THE original Triumph Bonneville was born in 1959, with a parallel-twin engine and 650cc displacement.
In standard guise, it could do 185kph which at that time was nothing short of lightning fast. This was the original British superbike.
From 1956 to 1970, Triumph had held the outright motorcycle land speed record for 14 years.
To commemorate the records, the Triumph company unveiled the T120 Bonneville. This bike soon became synonymous with speed. Even Steve McQueen had one and, if the King of Cool rode one, you better bet that it’s good.
Fast forward nearly 60 years, the Bonneville name is proudly emblazoned on the bike I am testing today.
The T100 Black has identical styling to the original Bonneville T120 of yesteryear. It is still a standard with the familiar Triumph silhouette and wire wheels. Perhaps there was more than a little truth in “The Best Motorcycle in the World” tagline that Triumph used in the early ads for the original bike?
Underneath the vintage pretensions, however, this motorcycle is truly modern. The T100’s engine is fuel-injected, with the injectors cleverly hidden behind an aluminium cover. It is also liquid cooled, with the radiators placed out of sight between the frame downtubes.
Other concessions to modernity include full ride-by-wire, anti-lock braking system and switchable traction control, all conspicuously hidden underneath the smart black exterior.
Even the gauges, twin clocks (speedo and rev counter) neatly house a digital menu system, accessible through a handlebar mounted scroll button. The conspicuous dials hide a variety of features including gear position indicator, odometer, two trip settings, service indicator, range to empty, fuel level, average and current MPG, clock plus access to turn off traction control features.
The first thing that comes to mind when you get on this Bonnie is how refined and smooth the ride is. The T100 sits in between the entry level Street Twin and the more premium T120. As such, it has the 900cc powertrain from the entry level Street Twin cradled in the T120’s more plush
frame.
Key differences between the T100 and the more posh T120, apart from engine displacement, are a single front disc setup as well as the omission of a centre stand and passenger grab rail.
The 900cc high torque engine was designed to surrender most of its power and torque at a lower rev range, between 2,750rpm and 4,750rpm. It gives the T100 its easygoing character, and improves accessibility to new riders. At the same time, it is not entirely a slouch, delivering 22 per cent more power and 80Nm of torque at just 3,200rpm.
The Bonneville T100 Black handles well through the corners, brakes well enough and is comfortable on long journeys.
With 54hp, it is still not the fastest bike on the block though. What the T100 has in spades is style. It looks perfect with a vintage jacket and riding jeans.
If you’re new to motorcycle riding and are charmed by the old school motorcycles but not into Milwaukee steel, you can’t go wrong with this British classic.