Triumph Bonneville SE test

Menus

• To put in all hands !!
• Discovery
• In the saddle
• Contact
• In the city
• Highway
• Departmental
• Braking
• Tires
• Comfort
• Convenient
• Consumption
• Conclusion

To put in all hands !!

Yes, I know, I am a little too biased to write this essay considering my visceral attachment to the English brand, but I will do my best to convince you that the Triumph Bonneville SE is certainly The ideal Machine for…. a nostalgic for the seventies (rims with sticks oblige !!), a young driver (if he does not want to play it Darth Vader), the darling of my heart (if she finishes passing her license !!), the gus who wants a bike for every day (and who will reserve the BM for the holidays and to walk madam !!), the one where the one who measures less than 1m65 (with or without heels !!) and even for the motardus vulgaris who can be recognized by flies on the teeth… in short, it’s the bike goes everywhere, always rolls, goes where you want … according to the wind and the scent of immortal !!

Discovery

The saddle is relatively wide and allows to move over a good length even with a passenger. For the rest the machine is a motorcycle in the most minimalist sense. It’s not worth looking for any protection or hoping for any touring equipment. In its basic version you are entitled to a frame, a tank, a saddle, a handlebar and two wheels … You will tell me that is the essential. If we consult the catalog of options then there is almost the Redoubt but get ready to heat up the credit card. My test machine was equipped with a comfort saddle which was padded with apricot kernels instead of the original peaches and two Arrows exhausts which gave it a very pleasant sound..

In the saddle

Feet touch flat on the floor for anyone taller than 5 feet tall. This is to tell you how safe we ​​feel. On the other hand, if you measure more than 1m75, this can cause some cramps in the knees over time. The bike is remarkably balanced and maneuvering it at a standstill is a breeze.

The wide handlebars fall perfectly under the hands and the riding position is very natural. It is easy to drive the bike without being permanently resting on the forearms, aided in this by the saddle which allows a lot of movement. At no time, even during the longest stages, did I feel the slightest stiffness due to the riding position.

The Bonneville SE dashboard is very seventies. Apart from the small engine failure light, you are on the handlebars of a real old-fashioned machine: a speedometer, a rev counter with a red zone at 7,000 rpm, a partial totalizer which resets to zero at the roulette wheel, four lights…. fi electronics and other gauges that the competition pisses us off. Old fashioned I said !!

In fact on this machine we only regret two things that would have allowed us to play the game to the end … The tank valve and its reserve position as on the old Bonnie with carbs play the absent subscribers (there it is replaced by an indicator … fortunately quite visible) and the kick … but that, it is since the rebirth of the Bonneville in 200 that we regret it !!

The large mirrors have the merit of reflecting everything that is going to happen behind your machine and they only vibrate slightly when the authorized speeds are greatly exceeded..

Contact

As soon as the key is turned, the Bonneville SE does its little initialization number like all injection motorcycles of its generation and then the twin-cylinder snorts … There is little difference with the old carburized model. Pollution and environmental standards have meant that the noise emanating from the original exhausts is completely sanitized, but the simple fact of having mounted the twin in Arrows makes it much more pleasant.

You will quickly get used to the large and well-designed levers, adjustable for all hands. The single front disc is two-finger operated, and the clutch doesn’t require a mover’s grip. The foot controls fall well, although we would have preferred a selector a little larger. The footrests do not vibrate.

In the city

The Triumph Bonneville SE is a real bike; it has the handling of a 125cc with the fishing of its displacement. Putting a wheel in 17 at the front – instead of the 19 – made this machine, already very pleasant to drive in spoke wheel version, disconcertingly easy. It must be said that the wheelbase has also shortened and the column angle closed. The only downside is that the turning radius has narrowed. Suddenly, to maneuver at a standstill, you have to start over several times. The narrow and agile motorcycle slips into the smallest mouse hole and the very torquey twin cylinder resumes from 1,500 laps without a fuss to make you fly to the rhythm of any peripheral ball. You will thus evolve at the mercy of traffic jams in 2 or 3 without risking stalling And you will get out of any situation on a trickle of gas. The city is a good playground !!

