BIKETEST TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE T100: On a trip down memory lane with a new Triumph Bonneville, Tom Robertfelt that he was in biker heaven
AH, A FINE crisp autumn morning, with the blue sky above me, a Triumph Bonneville beneath me, a winding country road before me and the golden blessings of autumn fluttering down all around.
What could possibly be wrong with such a moment?
Er, well, only the fact that in the interests of verisimilitude, I had worn an open face helmet, a pair of goggles, a silk scarf, a leather jacket, jeans and a pair of seaman's socks turned down over the top of my classic gentleman's motorcycling boots.
I had, in short, forgotten Dr Zog's First Law of Relative Motorcycle Thermodynamics, which states the following:
If you think you're going to be warm, you will be cool;
If you think you're going to be cool, you will be cold;
If you think you're going to be cold, you will be freezing;
If you think you're going to be freezing, stay at home.
As a result, I had long ago lost any sensation in my extremities, which for all I knew had fallen off at the last junction, my nether regions had gone numb with early sensations of frostbite which would have been familiar to Scott and the chaps on their way to the Pole.
Added to this was the fact that the Irish Slow Drivers' Club seemed to be having their annual outing, consisting entirely of men in flat caps and doddery grannies in Nissan Micras proceeding at, by my estimation, 15.367mph.
Naturally, the moment a straight stretch of road appeared and I prepared to overtake, another one would appear coming in the opposite direction. Which makes it all the more surprising that just at that moment, I could not have been happier.
You see, Triumph's retro range just does that to you. First there was the Thruxton, a bike whose engine sounds so utterly content with the world that it is all you can do not to snuggle up to it and nod off.
Then there was the American, which even with a fairly sanitised performance of 54bhp at 6,750rpm, was an entirely civilised and satisfying machine.
The Bonnie, by comparison, has a more frisky 67bhp at 7,500rpm and produces the same torque as the American, but at a ripping 5,800rpm rather than a lazy 4,800rpm.
However, that wasn't the only reason I was looking forward to riding it. The main reason was that the Bonneville is an icon: a name which, like Norton and Vincent, makes motorcyclists of a certain age come over all warm and fuzzy.
When I rode a Triumph Tiger up the west coast of the States, for example, at every single fuel stop, a grizzled old-timer would wander over, take a look at the name and tank and mutter:
"Triumph, eh? They still making motorcycles? Boy, when I was a young man I had a Bonneville that was the best bike on the block. Sure did love that bike, then had to sell her when I got married, although I'd give both arms and at least one of my legs to get my hands on another one."
Well, the good news is that their lost youth is back, for the new Bonnie may look like the old Bonnie, but it comes without that unique sensation known to all old British bike owners of standing at the side of the road looking at a side of mysteriously inert innards and wondering what's gone wrong this time.
The original, of course, was named after the Utah salt flats synonymous with world speed records and when Meriden Triumph died in the 1970s, the reincarnated version at Hinckley waited a whole decade before reintroducing the Bonnie, so anxious were they to get it right.
Well, they almost did, but several riders complained that the engine was, well, a bit unexciting.
To their credit, the boffins at Hinckley listened to them, then went back and came up with the Bonneville T100, increasing the engine 75cc to 865cc, the same as the Thruxton cafe racer, and giving it a much more lively feel.
And now they've gone even better and added fuel injection, putting an end to the dubious pleasures of spending hours balancing carbs, a process as mysterious and frustrating as alchemy, but without the gold at the end.
As a result, the latest incarnation of the Bonneville is a winner: it looks the part, and now goes the part as well.
It may not have the terrifying acceleration of a Ninja or the splendidly pointless top speed of a Hyabusa, but then that's not the point.
The point is that motorcycling gentlemen of any age who feel in their heart that old things are intrinsically more interesting than new things, will be unable to walk up to the Bonnie without wiping a manly tear from their eye, climbing aboard and then going looking for a country road. Just do wrap up warmly, chaps.
Factfile Triumph Bonneville T100
Engine: 865cc air-cooled, DOHC, parallel-twin with 360º firing interval; bore/stroke 90 x 68mm; compression ratio 9.2:1; fuel system multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection
Transmission: primary drive gear, final drive X ring chain; clutch wet, multi-plate, gearbox five-speed
Performance: maximum power 68PS (67bhp) at 7500rpm, maximum torque 69Nm (51ft lbf) at 5800rpm
Seat height: 775mm
Tank capacity:16.0 litres
Price: €9,950. Price in Northern Ireland £6,120.
The test bike was supplied by from Philip McCallen of Lurgan, 028 3832 9999, philipmccallen.com.