Tried out a new Bonneville 900 today

I am jealous. I had a 2002 Bonneville. It was a great bike. Sometimes I wish I still had it. Simpler and easier to ride than my Rocket III. I miss the simplicity over the much more complex Rocket. Never had any problems, always reliable and fun to ride. I have even thought of getting another after my long ride this summer and I no longer need a big bike like the RIII. Decisions, decisions, I know I would miss the Rocket but I miss the Bonneville as well. Having 2 bikes is not an option my wife would accept. Enjoy your new bike.

Hi...

Did you try the Scrambler as well? (basically the same bike)..

Cannot recommend them enough - point and shoot, go more or less anywhere. Bit heavy for true offroading, but people do..

On the road, just gets you about comfortably wherever with minimum fuss.

Big advantage over the bonnie for me was being able to crash over reservations in the middle of the road, and go wherever really - they are tough as old boots

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rayjay said:

jet black..your right about the color..wasn't being being disrespectful to the bonny when i said you'll notice the difference, getting of the rocket then on to the bonny.
It's just that when you get of the rocket most bikes feel like a scooter, in terms of
sheer size..not power. Hope i didn't offend you .

ray

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cheekygrin said:

did you try the scrambler as well? (basically the same bike)..

Cannot recommend them enough - point and shoot, go more or less anywhere. Bit heavy for true offroading, but people do..

On the road, just gets you about comfortably wherever with minimum fuss.

Big advantage over the bonnie for me was being able to crash over reservations in the middle of the road, and go wherever really - they are tough as old boots

Click to expand...

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msitter@bellsouth.net said:

i am jealous. I had a 2002 bonneville. It was a great bike. Sometimes i wish i still had it. Simpler and easier to ride than my rocket iii. I miss the simplicity over the much more complex rocket. Never had any problems, always reliable and fun to ride. I have even thought of getting another after my long ride this summer and i no longer need a big bike like the riii. Decisions, decisions, i know i would miss the rocket but i miss the bonneville as well. Having 2 bikes is not an option my wife would accept. Enjoy your new bike.

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bcbatman said:

Here is a picture of the Bonny with just 27K on the clock. Poor picture....damm Blackberry.
Xhdskip have you got a picture of your latest addition?
bcbatman

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No, I'm afraid that deals gonna go South.
I was trying to trade some things for it.
A good deal for the other party,
and no cash out of pocket from me, I like that right now, but,
It seems the dealer found more problems than I was informed of
when the negotating started.
Oh well, still got two Rockets sitting out there.

I had to get another Bonnie as I sold my first one to buy the R3. IMO those two bikes go together perfect. I do 400 miles a day on either one and love them both equal but different. When I have to ride with the "big" V-Twins I take the Bonnie (09) as it's almost impossible to troll around for 100 miles in 4 hours like they do on the R3!
BTW-for a real bit of fun I'll go to my fave back road twisties and drag a knee on either one! It's real interesting on a Rocket, I'll tell ya!

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xhdskip said:

no, i'm afraid that deals gonna go south.
I was trying to trade some things for it.
A good deal for the other party,
and no cash out of pocket from me, i like that right now, but,
it seems the dealer found more problems than i was informed of
when the negotating started.
Oh well, still got two rockets sitting out there.

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kingoffleece said:

i had to get another bonnie as i sold my first one to buy the r3. Imo those two bikes go together perfect. I do 400 miles a day on either one and love them both equal but different. When i have to ride with the "big" v-twins i take the bonnie (09) as it's almost impossible to troll around for 100 miles in 4 hours like they do on the r3!
Btw-for a real bit of fun i'll go to my fave back road twisties and drag a knee on either one! It's real interesting on a rocket, i'll tell ya!

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I read somewhere that the rocket and other triples are made in the UK.
Maybe someone more knowlegable than me will chime in. Enjoy that bonny

Ray

Triumph is multi-national. Parts of the R3 are made in the UK and parts in Thailand and Japan.

The Bonnie's are a different story. All Bonnies are made in Thailand. The factory is adjacent to the Kawasaki factory and down the road from the Yamaha factory
The original Bloor Bonnie (790) was designed as a police bike so the engine is basically bulletproof..

The Bonnevill's only weak point besides erratic alternator output is the pressure cast aluminum lower sump and drain bolt. Over torquing the drain bolt (like overtorquing the R3's final drive drain plug) causes the lower sump to crack (or in the case of the R3, the bolt breaks off at the shoulder.

Its possible to replace the lower sump fairly easily but it's not cheap.

I have numerous bikes, the Bonnie is one of them. I find the Bonnie makes an excellent tug for a sidecar but I prefer the T3 for stand-alone riding. The Bonnie is of a too small stature for my size (6'1"). It feels toy like whereas the R3 has substance.

Having said that, I tend to ride my KLR 650 more than the R3. While the KLR is physically sized much like the Bonnie, it's fairing imparts a sense of more prescence that the Bonnie lacks, but then, I'm not a 'naked' bike person anyway.

From a longevity standpoint, I have to say that probably the only Bloor Bonnie's that will hold or increase in value are the Centenial Models and possibly the orange and white tank and tinned one. The rest are destined to lead a life of continuous devaluation.

Finally, I feel that Triumph keeps the Bonnie and it's derivitaves in it's stable as a nostalgis offering. I look for the discontinuation of that model range at some point in the future.