Highway

Even if when you start to turn the handle the potato of the double leg will start to bloom from the tuber, it is still not a thunderbolt. As the switch to injection has largely erased the "little" kick to the buttocks of the old New Bonnies after a certain speed, the acceleration is very linear. But isn’t that what we ask of this type of machine? And why take the highway with this machine? It’s like going to enjoy kicking yourself in the head !! Exceeding the regulated speed remains largely possible. I had fun there to get to a good multiple of 90, but under what conditions … I had my head watching the rear mudguard, arms that had extended 5cm and knees that were tossing as if I had the beginnings of the disease of sad Alois !! Not made for that I said … it’s confirmed !!

Departmental

Once the large ribbon has left, you will find the second favorite playground of the Bonnie SE: rather flattering it is the small departmental roads which give a good scent of cistus and wild lavender … Yes, I was in Corsica for this experience…

The Bonneville on these roads – which are still not a real pleasure when it comes to the surface – gives a perfect impression of safety. I would even say that the insecurity comes from the too great ease of the bike which sometimes leads to excess optimism. Watch out for braking on the angle which leads irreparably on the prohibited lane !!

The brakes, let’s talk about it. They are formidably efficient and have exceptional endurance. The pace can be sustained and the "little" Bonnie will give a hard time to the most exclusive sportsmen if she is well conducted. As long as the machine is well controlled at speeds adapted – not to the capacities of the machine but to those of the driver – the Bonneville SE is a remarkable leisure machine for relaxation and pleasure. The little roadster is agile, secure, comfortable, you don’t tire of driving…. As long as you adapt to having to refuel every 200 km, it seems designed to take you to the end of the world.

Braking

Without ABS, we dose the grip and the tip of the foot like the old one … with the possibility of trapper braking but also with the feeling and smoothness of a real touring machine.

Tires

The bike is originally fitted with Metzeler tires with a road profile and above all tubeless, which is now permitted with stick rims: tires which will prove to be excellent in all circumstances. The lower cost of the original tires is not uninteresting in terms of the general maintenance cost of the motorcycle compared to the competition.

Comfort

The original saddle is quite relative in comfort, especially since the saddle is 25mm lower and closer to the ground. The one offered as an option is hardly more pleasant but I had undressed my own Bonnie from her large King and Queen saddle made in Triumph and there I found a good comfort which avoided me breaking my seat during the 1500 km that I did on his handlebars on the Isle of Beauty !! The passenger is allocated at the same rate as the driver. He will try to hang on to what is lying around but when the pace picks up all he has to do is hold on to the pilot and wait for it to stop. !!

Convenient

The practicality of the bike comes down to one word … nothing !! To raise the saddle you need a good wrench … awl !! All that remains is to equip the bike with a good tank bag and two flexible bags or to take the backpack option … We tell you the old way !! The tank does not lock. A steering lock is designed from the outset, but it’s a blow to get one if you forget to remove it and start in the right direction !!

The Bonnie is equipped with a side crutch that rubs happily at the same rate as the toe clips and even from the bottom of the pot, but here we are squarely on the verge of correctional !!

Consumption

The tank capacity is 16 liters with a reserve indicator light that lights up while there is approximately 4 liters remaining in the can. This gives 170 km before going into reserve and the possibility of doing more than 50 km on it. I never pushed it to its limits !! Over the entire test, average fuel consumption was around 5.6 liters per 100, which gives a relative range of just over 280 km. RAS !

Note: The maximum attempted is 245 km of mountain roads … when full, we put in 14.25 liters… !!

Conclusion

This machine is very endearing in use. In the range of vintage roadsters that can adapt to a pleasant tourist use, the Bonneville SE will be of interest to those who are looking for a machine capable of taking it on the long haul, like someone who will turn it into an everyday motorcycle. In nearly 3,000 kilometers on the handlebars of the Triumph Bonneville SE, giving it no gifts and often pushing it to its limits, we have not noticed a single small problem or carried out any maintenance … except greasing daily channel. It is clear proof that this evolution of the Bonneville, even if it somewhat denies the replica side of the old one, is a real success which should have a good little success. This machine is capable of satisfying anyone as long as they wish to regain a certain flavor of the past on a handlebar. !

Strong points

• Handling
• Engine flexibility.
• Braking
• Retro look.
• Maneuverability
• Put in all hands

Weak points

• Almost basic equipment
• Ground clearance.
• A little lack of driving character.
• Comfort

Competitors:
Triumph Bonneville T100

The Bonneville technical sheet

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