2017 Triumph Bonneville T100 Test Ride Review

Ergonomics – The Triumph Bonneville T100 is a very comfortable machine. It feels like you’re riding a cloud. With the thick and wide seat (our test bike came with the optional pillion backrest) and the soft but compliant suspension set-up, makes it a joy to ride in the city. The ground clearance is a little towards the lower side as the pegs have been set for comfort in mind. Though it looks like a pretty tall motorcycle, the seat height is low making it easy to ride for shorter riders and it has enough legroom to comfortably accommodate a taller rider in the saddle too.

Performance – The Triumph Bonneville T100 is powered by a 900cc parallel-twin engine that puts out a peak power of 54 BHP and peak torque of 80 Nm, matched to a 5-speed transmission that shifts very smoothly but a sixth gear is sorely missed. The motor is extremely refined and very smooth even through stop-go traffic or when covering miles on the highway. The bike makes its power very early on and it just pulls seamlessly till about 5000 RPM after which the vibrations start to crawl up-to-the handlebar, redline coming in at 6000 RPM. We touched 160 km/hr on our test motorcycle beyond which the T100 didn’t feel like it was in its element anymore. Off the line, the T100 is quick, taking just 5.37 seconds to reach the ton as per our VBOX tests. The ideal cruising speed is 120 km/hr as one has to deal with a lot of windblast post that due to the lack of a visor on this retro classic which is meant for cruising (that’s why Triumph offers cruise control as an accessory) and not touching top speeds.

The T100 is very torquey and smooth, it accelerates with eagerness and sounds even better than it looks

The T100 truly feels at ease when ridden with an easy wrist. At about 3000 RPM doing 100 km/hr in top gear, the motorcycle just glides ahead. From as low as 2000 RPM, the powerplant just tugs forward and pulls with so much torque, the feeling is almost addictive. The exhaust note from the twin exhausts is loud and it sounds glorious with the exhaust backfiring with pops and crackles, making this a real joy to ride. In city traffic, this engine is very smooth and lively from low RPMs, making it easy to handle in the city with the ride-by-wire throttle giving it smooth on and off throttle transitions. The motor didn’t overheat and that’s a very good sign. The T100 comes with a 14.5-litre fuel tank which gives it a good riding range thanks to the mileage being a good 20 km/l, resulting in a tank range of 290 kms.

Riding Dynamics – The Triumph T100 doesn’t feel like a motorcycle that weighs 230 kgs as it does a very good job of masking its weight. It feels very light at low speeds and is composed through fast corners. Thanks to the tyres and traction control, this motorbike glides through corners without ever feeling too heavy. Because of the footpegs being so low, the T100 doesn’t allow you to achieve low leans but let’s face it, that’s not what this bike is meant for. Though the suspension is on the softer side, the British cruiser never feels out of composure through corners, that partly may have to do with its weight but it all works in its favour when summed up. The ride quality does get bouncy as you up the speed but when ridden under 100 km/hr, it does a good job of absorbing bad patches on the road. The brakes have good bite and drop anchor to stop the Bonneville without any hassle which makes them quite confidence inspiring on spirited riding.