A Classic Reborn Of Triumph Bonneville

The Triumph Bonneville is no doubt a proper classic. Now Triumph has rejuvenated the same and here is the 2016 version of an ever popular collectible

- Rahul Ghosh

The name ‘Bonneville’ has quite a zing to it. It does not matter if you are referring to the salt flats, Steve McQueen’s preferred ride or the bike Triumph makes. So it is established that it is an icon and Triumph has taken on the hard task of reinventing an icon. So how have they fared?

The Bonneville looks classic right from the word go. The small front fender, the classic round headlamp and the twin pod instrument panel says it all. The tank is now redesigned and does offer grips for your knees and also has a respectable capacity of 14.5-litres. The instrument panel sure looks old-school but displays everything one might want to know including which riding mode the bike is in. The switchgear too is top class and offers controls for the info display and mode changing which has been made possible thanks to the adoption of drive-by-wire technology. The beautifully crafted 1200cc motor sits snug and right behind resides what look like carbs! But don’t worry, this bike is fuel injected. As you step back, the pea-shooter exhausts take up considerable amount of real estate. The seat is flat and fuses beautifully into the small rear fender which is topped up by the tail light assembly. The bike you see here is the T120 Black, but Triumph will only get the T120 range and this means that Indians will have a T120 laid with a healthy bout of chrome. Not to forget that we do love chrome.