Triumph Bonneville T100 Review (2017)

What Is It Like?

What's Good?

I love the T100 Black Edition. It is the coolest, most reliable motorcycle I have ever owned. It catches the eye of most that see us roll in.

With the soft bags, luggage rack, and back rest my lady and I can enjoy a ride around town or a ride to a B&B in the mountains for the weekend.

It's versatile, motorway friendly, and has traction control that I am confident kept the rear tyre under us on a country road once when we hit an amateur asphalt patch job.

The riding position is perfect for my 48 year old back, the bike is responsive and light enough for tight cornering at low speeds.

Any Downsides?

The first thing you will notice about the 865cc ride by wire interface strangeness is this. The setup removes all the “off the line” performance. Period.

I have been heartily disappointed while goofing around with other motorcycles on the motorway, and when trying to outrun anything but a ’72 Peugeot with a flat tyre.

The power is there…don’t get me wrong. The bike rides similarly with me alone as it does with me and my pillion, so I am aware that the interface is passing judgement on my decision to “Wheeeeeeee!”. My Bonneville responds with “Hey, now! Let’s be reasonable. That’s enough acceleration, right?”

It is like having my mom dial back my decisions in real time as I try to get some wind in my face in short order, or zip past the guy in the car beside me. Now that I realise this, my riding style has adapted, but it was an embarrassing lesson early on.

To Sum Up

I am happy with my bike. It is likely the perfect ride for me at this stage of my life. The technology involved has probably kept us upright in a tight situation and that is the beginning and end of my assessment.

I feel, however, that I need another bike. One that, when called into action, will suck the headlights out of the car next to me (if the situation calls for it).

Two bikes are not a bad thing, right? Ride safe!

- Logan D, 2018

Related Bikes

Triumph Street Twin - The same engine with more modern, but still retro, styling.

Triumph Street Cup - A cafe racer version of the Street Twin, with headlight fairing, seat hump, lower handlebars and a more aggressive riding position.

The Second Opinion

Why The T100 Black?

My thoughts on the new 2017 T100 Black. After riding bikes for over 30 years, I decided about two years ago to go classic and got myself a 1998 Thunderbird Sport. Now, this was a lot heavier than my Ducati, but I wanted to try and be cool by getting a classic. I loved it and wanted more, hence the T100 Black.

It took me about two months to choose the model I wanted and after three test rides, I chose this one. Now being a keen rider I took many things into consideration. The fact that the bike is light, incredible to handle and the seating position is perfect made this bike just feel right.

What's Good?

The style is just eye-catching and you certainly feel good on it. It feels very light at low speed yet turns and holds a bend very well.

It has great suspension but the seat a little hard so I have changed that to the DS003 and I will add louder exhausts.

The fact that the tech is new and it's liquid cooled, gives it’s a certain whistle sound that I had to get used to, hence the louder exhausts coming. It has some zip from mid to top range and it’s a smooth ride with an exceptionally light clutch.

It comes with traction control, ABS, an immobiliser and even a USB port under the seat. The finish is outstanding in matt black, with the Chrome extras.

To Sum Up

This is a lot of machine for the money and I was surprised at what I got. I will certainly be using this for a long time and I can't seem to stop riding it!

- Chris R, 2018

Add Your Review

Do you own this bike? We would love to hear anything good, bad, unexpected or that you have changed plus anything that a prospective new owner might find interesting or useful.

More Info

Check out this video review from TheMissendenFlyer.