RTW New Bonneville
 

Geoff and group.
My plan is to take my new 2001 Bonnie round the world in '03.(july Uk -Aus?)
Yes, a BM would make more sense etc but where's the fun in that ?and the Bonneville is a pretty simple bike.

I've done a couple of big ones before.. London-Cape Town (GS) and Alaska to Chile(XT600) this would probably be the last before i start to reproduce...

Anyway early days, but any exchange of info would be usefull.

eg. are there any good overland specials builders in the UK( or US )that would work on the Bonnie.? Welding. Big tanks , etc.

dave

With regards to the new Bonnie, I'm afraid they haven't been out that long so I'm not too sure about their relieablity or usefullness as a RTW bike, from what I've seen they are pretty low which cause clearance problems in areas where tarmac ain't so common. With regards to specials builders who would modify the bike for you you cound try the guy who built Simon Milwards bike, links at www.millennium-ride.com
Maybe a question posted in the "Equipting the Bike" section would get more useful response.
With regards to fitting longer forks as you asked about in your other post, have a look around at whats available on jap bikes from breakers, but look for something of a simular weigh to avoid too much messing about with springs. Bear in mind it would be easier to take a complete front end including the wheel so you do'nt end up getting special axles made up. There are plenty of people who will make you new yokes (triple-trees) up, checkout one of the custom mags e.g. Back Street Heroes; for some addresses. Iwouldn't try and get more travel out of the existing forks unless you can get some longer legs properley made, could be pricey. Don't forget you will need to do something with the rear as well! Cheers and good luck

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Geoff.
Thanks for the speedy reply. I will look into some of your suggestions.
dave.

P.S. I read that the boss of Numero Tre in Italy was thinking of building a 'GS' style New Bonnie.

Hi Davec

taking a bike that you are comfortable on is as important as anything else i think, and if you have to trim your ambitions to suit so be it. My old Bonnie seems to work ok off road, and being able to get both feet comfortably on the ground is very nice, when its sliding around. The roads we have encountered are very slippery esp when wet! like ice sometimes and a tall bike is a liability.

id be interested to hear if you take a test ride what you think.

Ride on, TriumphChris. www.worldtriumph.co.uk

I'm with you on that!
 

I know there a plenty of bikes out there that are designed for extreme conditions, are perfectly engineered and look/are unsinkable.
However a little bit of style doesn't go amiss.
Something that'll have a character and above all some soul.

I've test riden the 900 scrambler - It certainly looks good but I didn't feel great on it. Up close the accessories were tinny and plastic. Don't think they'd last 500miles. The brakes were made of soap.
The bonneville felt like a bike that could cover some long distant journeys into the sunset. I forgot about the time and got lost and ended up having a 2.5hour test drive to the anger of the triumph dealer. Just had to sweet talk them and buy a new set of gloves. Some little tweeks and I think it could be a bike that you could really trust. Again the brakes could do with some attention but you can't fault the classic lines of a triumph.

Really my ownly disappointment was that the speedo and tacho units were all plastic - would have been nice to keep the consistancy of metal.- just a bit tougher you know?

They're not as common off the beaten track and its always good to make the challenge even tougher than it already is - and do it in style.
Open face and goggles. Thats what I'm talking about!

I'm touring Scandinavia for three months on my 06 bonny, I rode it from England to Norway and broke down twice in heavy rain. . . turned out that a drop of water was sitting on the over flow/vent pipe and preventing that tank from breathing, I just "slash" cut the end to prevent it happening again

The OEM GIL coil is about as waterproof as a ripped teabag:

https://sites.google.com/site/threew...10/the-repairs

I made a cover for it visible towards the bottom here although any bit of plastic shoved in the triangle of frame under the tank helps (cut up milk bottle works well):

https://sites.google.com/site/threew...d-improvements

Then switched to a Nology which is better.

Enjoy your trip.

Andy