well. This is the sort of bike that rewards good rear brake input and I'm sure returnees are going to like the overall anchor-arrangement.

IN THE HOT SEAT

The seat is no armchair and could have been wider under the thigh. This will help shorties because the legs can be kept close together, but I found it to be a little less than supportive. Others had no complaint. There's no tacho and I reckon this is a mistake. Both aesthetically and indeed from a functional point of view, I would like to know what revs I'm doing where. The cockpit is nice though and the key placed on the left of the instrument cluster is a nice touch. Finish seems good, the colours available are red and silver or green and silver and the bike is very well priced indeed at $12,590 plus onroads.

So, will they sell 'em? I reckon so... Nostalgia buffs will probably accept the bike as a true Bonneville, girls will like the low seat height and there's a strong indication that the market has been waiting for just such a bike. It's not going to set the world on fire in terms of gross volume, but it doesn't need to in order to be a resounding success. I've a sneaking suspicion that the thing is going to be huge in the States, and Triumph has been wanting that for some time. Yes, I'm pretty sure quite a few Bonnies will lie over the ocean. Sorry about that, but the fact is Triumph has a very good inate sense of hitting the market with the right thing at the right time and this time they're on a winner.

Test bike supplied by: Triumph Australia

Recommended retail price: $12,590 (plus ORC)